Fourth Business Training 2024: Empowering Families

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Okpehe is a local seasoning of the Idoma people, and other tribes of Nigeria.  No true Idoma food is complete without this much cherished local seasoning. Our grandmother made her living chiefly from making and selling  okpehe.  To keep her legacy we established  the Okpehe Empire to help other women engage in this business.  We teach them the hygienic way of processing okpehe. The project also produces other foods and spices like  ginger, garlic, turmeric 

Camomile Cares has purchased a piece of  farmland in Otukpo, Benue State, Nigeria for organic farming.  Our intention is to make the Okebe women  self reliant in growing and producing food for themselves and their families.  Our farms boast of diverse organic produce such as orchards of palm trees, okphehe trees,  varieties of peppers,  cassava, yams,  maize,  tomatoes, sweet potatoes and  rice. We are able to make reasonable profits off sale of our produce to plough back into our projects.  

We also release some of the ridges to the Okebe women to farm directly crops of their own choices.  They have been growing their own foods for sale as well as for their families.  

We support our participants to start up  cottage  businesses as well as scale up businesses for those already had small businesses.  

We have set up women in the following businesses:

 Bread making

Buying and selling of merchandise

Buns and snacks

Okpehe and other local spices

Fresh fish pepper soup

Akara (fried beans)

Moi moi  (steamed beans)

Okpa (steamed bambara nuts)

Palm olive oil 

Soap making

Sale of tailoring materials 

Sale of food stuff like yams, sweet potatoes,  peanuts, palm oil 

Soap making 

Participants receive regular business training and retraining to assist the  women grow and  make good profits in their businesses.  

We teach beading and other crafts like exotic head ties, and wig making.  of our beneficiaries have acquired one or two skills which  they perfected to commercial levels. 

The okpehe  tree although an economic tree of great value is a much endangered tree because of the  indiscriminate felling for commercial use as timbre.  The Okebe Woman  project has undertaken a mass propagation of the Okpehe tree . This will mitigate the dangers  of extinction of this tree on which the people depend for their food and livelihood.

Here are a few success stories/testimonials of our Okebe women in their own words. 

Endurance 

I have learned how to bake now. I was invited be a school to bake for them. I am grateful for  all I received from Okebe Woman.  My life has changed.

Mercy Adeyi

I appreciate Camomile Cares for recognizing us the widows and the abandoned.  Our weekly meeting of the Okebe Woman has helped many of us in our anxieties and hopelessness.  I learned how to make bread. The business training I received also helped me in my business.  

Juliet Paul 

I thank Camomile Cares for remembering  us and for the baking materials they gave us. I made great profit from the sale of bread. I appreciate our coordinator, Irene Stephens for the way she embraced and accomodated us as her own sisters. 

Felicia Audu

I learned how to make bread.  From there I started making bund. Later I deviated into selling tailoring materials as the price of bread flour became so expensive. I am happy with the progress I have made since discovered Okebe Woman. 

Grace Oondoka

I thank Camomile Cares for remembering the less privileged. I made good profits from the sale of bread. I went into the sale of oils for spiritual use and I also made profit. I have also been helping other  less privileged people  like myself.  

Okpehe 

I used to think and wonder and fall sick from depression.   Since coming to Okebe Woman I have peace now. I am in the okpehe business and it makes me happy.  

Esther Abah

I appreciate the Okebe Woman especially the coming together with people of similar predicament.  I  am happy with the profit I made  and all I am learning.