Soap for Sight
on A Serendipitous Journey (Kenya), 14/Jul/2009 06:28, 34 days ago
Last week, accompanied by a reporter from one of the country's two largest newspapers, I visited the Kenya Union of the Blind’s Kerugoya branch, located in the Central province of Kenya. It is a lush area with reliable rainfall where the majority of the population lives off the land and unemployment is very high. This, combined with stigma associated with blindness and lack of understanding about the abilities of visually impaired persons, led to nearly 100% unemployment among them the branch’s 150 members.In 1999 one of the branch leaders was sponsored by the World Bank to attend a training where he learned business management and soap making skills. He learned that by mixing vegetable oil, animal fat, palm or coconut oil; putting it on the fire and boiling it; adding costics soda; then stirring it continuously in the same direction as it hardens, bar soap can be made. He learned to make luxury soaps by adding lemon, lavender, rose, aloe vera, banana and avocado before letting it dry for 24 hours. Mr. Munene also learned how to make liquid soap which can be used to wash hands, dishes and vehicles.After doing business viability analysis and providing training to the branch, the Kenya Union of the Blind then provided the branch with a grant to start up a soap-making business, followed by another grant to further grow the business. The soap is produced at the small branch office and they sell 120L per month of liquid soap and sell 24 large bar soaps per month. Ten visually impaired persons are now actively involved in the production and distribution of soap. Profits are shared among the individuals and the branch: individuals receive 75% of profits and the remaining 25% is allocated to branch development to help start up new projects. Combined the projects generate profits of more than 22,000Ksh per year.Due to the success of this project, the branch was able receive loans from the bank to start other income generating activities including a 5-acre rice farming project, a pig rearing project and a tree planting project, which generate further income for the branch. It also generated funds necessary to support 10 visually impaired individuals to start their own small businesses.The project has not only provided visually impaired persons with entrepreneurial skills, income and confidence, it has also demonstrated their abilities to the community. Their customers include the local district council, the Department of Forestry, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Education, various schools, local hospitals and the DC office.A bright future:Demand for their soap products is higher than they are able to supply. If they are able to secure a loan, the branch plan to buy a steaming machine, at a cost of 160,000 Ksh, which would allow them to increase their bar soap production more than 100 fold, allowing them to produce up to 100 bars per day instead of 24 per month.The branch has also been able to buy a shop within a new permanent shopping centre in Kerugoya to sell the soap and rice they produce to the general public, as well as a photocopying business.