Then came Patrick Mutahi Muthoni, a former Nyeri county assembly member who saw value in the fruit nobody wanted. In 2024, he founded Mukurwe-ini Oil Enterprises, which collects avocados rejected by exporters because of size, dents or other cosmetic flaws. Instead of letting the fruit spoil, the company dries it in a solar dryer and processes it into oil. According to Kalro, about 4kg of avocado yield one litre.
The oil is also blended with sunflower and castor oils into a pain relief product that sells for Sh1,200 a bottle, up from Sh800 for plain oil.
The change is showing up in farmers’ pockets. Wanjohi now earns Sh20 a kilogram for off-grade fruit, with premium varieties like Fuerte fetching up to Sh40, helping pay school fees for his children. He has even found a new income stream in castor seeds, once dismissed as a weed.
Backed by the AYuTe Africa Challenge Kenya, the enterprise works with about 150 farmers and aims to reach more than 1,000 by 2027.
This story was initially publish here:
https://www.the-star.co.ke/