Final Year Student Odur Emmanuel Starts Co-operative to Improve his Community

There are a group of students who have found it not necessary to come out of campus and begin looking for jobs. They have taken it upon themselves to start small businesses that they can see grow to bigger and better businesses. These students are who we are calling Student Entrepreneurs.

In this second episode of the Student Entrepreneurs, we meet Odur Emmanuel a final year Diploma Of Business Administration (DBA) Student at MUBS Regional Campus Mbarara. He is the CEO and founder of Anywalonino Earthworm Farmers Co-operative Society Limited which is an agribusiness village model association. Odur has managed to channel his vast knowledge in vermiculture and bio technology into starting this enterprise.

Odur Emmanuel – Board Chairman AEFCS Ltd 

Vermiculture is the genetic breeding and multiplication of red worm species. His village model aims to breed these red worms for manufacture of poultry, piggery and fish feeds. They also train bottle gardening.

Odur had gathered a lot of knowledge and experience in the fields of molecular biology, crop science and Bio Technology. He got this from his experience working as a senior Biogas Technician with CrestTanks ltd and also his participation in research projects organized by National Water & Sewerage Corporation.  He also did his own personal research on how to feed earthworms using local natural bio resources (tomatoes, household garbage) and harvesting them to make poultry and fish feeds.

By 2017 Odur had accumulated a lot of knowledge on the subject of vermiculture and its advantages, however he needed to get a right way to channel this knowledge into a business opportunity. The advice from a friend to join MUBS at their Regional Campus in Mbarara where he was currently working would turn out to be a golden decision.

“At the end of 2017, I knew I had the knowledge but it was not being used properly. So a friend of mine advised me to join MUBS because it would help me put all the ideas I have to business. That is when I decided to apply to MUBS to do a short program in Diploma in Business Administration and it has worked for the better. I have learnt from school Principles of Management that is why I am able to manage our co-operative effectively. We have all the financial books of accounts in order and we have streamlined everything to how a modern co-operative should run.”

Mr Odur Emmanuel with one of the earth worm farmers  explaining earth worm generating breeding process

In 2019, Anywalonino Earthworm Farmers Co-operative Society Limited (AEFCS Ltd) was incorporated with Lira District Commercial Office and Ministry of trade and Industry. And on 16^th of January 2020, it launched its first finished product of poultry and fish feeds ready for the market.

The goal of his Co-operative is to provide nutritious protein rich feeds for animals being kept for domestic and commercial use.  Their Vision is to be the leading producer of poultry and fish feeds and products in Uganda as a whole. As well as promote advances in agricultural science innovations at grass root level by 2050.

“We are already on the move to make money but from the village area and we are nurturing bio science at the village level. People know science to be developed from research stations, but we are harboring research at the grass root level. We are breeding indigenous micro organism, we are making pesticides from urine. So we have a lot of Bio Innovations”

The benefits of this innovation to his community so far:-

 “Our co-operative is composed of more than 200 village women. Most of them have not had access to education and cannot mention two or three words in English. But our project’s inclusive strategy is trying to uplift women from the base of the pyramid to an economic status where they can survive for themselves. We also supporting them through training them about bottle gardening.”

Poultry Feeds manufactured by AEFCS Ltd from earthworms 

Nutritious appetite boosters for animals manufactured by AEFCS Ltd

Advise to the Young people

“Do not allow Uganda to grow without you that cannot be called development. The country can only be developed when you are part of that development. We are in the information age where we have access to information more than our fathers. We can do better things.”

For more information about this project or any business opportunities reach out to Odur Emmanuel on:

Tel: 0777594984

Email: wormvillage96@gmail.com

Website: https://anywaloninoworms.blogspot.com/

Anywalonino Earthworm Farmers Co-operative Society Ltd logo

Members of AEFCS Ltd who are benefiting from this project

Speaker of Lira Municipal council  Hon Geoffrey Ogwal during launch of
AEFCS Ltd in January 2020