For 25-year-old Flavia, onions are a business. The mother of three earns a living selling the vegetables that she grows in a small plot at her home in
the far north west of Uganda.

Flavia Dritchelo is a member of a horticultural group being supported and trained by Self Help Africa in Otukaliri village. She is amongst 3,000 young people involved in an enterprise development project that aims to create meaningful employment for young adults in this part of rural Uganda. With the income that she earns, Flavia began saving with a village-based savings group, last year.

“I save 5,000 shillings every week. At present, I have 215,000 shillings in savings,” she says. She has also invested in livestock, and now has five goats, three sheep and two pigs that she is rearing.

Members of the Otukaliri Enterprise Group grow different vegetable crops for sale, while also organising the transport and sale of their produce.

“We sell to hotels and restaurants nearby, and also to markets across the border in Congo and South Sudan,” Flavia says. “A few members are responsible for finding markets, while two of our members transport our produce to the market,” she explains.

A total of 30 similar enterprise groups have been created across the district, with members involved in a wide range of agri-business activities including fruit and vegetable production, processing, livestock rearing and crafts.