It is safe to say that the majority of teenagers
don’t spend much time figuring out how to scale a
business or mulling over ideas to uplift their
communities.
However, Laetitia Mukungu is not your average 17-
year-old. At the age of 14, her passion for agriculture
and education drove her to start the Women’s Rabbit
Association in the remote village of Bukura in Kenya.
Mukungu launched the rabbit breeding project to
support local women in the village. Each of the
women who work on the rabbit farm receive a small
salary and free farming inputs such as seeds. The
project also supports their children’s education with
school uniforms and stationery.
To get the project off the ground, she convinced a
local school to invest KSh. 40,000 (US$460) to help
purchase the first set of rabbits.
According to Mukungu there is a growing demand for
rabbit meat in Kenya, especially from hotels and
restaurants in Nairobi. Kenya’s capital is currently
experiencing significant growth in the hospitality
industry, fuelled by a rising local middle class and
strong foreign investor interest. Rabbit is generally
considered to be a healthy source of protein that has
lower levels of cholesterol than many other meats.
Rabbits have a short gestation period of a month
and can produce dozens of kittens a year. Mukungu
says rabbits are also relatively cheap to raise due to
the fact that they eat grass which is readily available
in the village.
Another benefit is that almost every part of the
rabbit has value. “In addition to the meat, the fur
can be used to make winter clothing, the manure as
fertiliser, and the rabbits’ urine can be used as an
organic pesticide. So I thought rabbits are a better
animal to rear as opposed to chickens or cows, like
most of the people in my village do.”
Growing the business
Last year Mukungu was one of the 12 finalists in the
Anzisha Prize , a youth entrepreneurship competition.
The prize opened a lot of doors for her and she has
since been invited to speak at a number of
international conferences. “It had granted me a bit
of media attention, and it has enabled me to get
funding for my project.”
Mukungu is currently a final year student at the
African Leadership Academy in South Africa. While
she is away two managers and her mother are
looking after the rabbit farm. She says the women
also have an interest in keeping the project afloat.
“They will do everything to ensure that it keeps
running, because if it goes down they will be the
ones affected. So I make them part of the project.”
Mukungu is actively looking at expanding her
business. She says local producers cannot keep up
with the demand for rabbit meat.
To boost production, Mukungu is planning to offer
the women three months of training, allowing them
to start their own micro rabbit farms. They would be
expected to sell their animals back to the Women’s
Rabbit Association. This will not only allow Mukungu
to increase her own profits, but also further empower
the women. Future plans could also include setting
up an abattoir.
Next year Mukungu expects to start her tertiary
education. “I really have a passion for agriculture,
and would love to study agricultural engineering. I
have already applied and hope to get into the EARTH
University in Costa Rica – one of the best agricultural
universities in world. My plan is to study there and
come back to Africa,” says Mukungu.
The Anzisha Prize is the premier award for African
entrepreneurs aged 15-22 who have developed and
implemented innovative businesses or solutions
that have a positive impact on their communities.
Follow the Anzisha Prize on Twitter, Facebook and
YouTube .
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