Positive Alternatives to migration
Is migration really the best option for you to make a successful living? It can be a good choice, but there are also many things you can do at home to make a living and stay connected to your community and culture.
I. PURSUING A CAREER
One thing you can do is continue your education and build up a career. Of course, choosing what to study can be difficult.
Looking at the graph, does any of these fields seem like they could be a good fit with your skills and interests? Follow the arrows in the diagram below to get more information about that career.
Looking at the graph, does any of these fields seem like they could be a good fit with your skills and interests? Follow the arrows in the diagram below to get more information about that career.
more information when online:
#MMN_FIELD_GUIDE
II. SKILLS
If continuing your education isn’t an option, there are other ways you can earn a good income too. Here are some ideas. All of them require very little capital and can be made by you and sold to others in your community.
1. Baking - Banana bread
Bananas are available in every community, yet aren’t often made into bread. Yet it is so tasty! Use family recipes to bake special things people want to eat. Try baking banana break and selling it at your local market.
Key ingredients
- 2-3 large bananas, or 4 small ones, ideally very ripe
- ½ cup of sugar (=100g)
- 4 tablespoons of butter or margarine (=60g)
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ cup of flour (=190g)
- 1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon baking soda
- Cocoa nibs (optional)
Method of preparing
- Step 1: Preheat oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit / 160 degrees celsius
- Step 2: Peel the bananas (choose ones that are very ripe) and cut them into small chunks in a large bowl. Use a fork or two knives and blend them into a paste. It is okay if some larger chunks are still visible.
- Step 3: Add ½ cup of sugar to the banana paste and mix them together.
- Step 4: Melt butter and add to bowl. Mix well.
- Step 5: Add one egg and again mix well.
- Step 6: Add flour, salt, and baking soda to the bowl and stir only until all flour has been mixed it.
- Step 7: Pour into a baking dish (any size or shape) and put in the oven.
- Step 8: Bake until it is golden on top and a knife comes out clean if you stick it in the middle. This should be between 35-45 minutes, depending on the shape you bake it in.
This recipe is great as it is, or if you want to try, you could add cocoa nibs in the end or any hard nuts, if available. But this is an optional step.
2. Weaving reed mats and baskets
Straw or reed may be abundant in your area. Speak to people who already know how to weave and you could go into business weaving beautiful straw mats that can be used as door or window curtains. Straw can also be woven into very beautiful baskets. Making and selling baskets can provide a good income.
Weaving Reed Mats
Key materials
- Reed (Ketsi)
- Twine (Rope)
- Coloring products
- Wooden frame for holding the twine
Method of preparation
- Step 1: Wrap twine to the wooden frame/stick.
- Step 2: Weave in the reed (ketsi) and continue weaving it in until it is done.
- Step 3: Remove the mat and it is ready to use.
3. Making local soap
Making soap can be learned and makes a great product to sell. Many of the soaps we use today are made by people in their homes and small shops. You can create a job for yourself by making good soaps.
Making Soap
Key ingredients/materials
- Caustic Soda
- Perfume or essential oils (Faraway/Cynthia)
- Vegetable Oil
- Hardener
Method of preparation
- Step 1: Soak caustic soda in water until it cools.
- Step 2: Then add the oil
- Step 3: Stir for 15 minutes
- Step 4: Add hardener
- Step 5: Add perfume
- Step 6: Wait until it is hard
- Step 7: Put it into a soap box
- Step 8: Cut into any desirable sizes
- Step 9: Use soap after one (1) week
*Use gloves to protect your skin while preparing the soap
4. Farming vegetables
Farming is a good way to earn a living. If you have access to any land, or even just a small plot, give it a try. Buy a small amount of seeds or see if any farmer could share some with you, take advantage of the rains, and cultivate beautiful vegetables to sell.
Vegetable farming
- Find a plot of land to use for farming. For vegetables, it does not need to be large.
- Plan your garden layout: which vegetables do you want to go? Do you have a way of collected water to water the plants?
- Select local varieties that are known to grow well in your area.
- Buy a few seeds, or plantlings, and any other supplies, such as a shovel or rake. Note that after you first clean the plot of land, all vegetable planting and harvesting can be done by hand. So if you do not have any tools, that is okay. Your hands and water are your most important tools.
- Prepare the ground. Pull up any weeds and turn over the soil. You can also work over time to enrich your soil by adding compost.
- Compost is the rich soil that is created when things rot. So you could create a pile where you add any dead plants, grass clippings, and eggshells and let them rot. You need to turn the pile over with a shovel every few weeks. It might take a few months, but eventually it will be full of nutrition and can be added to your soil.
- Plant your seeds. When they are first growing, it is important to water them daily if it isn’t raining.
- Keep down weeds.
- Pay attention and see if there are any pests on the leaves and if so, pick them off.
- Watch the plants grow and create vegetables.
- Harvest and sell vegetables.
- You will also be able to collect seeds from some of your vegetables to then plant those seeds the next year.
- Many herbs, like mint, will come back every year or grow all year long!
5. Juice making (Sobolo / Wonjo)
Natural and simple drinks are very popular at the moment. Making and selling juices can be a good way to earn an income. A delicious and easy to produce juice is Sobolo in Ghana or Wonjo in the Gambia. Of course one can make drinks out of lots of different products.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups dried hibiscus flowers (wonjo leaves)
- 6 cups water
- ¼ cup mint leaves
- 1 cup sugar or to taste
- 1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice (optional)
Producing juices
- Step 1: Rinse the wonjo leaves. Put them in a pot and add the 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Let boil for 8 minutes.
- Step 2: Turn off heat, add the mint leaves and let it sit for 10 minutes for better infusion.
- Step 3: Strain using a strainer.
- Step 4: Add as much or little sugar as desired and stir until it dissolves. You can also skip the sugar if you do not want it to be as sweet. You can also experiment with adding other things, such as a bit of lemon or lime juice or strawberries.
6. Rearing poultry and livestock
Are you eager to do livestock farming? Consider poultry! You only need a small piece of land and a simple roosting shed and you can be ready to be a farmer. An especially good way to get started is to keep a few chickens who can lay eggs and sell the eggs. That way you will also have eggs for your family, which are high in protein and very healthy!
You can also go to the business advisory centre or local government in your area and speak with them. They can advise you on how to get started.
Benefits:
- Easy to care for birds. You just have to protect them from predators, especially at night.
- Easy to collect eggs.
- They do not need a lot of feed compared with larger livestock.
- Eggs are very healthy.