Meet Lira wine maker
WHEN Fabio Ojuka ‘discovered’ fermenting passion fruit into wine, back in 2000, he had no idea that he would become a household name in Lango.
By Charles Opolot in Lira
WHEN Fabio Ojuka ‘discovered’ fermenting passion fruit into wine, back in 2000, he had no idea that he would become a household name in Lango.
Out of curiosity and economic hardships, Ojuka had to think out the most creative way of surviving beyond selling salt and passion fruit juice on Lira town streets.
“One day, I did not sell all the juice. I kept it overnight. I think because of sugar, it started smelling like wine. It tasted nice and I started experimenting further,†said Ojuka.
“When I remembered the story of Jesus turning water into wine during a wedding in Cana, I got encouraged to carry on with this experiment with my wife Evalyn. Of course ours was not for a wedding but survival,†said a smiling Ojuka.
While it is true that the Sumerians, who lived about 6,000 years ago in the old Mesopotamia, were the first people to start brewing, Ojuka may as well claim that accolade as the first to ‘brew and pack’ wine in Lira.
When Ojuka ‘discovered’ the “divine drink,†he was surprised to know that his customers preferred fermented drink to the fresh passion fruit, because it left them feeling ‘high.’
Ojuka started storing the juice in small jerrycans for extra days, the mood-altering properties that emerged out of this stored and fermented juice reminded especially those who had received holy communion in church of the divine taste of wine. People liked it.
That day when the passion juice remained unsold has been a turning point in Ojuka’s entrepreneurship adventures, which according to him is now paying dividend.
He has built three permanent houses, bought a pick-up truck and is able to live a comfortable life out of his wine brewing.
With the help of friends and experts from Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), Ojuka feels the sky is the limit.
He has already received three certificates of quality assurance from UNBS. He is now gunning for ISO certification. His wine has an alcohol content of 12%.
Located in Amuca, Ojwina Division in Lira Municipality, Ojuka and Evalyn have constructed two medium-sized permanent houses, one for brewing and the other for packaging and storing wine.
He started packaging his Fab Wine (trade mark) into bottles in September 2005. His customers are spread across northern, eastern Uganda and southern Sudan. He would have wanted to use glass bottles but Ojuka fears that this would push the price beyond reach of his loyal customers.
The Fab Wine is already popular with women and youth in northern Uganda who prefer drinking it before and after a meal at sh700 per bottle.
Like any other Ugandan businessman, Ojok has problems. He has no adequate capital to explore further research and acquire modern machinery.
For now, Ojuka employs family members to do the work. He squeezes the juice concentrate from passion fruit manually. The pineapples and oranges are another potential source for wine production but their extraction is more complicated manually.
“I wish to expand the business but I am incapacitated by capital. I have the capacity to be a big investor but I do not want to get involved with loans from commercial banks. Their interest rates are too high. They are punitive and inhumane with small investors,†said Okuja.
He has appealed to the Government and other agencies involved in promoting entrepreneurs to come to his rescue.
Ends
WHEN Fabio Ojuka ‘discovered’ fermenting passion fruit into wine, back in 2000, he had no idea that he would become a household name in Lango.
Out of curiosity and economic hardships, Ojuka had to think out the most creative way of surviving beyond selling salt and passion fruit juice on Lira town streets.
“One day, I did not sell all the juice. I kept it overnight. I think because of sugar, it started smelling like wine. It tasted nice and I started experimenting further,†said Ojuka.
“When I remembered the story of Jesus turning water into wine during a wedding in Cana, I got encouraged to carry on with this experiment with my wife Evalyn. Of course ours was not for a wedding but survival,†said a smiling Ojuka.
While it is true that the Sumerians, who lived about 6,000 years ago in the old Mesopotamia, were the first people to start brewing, Ojuka may as well claim that accolade as the first to ‘brew and pack’ wine in Lira.
When Ojuka ‘discovered’ the “divine drink,†he was surprised to know that his customers preferred fermented drink to the fresh passion fruit, because it left them feeling ‘high.’
Ojuka started storing the juice in small jerrycans for extra days, the mood-altering properties that emerged out of this stored and fermented juice reminded especially those who had received holy communion in church of the divine taste of wine. People liked it.
That day when the passion juice remained unsold has been a turning point in Ojuka’s entrepreneurship adventures, which according to him is now paying dividend.
He has built three permanent houses, bought a pick-up truck and is able to live a comfortable life out of his wine brewing.
With the help of friends and experts from Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), Ojuka feels the sky is the limit.
He has already received three certificates of quality assurance from UNBS. He is now gunning for ISO certification. His wine has an alcohol content of 12%.
Located in Amuca, Ojwina Division in Lira Municipality, Ojuka and Evalyn have constructed two medium-sized permanent houses, one for brewing and the other for packaging and storing wine.
He started packaging his Fab Wine (trade mark) into bottles in September 2005. His customers are spread across northern, eastern Uganda and southern Sudan. He would have wanted to use glass bottles but Ojuka fears that this would push the price beyond reach of his loyal customers.
The Fab Wine is already popular with women and youth in northern Uganda who prefer drinking it before and after a meal at sh700 per bottle.
Like any other Ugandan businessman, Ojok has problems. He has no adequate capital to explore further research and acquire modern machinery.
For now, Ojuka employs family members to do the work. He squeezes the juice concentrate from passion fruit manually. The pineapples and oranges are another potential source for wine production but their extraction is more complicated manually.
“I wish to expand the business but I am incapacitated by capital. I have the capacity to be a big investor but I do not want to get involved with loans from commercial banks. Their interest rates are too high. They are punitive and inhumane with small investors,†said Okuja.
He has appealed to the Government and other agencies involved in promoting entrepreneurs to come to his rescue.
Ends