Entrepreneur
Name
Dorothy
Member since
June 2018
On-time repayments
70 installments • 61%
About Me
My name is Dorothy Awuor Opil from Kenya.I turned 44 years old this March. I am the third born in a family of 10. I had a relatively good childhood. My parents taught me the value of hard work. My father was a Criminal Investigative Detective in the Kenya Police Force and my mother was a stay home mum mainly taking care of the farm.
I got married in 1999. I have 2 living kids (2 beautiful girls) Anne Jeanette, the youngest turns 10 this August 12th and The eldest Sharon, turns 25 in May 10th .In 2013 I separated from my husband, it was really tough for me at that time since I had just gone back to school for a degree course and my eldest daughter (now 24 years old) was just joining university and I was up to my neck in loans.
I left with my children and few clothes only. I lived with a friend for a month then eventually got a place and started off by sleeping and sitting on the floor and in 2015, my employer KEMRI CDC had to do a serious bare minimum downsizing due to lack of funds so I lost my job. It was horrible!
That's when I went into serious farming growing vegetables and selling in town, I gradually grew, and was now able to take care of my bills. In 2016, I was called back to work. I eventually graduated with a Bsc. degree in Information technology in 2017 and am planning to pursue a masters degree in cyber security.
I'm an enthusiastic entrepreneurial farmer. Currently I am still employed at KEMRI CDC as data specialist. We are an NGO, a Center for Clinical Research which is a collaboration between Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and the US Centers for Disease Control) and Prevention (CDC) that conducts research in malaria, HIV, parasitology, TB and other diseases.
I am am from the Luo tribe , we are known to be quite proud and flamboyant very hardworking and sticklers to rules, Raila Odinga (Former prime minister and current opposition leader) comes from my tribe.
My eldest daughter has graduated from the university with a degree in project planning and management and she is now doing her internship at Unilever Kenya. She is also a very talented artist. Her you tube name is Shari Afrika (Feel free to check it out)
My Business
Am currently employed so at least while am still finding my footing in the farming industry am still able to pay my bills.
My enthusiasm for the soil has made me concentrate on farming. I would love to eventually concentrate on farming full time I am currently trying my hand on improved kienyeji chicken. I also have strawberries, Rosella and now starting on oranges and mango trees.
Farming has its challenges for example last year I lost 80 kienyeji(indigenous) birds and floods swept away my sorghum and my onions did not do so well. My shamba boy left during the dry season at a time when Kales needed watering the most...... such are the challenges but on the flip side, farming is fun and the joy of eating your own fruits and greens is just heavenly.
Chicken is always highly on demand and especially the indigenous ones which is what am currently breeding. Vegetables are also always highly on demand all year round. Kales and the indigenous vegetables like spider plant(Sagaa), Jute mallow(Mrenda), Night shade(Managu) are highly marketable. In fact most of the time, the vegetables and even the chicken are just picked from the farm without me having to take them to the market.
The cost of rearing 100 improved indigenous egg laying chicks to maturity is approximately 660 dollars from which you expect each bird to at least give 200-250 eggs a year which you can sell at 99 cents (0.99 dollars) This is the rosy side, on the flip side, there are diseases, deaths and employees challenges.
The goodness of having a food based business is that you can never sleep hungry and for quick fixes, I can sell even a one month old chick in case of an emergency. over the years, I especially when I was struggling, I was able to send my daughter upkeep from the vegetable farm sales and was therefore at peace knowing that even though she is away from home and probably having a rough time getting used to dealing with the separation, she was financially secure.
Through the vegetable and chicken business, I have been able to modestly furnish my house and my goal is to eventually own a farm and a home. I would also like to work with young teenage mothers in my community to empower them to use the bare minimum space resources to plant vegetables and rear birds or rabbits to improve their livelihoods and also nutrition of their young families.
Loan Proposal
I need to add more laying space for my 89 hens to make tracking of eggs easy as well as collection and also help reduce accidents.With 12000 I should be able to put up 20 more laying space with each box costing approximately 4.5 dollars. I would then expect to get at least 70 percent of the eggs intact.
Feedback
Positive
None
Neutral
None
Negative
None
Loan Info
Project Type
Classic Loan
Disbursed amount
$127.00
Date disbursed
Apr 25, 2019
Repayment status
On Time
Projected term
5 months
Other loans
Lenders
Kyle, United States
Germany
Ask Dorothy a question about this project, share news and photos of your own, or send a simple note of thanks or inspiration.