Betty baking one of her cassava cakes at her bakery site

Betty Ouni is of age 48 years. She belongs to OryemCan Widows and Orphans group. This group comprises of 36 members of which 12 are men.

Her husband died 20 years ago leaving her with their 6 children to singlehandedly care for. She later took into her care 4 orphans. One of the Orphans is doing nursing at Lira Comprehensive with a semester tuition of 2 million shillings while another is doing Computer studies at the Computer Centre in Lira.

Betty embarked on the baking business in 2014 after CAVA trained her in processing HQCF and baking using cassava flour. She is now known by many for her cassava cakes.

She bakes cakes for Introduction ceremonies, Graduation and Birthdays. These different cakes cost 250,000/-, 300,000/- and 50,000 or 80,000/- shillings respectively.

Betty extends this knowledge and skills in baking using HQCF to other women (local and regional), and has focused more on including widows like herself to bake using cassava as an alternative to wheat flour.

Betty with one of the Widows she has extended skills and Knowledge in baking using HQCF

Betty is often invited to train other women groups and farmers in baking. Since 2014, She has trained 390 members in Alebtong in bakery using HQCF and also trained 540 school drop outs in Oyam district.

However, before Betty took on baking, she was more focused in farming as a multi crop farmer (Rice, Cotton, Millet and cassava). She started farming cassava in 2011 and from then, her life has gotten even better.

Today, Betty owns a 34acre garden of NaSE 14 Cassava variety that she planted in March 2016, of planting materials she accessed through AfrII CAVA II/CSS projects.

‘Cassava has supported me to grow other crops like cotton. I grew 4 acres of cotton on land I hired from earnings I made from my processed cassava chips, cakes and stem cuttings that I sold’ remarks Betty.

Betty Ouni in her cassava garden of Nase14 clean seed. This is located in Lira District, Baar sub county

In 2015, she earned Over 4 Million from stem cuttings sold and in 2016, she sold 178 bags of NASE 14 cuttings at 20,000 shillings each to fellow farmers for multiplication.

These farmers are spread out to Kole, Oyam and Dokolo districts.

The farmer group she belongs to has been contracted to supply over 2000 bags of stems of NASE 14 to operation wealth creation in April 2017 this year. They intend to sell these at about 40-45,000 shillings per bag.

Betty’s achievements are even bigger. She has established a commercial building in Baar, for which she has big plans.

“This building cost me 16 Million shillings and I am still spending more on it. All the 3 rooms will serve different purposes. one room is a store for my harvest and processed HQCF Grits and Flour, the other is for my baked products while for the other room, I intend to stock it up with herbicides (non-selective and selective)” Betty Processes about 12 tons in a month of HQCF and supplies to the local markets.

Betty proudly shows off her millions worth commercial building.

She intends to construct another structure of which part of the building will be a better housing spot for her and the children. She also wants to buy a Motor cycle to ease transportation. She makes deliveries to far distances of which transport costs are high.

Betty in the house that her late husband left her in. She has never demolished it for memory of how far she has come.

“When you are a widow, people think you cannot survive on your own without a husband to take care of you. I am a living example that you can always make it in life, even after you are left all alone with children to have to feed and educate.

 I am glad for the far I have come since CAVA II Uganda discovered me, the knowledge and skills development extended to me by this project have made me who I am today. A successful widow’ remarks Betty appreciatively”.