Hope blooming from sunflower seeds
Bosco outside his shop
I met Bosco in Gulu, Uganda, to see his sunflower seed business in action. This blog is an extract from my story for the Restless Development website.
Bosco explains, “There is a large market in Uganda for sunflower seeds.“
Customers stream in and out of his shop. They greet him with trust in their eyes; a lady carrying a newborn on her back, children in bright uniforms on the way home from school, a farmer passing by on his bicycle.
The seeds are often used for sunflower oil. After extracting the oil, what remains is used as animal feed for cattle and pigs.
Life has not always been easy for Bosco. He has worked his way up from an early age when he dropped out of school due to lack of fees.
“I used to like going to school but my parents couldn’t afford my fees. My parents are crop farmers, producing enough to feed the family but not much more.”
Bosco made 1,500,000 UGX (£300) from his first year producing sunflower seeds. He used it as capital to open his shop. But his ambition doesn’t stop there.
“Next I hope to open another branch and employ people to run it. We can even reach markets outside of Uganda.“
“With the money I have made I have built a small house with two rooms and bought a motorcycle. In the future, I want to grow my sunflower seed business and dream of becoming a landlord, constructing houses that people rent from me.“
Bosco inside his shop.
Bosco meeting Miriam, a Restless Development staff member who trains young people like Bosco to be entrepreneurs.
