She pays 0.50 Zambia Kwacha (about $0.02 US) per kilogram to a miller who owns an expeller. The miller charges 1.50 Kwacha per kg if the farmer receives sunflower cake as well or one Kwacha without the cake. On average, the miller makes about 10,000 Kwacha ($440 USD) per month by renting the expeller.
How much does kamuwikeni pay for cooking oil?
The same bag can be processed into 10 litres of cooking oil, which Mrs. Kamuwikeni can sell for 430 Zambia Kwacha (about $19 US). She sells the oil in 750-millilitre bottles for 28 Zambia Kwacha (about $1.25 US). She pays 0.50 Zambia Kwacha (about $0.02 US) per kilogram to a miller who owns an expeller.
How does Mrs kamuwikeni make cooking oil?
Mrs. Kamuwikeni extracts the oil with the expeller, then cleans it by adding water and boiling. After filtering the oil, she bottles it. Mrs Kamuwikeni can sell a 25-kg bag of sunflower for 150 Zambia Kwacha ($6.60 US). Or she can process that bag into 10 litres of cooking oil and sell it for 430 Kwacha ($19 US).
How much does a sunflower cake cost in Zambia?
Another benefit is that she can collect a by-product called sunflower cake and sell this to sunflower cake vendors at 1.20 Zambia Kwacha (about $0.05 US) per kilogram. Each 25-kilogram bag of sunflower gives Mrs. Kamuwikeni 10 kilograms of sunflower cake.