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Meru: Maize ill fosters food security

  1. Posted on Saturday 3 October 2009 - 11:08
    Peris
    Image of Peris
    According to the group’s chairperson Christine Muriungi,t hese women started the construction in the year 2005 with at least Ksh 70,000. Through the Catholic church, especially the women department led by sister Gemma Kathure, the group was sponsored by MESICS, a charity based in the Netherlands which provided adequate machinery and equipments to start its milling and hulling process.

    The 200 women decided to put up the mill after clear realization that people living in the area, were so prone to maize products especially the packed and refined maize flour which is so expensive. With the mill around their homesteads, most families in Meru, Kenya can now enjoy cheap, affordable and nutritious maize products without walking for long distances as it was before.

    With maize being a staple food in Kenya, lot of people use it in different ways, For example when maize is mixed with beans, it forms a very delicious meal known as ‘Githeri’ which takes a lot of time to get ready. To curb the situation, the mill has got a machine which is used in crashing the maize into smaller particles known as ‘Nchenga’ which takes less time to cook hence saving time energy.

    One of the challenges for this moment is lack o f enough power supply. The power rationing programme started by the Kenyan Government through the Ministry of Energy 2 months ago is slowing down production. The mill is now operational 4 days only in week. Another major problem is lack of enough customers to attend to especially a time like now when the country is experiencing drought and famine. Consumers have no more maize left in their homes.

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