Terence Mukasa

Janet Muwana has pounced on the abundance of mangoes in her hometown of Katima Mulilo to make Namibians in other towns, as far as Swakopmund, enjoy the sweet tropical fruit.

Mangoes grow in almost every yard in the north eastern town of the Zambezi region and is a popular summer fruit all over Namibia.

Muwana is reaping the rewards of a niche she has carved out for herself. In recent years the ban on transporting the area’s mangoes put a dampener on the market and a large quantity went unharvested.

Most of her time during the festive season was spent harvesting and buying from house to house in Katima Mulilo and nearby villages and applying for the permits. She sends the mangoes she buy from the locals to sellers on the street markets of Katima Mulilo, Otavi and businesses and individuals in Swakopmund. 

Even though the rains in the region were delayed, some households supplied a steady supply of mangoes to Muwana.

Muwana told New Era that she normally travels to small villages around the town to buy the mangoes, which she then resells in bulk.

“I normally look for houses that have mango trees, I offer them N$250 for a full 70kg bag which I then assort in different sized carrier bags,” said Muwana.

She said that her mangoes are always transported to Otavi, Swakopmund and Windhoek where people buy in bulk.

She travels to the villages with the piece labourers to help harvest the mangoes for her; they also assist in packing and loading on the trucks because the bags are too heavy for her.

“Most of my customers always want to buy in large quantities, I pack the mangoes in 70kg carrier bags which I sell,” she said.

Besides selling the mangoes in different towns, Muwana struggles with the transportation of the goods from Katima Mulilo to her customers.

She said finding reliable transport is difficult because “I do not accompany my goods, I often have people in other towns that receive and do distributions for me”.

In the month of December, Muwana made a healthy profit, which she ploughed back into her mango business.

During the mango off-season, Muwana sells other fruits and vegetables that are grown during that time.

She harvests and sells groundnuts, sweet potatoes, sugar cane and mopani worms during its season.