< Charles Tjatindi
In 2017, agripreneur Florence Handura’s life came to a virtual standstill; she lost her mother who was a great source of inspiration and guidance for her. In addition, she had to wade through other forms of personal adversities the same year, which derailed her focus for a while.
Handura however managed to gather the shattered pieces of her life together and decided to face her challenges head-on. For starters, this meant quitting her sales position at a meat retailing company she has been working for. She had worked for seven years at the company before deciding to go solo in late 2017, as she attempted to rebuild her life – and career as an agripreneur.
She has firmly established herself as a farmer at Okatjoruu in rural Otjozondjupa region, where she tries her hand at Persian sheep farming as well as with various breeds of goats. Chicken farming – mostly layers – has also been a primary farming mode for Handura. Realising the agriculture potential of her home village, Handura founded the Oruharui Mini Expo, which brings together various players in the agriculture industry for a showdown in the various prize categories up for grabs.
The expo, according to Handura, was founded with the aim of bridging the gap between buyers and sellers in the agriculture industry in the area and to also boost the local economy of Okotjituuo, under which Okatjoruu falls. Another aim of the mini expo is to get young people off the streets and instead encourage them to turn to agri-business as a means to put bread on the table.
Handura said agriculture is one industry that could turn things around economically for Namibians, given the current rise in the cost of living. “We need to start thinking out of the box now and see how we can use agriculture to our advantage. For example, if you have slaughtered a sheep in the village, perhaps it would be wise to preserve its fat and use it for cooking to replace cooking oil. We are facing tough times, so we need to be innovative,” she said.
Today, Handura has managed to successfully groom herself and make her mark as an entrepreneur, focusing on various types of farming modes. Part of her farming related businesses is to dress farmers through the design and tailoring of the popular ‘farmers’ shirts, shorts and pants. But what appears to have set her apart from others in the same field is the making of her own brand of chilli sauce called ‘Ondungu Sauce’, which has been selling like hot cakes since she discovered the recipe in 2018.
What started out as a mere test for the market ended up being one of the biggest success stories for the budding business woman and farmer, as Ondungu sauce demand began to peak.
“I started this simply to use for my customers who were buying at my home traditional kitchen in Windhoek. I never realised that people loved it. I just saw people asking to buy it and that’s when I realised its market potential,” she said.
Her love for farming led her to travel to South Africa in 2019 to engage fellow farmers on various aspects of farming, and also to explore areas of mutual cooperation.
The result of the trip was a contract for the supply of Ondungu sauce to some outlet in Kuruman, South Africa, as well as other surrounding towns. “The South Africans love the sauce. They use it with pap, which is something I only learn from them. That trip really opened my eyes and gave me a completely new insight on how I could further promote Ondungu Sauce to reach even more people,” she said.
Ondungu Sauce is currently being sold in Botswana, UK, Canada and USA, while some smaller shipments do find their way in Zimbabwe and Zambia.
To grow her enterprise, Handura is currently experimenting with planting her own chilli, so as to cut back on the costs of raw materials for the making of Ondungu Sauce.
“I want to intensify the planting of my own chilli, as it is a prime product for Ondungu Sauce. Having my own chilli will greatly cut back on the cost of producing the sauce,” she said.