A Wild Fruit That Could Make You Up To Ksh. 750,000 Worth Of Profits

If you are looking for an investment that does not require heavy capital or a big workforce, then you should definitely try Cape Gooseberry farming.

Cape Gooseberries are regarded as wild fruits. The name Cape Gooseberry may not be familiar to many of us, but the fruit is certainly one that many will remember from their childhood days. Speakers of the Kikuyu language know it as Nathi while Luos call it Nyamtonglo. The Kisii call the fruit Chinsobosobo, the Kamba Ngondu and the Luhyas Maengo.

The yellow-orange fruit with tiny seeds tucked in the flesh are believed to grow on their own in bushy areas or in the forest. Cape gooseberry is among the 100 crops selected for commercialization in Kenya’s Big 4 Agenda.

Gooseberries farming can not only earn you a lucrative income of up to Ksh. 750,000 in an acre, but also is among the easiest fruits to grow. The farmer should prepare holes dug to a depth of 1.5ft depth and 1.5ft wide and manure placed inside. Seedlings are then planted in a spacing of 1.5m by 1.0m from one plant to the other; and 2500 seedlings required per acre of planting. The plant adapts well in many areas but moist soil is required all the time.

It takes 14-16 weeks from planting to harvesting, and are harvested for four consecutive months. When you start noticing the outer shells start drying, it is an indication that they are fully ripe and ready to harvest. Ripe fruits are yellow in color and are handpicked. Gooseberries can be packaged and sold as dried, fresh or as juice. 500g of dried gooseberries retail at a price of ksh.800 while a litre of juice goes for about ksh.350.

What do you call Cape Gooseberries in your mother tongue? Bring back the childhood memories of the fruit by turning it into a profit making venture.