EX-UB SCHOLAR VENTURES INTO MORULA OIL BUSINESS
What started as a research assignment for former University of Botswana (UB) lecturer, Dr Georgia Duerst- Lahri culminated into an employment generating enterprise that today has a number of people in its staff.
The cherry on top is that it is geared at empowering women.
It was during of one of Duerst-Lahri researches at the UB on the effect of local cooperatives and harvest opportunities when she got inspired by the determination that the women had and the difference they were making in the communities they lived.
The ex-scholar said she then quit her job and decided to venture into the manufacturing industry with the aim of empowering these women by buying their products and creating employment for some of them.
“My children used to suffer from allergies from processed foods, so I was really keen about doing business that is organic,” DuerstLahri explained. “I utilise the morula fruits which is abundant in the country, the tree’s fruits can either be eaten fresh, fermented while the kernels can be extracted to make oil. I decided to extract morula and produce oil.” Through her company DLG Naturals, she produces morula oil, seed cakes, morula pulp products and morula products. Morula oil is high in antioxidants, essential fatty acids and amino acid and is widely used as an ingredient in skin products.
This is an echo from the past when people lived on abundant indigenous fruit- bearing species like moretlwa, mogabala, mmilo, moretologa, and morula that they preferred eating fresh and throwing away kernels which can be extracted to make oil.
Her clientele consists of local manufacturers including Fro Girls, Shedol, Nubian Seed and Mango Craft, amongst others. DLG Naturals also serve international markets in Czech Republic and United States of America. “We do have contacts with some of our suppliers, especially those who are outside the country. The demand for organic oil keeps growing and we are looking for some local investors to expand and increase capacity,” she said. With about 28 employees, she said they produce 1.2 tonnes of oil within a month with plans to expand as the business grows.
As part of her empowerment drive, DuerstLahri said she gets her raw morula from Machaneng and other places in the eastern parts of the country.
“I believe in women empowerment and I am currently in the process of starting dry fruit business with a local who is very passionate and she will be in charge of that side of the business,” she added.
Additionally, she has forged partnerships with both the Botswana International University of Science and Technology and Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources where they are exploring ways of transforming morula shells into charcoal and manufacturing fertilisers.