Two years ago, four women from different walks of life wanted to do something that would see the village woman improve her health and lifestyle as well as that of the people in their community using the easiest means at their disposal.

Being that Ankole has a lot of cattle, the women including Joy Rwamahe, Edith Isharaza, Betty Muganwa Kajuga, and Joviah Rwebikoomi looked at how they could use milk gathered from cattle in their homes to improve lives. “We had no ready money for capital but we realised we could raise it easily and quicker if we formed an association,” says Isharaza.

Thus they paid Shs1,000 as membership fee and Shs15,000 as monthly subscription fees to Kashaka Women Entrepreneurs -the association that united them.

On their first day of production, they bought 20 litres of milk, 2kgs of sugar and firewood. They borrowed saucepans and milk cans from where they could produce yoghurt.

They sold their first product to the locals and made profit of about Shs17,000. The first release attracted demand from the community which they struggled to satisfy. They would sell a glass of yoghurt at Shs600. Because the women had nowhere to cook from, they secured a place under a tree near the dairy plant in Kashaka Trading Centre.

Two years ago, four women from different walks of life wanted to do something that would see the village woman improve her health and lifestyle as well as that of the people in their community using the easiest means at their disposal.

Being that Ankole has a lot of cattle, the women including Joy Rwamahe, Edith Isharaza, Betty Muganwa Kajuga, and Joviah Rwebikoomi looked at how they could use milk gathered from cattle in their homes to improve lives. “We had no ready money for capital but we realised we could raise it easily and quicker if we formed an association,” says Isharaza.

Thus they paid Shs1,000 as membership fee and Shs15,000 as monthly subscription fees to Kashaka Women Entrepreneurs -the association that united them.

On their first day of production, they bought 20 litres of milk, 2kgs of sugar and firewood. They borrowed saucepans and milk cans from where they could produce yoghurt.

They sold their first product to the locals and made profit of about Shs17,000. The first release attracted demand from the community which they struggled to satisfy. They would sell a glass of yoghurt at Shs600. Because the women had nowhere to cook from, they secured a place under a tree near the dairy plant in Kashaka Trading Centre.

In November 2015, the association got connected to Yoba for Life Foundation, an organisation that promotes good health and economic development in communities in Africa.

One of the NGO’s priorities is training communities in making yoghurt. And so this came in handy for Kashaka Women Entrepreneurs, a move that saw them get reasonable value for their product. The group has since then capitalised on having their product improved despite daily challenges.