Earn from homemade jam

Fruit pulp being boiled to make jam. Jams are usually made from pulp and juice of one fruit, rather than a combination of several fruits. PHOTO BY ABUBAKER LUBOWA

What you need to know:

You can turn your cooking hobby into a money-making venture by making homemade jam, Dorothy Nakaweesi writes.

As life gets tough economically, you can no longer survive on your pay cheque alone. This is where a side income-generating activity comes in handy.
Have you thought about being enterprising in your kitchen? You could follow a new recipe to surprise your family once in a while.

With passion, you can turn your daily cooking adventures into income generating avenues.
This article elaborates on how you can start making homemade jam and earn an extra income.
Ideally, jam is a product made of whole fruit cut into pieces or crushed, then heated with water and sugar to activate its pectin before being put into containers. Jams are usually made from pulp and juice of one fruit, rather than a combination of several fruits.

Experts say, starting a homemade jam business is actually very profitable and healthier compared to other substitutes which have inorganic preservatives and food color.
Mr Newton Buteraba, the chief executive officer House of Wealth – a local firm offering business advisory services, in an interview with Prosper Magazine, said: “Starting a homemade jam business is easy. You can easily learn how to make it by yourself following Youtube tutorials.”

He adds that to quickly make a break even, make use of your network of friends and family.

Start
Just like any other start up business, you need to first identify your source of raw materials. Uganda is a blessed country with a variety of fruits blooming including mangoes, pineapples, oranges and tangerines to mention but a few.
“Know where and when some of these fruits are in season to be sure of your steady and continuous supply,” Buteraba said.

Know-how
Ms Carol Twambazemungu a director of ‘Women Youth and Empowerment Organisation’ (WYEO)-whose main objective is to train and empower people in several skills such as homemade jam, scented candles and shaggy mats, in an interview with Prosper Magazine, said: “Homemade jam is an easy business because it is not stressful and you can do it as a family.”
Sharing the process jam- making process, Twambazemungu says ideally six medium-size mangoes are grated or blended. Then the concentrate is boiled. While this concentrate is still boiling add the other ingredients including; 250 grams of sugar, three table spoons of honey and some lemon juice. Let the concentrate boil for some time.

Then remove the concentrate and let it cool. After, you can start packing the jam in the tins. This concentrate can give you three 250mls tins.
“If each tin is priced at Shs8,000, you will be assured of your Shs3,000 in profits,” she explains.
Twambazemungu says on average, one can make about 40 to 250mls tins of jam.
If on each tin one can get Shs3,000 in profits, it means at that if you process the jam three-days in a week, this will give you 120 tins.

The 120 tins of jam will bring you a weekly income of Shs360,000 and this will translate into a monthly Shs1.4 million profit. Eventually, if all goes well at the end of the year, you will be Shs17.2 million richer.

Tips
It is advisable to start with one fruity jam and gradually introduce the other types of fruits where you make samples and give some of your customers to taste.