I was heartbroken when my daughters moved away
DAMARIS’ STORY Kenya “If we hadn’t been poor our daughters wouldn’t have married early,” reflects Damaris Oloo. A small-scale farmer in Homa Bay, western Kenya, Damaris recalls that food was scarce, they had no beds to sleep on, and she simply couldn’t provide for her family on their one-acre farm. “I was heartbroken when my daughters moved away, but they had the chance of a better life if they married.” Damaris is now a successful cassava producer, and has rented land on which she grows nine acres of the crop. She makes most of her income selling cassava cuttings, and by doing so is helping hundreds of others across her district to grow cassava. “Self Help Africa has made cassava a commercial crop in this region. There are millers and others who process tubers, and you can earn a good living from it,” she says.
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