“After the training, the process of starting my business was challenging but exciting. I had to allocate the capital I had been saving wisely. I chose to construct a kitchen at the back of my house rather than rent out a shop in town. As I could not afford brand new baking items, I hired a local craftsman to custom make my baking trays, cutters, and clay kiln,” Kamal remembers.
In February 2019 Kamal started his bakery business and soon recognised a market niche. “My competitors only supplied baked goods to the different Kakuma camps, excluding Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement which accommodates both the host community and refugees. I marketed myself within the settlement, and today, I supply about seven buckets of baked varieties a day. My best-seller is the queen cake followed by tea scones. With demand and production steadily increasing, I hired a helper.”
Each bucket retails at CHF 10, leaving Kamal’s net profit a week at CHF 25. Kamal begins baking every evening from 7 p.m. throughout the night. After supplying to his wholesale clients in the wee hours of the morning, he retires to bed for a few hours before resuming baking again.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has not directly impacted my business. People still buy cakes and scones. I hope to eventually complete my primary education, enrol into secondary and eventually college. I also hope to save enough money to invest in a charcoal oven.”
Ingredients for approximately 30 scones:
- Preheat the oven. |
- Mix the cooking oil with the sugar. |
- Add the eggs to the mixture. |
- Add vanilla extract and mix well. |
- Pour in the flour, baking powder and the powdered milk. |
- Knead the mixture well with clean hands. |
- Divide the dough into quarters, then roll it out. |
- Use a cutter to shape the tea scones. |
- Place the cut pieces onto a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes in a clay kiln. |
- Serve the scones with a hot beverage of your choice. |