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Selling Sugar Cane in Ethiopia

May 27, 2012 by The Runaway Guide 12 Comments

For those of you who know me, you know that I love sugar cane. I often refer to it as milk direct from God’s teet. It is sweet but not overly sweet. By some divine chemistry, the juice is both frothy and smooth at the same time. It has an earthy taste that you never knew you needed until you try it. And once you try it, it’s all over. You’re hooked and hooked for life.

Now that I have finished my sugar cane rant, it is time to tell you about the sugar cane business I got started in Ethiopia. If you are tired of reading you can just skip down to the video, but stay here for a little more background info of the business.

So, basically, as you now know, I love sugar cane, I can’t stress it enough. However, the problem in Ethiopia is that they only sell sugar cane raw. What this means is, unless you have a sharp knife on you, you are forced to gnaw at the cane until you’re bleeding from the gums.

And so, I ended up doing this more times than I can count.

“If only they would cut up the sugar cane in bit size pieces, put it in plastic bags and sell it like that. How hard could that be?” I thought, as I ran my tongue over my sugar cane wounds.

“Westerners love sugar cane, but no tourist is going to buy it here if it means they risk losing a tooth or bleeding from the gums,” I realized.

That’s when it hit me.

On the way to Lalibella, a village host to 13 holy churches carved from stone, our mini bus stopped to buy sugar cane. I had a feeling that since Lalibella is located at a high altitude that sugar cane would not be grown there, so I bought three bundles, around 24 foot long sticks, for 4 Birr, that’s under fifty cents. When I arrived in Lalibella, my presumption was confirmed by much higher sugar cane prices. If I had just sold the sugar cane raw right then and there I would have doubled my money. But that was not my plan.

My plan was to introduce cut and packaged sugar cane to the tourist filled village of Lalibella. And that was exactly what I did. I cut up the sugar cane, put it in clear air tight plastic bags, and hit the market. Needless to say, the locals thought I was completely nuts and so did the foreign tourists. However I stuck at it and managed to sell 5 bags for 10 Birr a bag.

However, the success of the day had little to do with the amount of money I made. The real success was measurable in the number of locals who approached me and appreciated my introducing the idea to the town. And through the 13 year old entrepreneur who recognized the potential of selling clean cut sugar cane to tourists, and became my intern.

It is my hope that that kid keeps it up and is profiting well, and that the next time I am in Lalibella, I can buy fresh, clean, bit size sugar cane from him.

This business venture was made possible by Lotus Honolulu.

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  • Business For Backpackers: Drugs, Jewelry, & FruitBusiness For Backpackers: Drugs, Jewelry, & Fruit
  • Escaping EthiopiaEscaping Ethiopia
  • Kids of EthiopiaKids of Ethiopia

Filed Under: Runaway's Blog Tagged: africa, business, ethiopia, Leif

Let Me Know What You Think!

  1. efrutik says

    September 25, 2012 at 7:16 pm

    Fantastic !!!!!! Next time I am in Ethiopia, I will go to Lalibela and will be on the look out if this worked and the business venture took off in ET! It’s great that you kept so positive and your Amharic was rather good, hihi!

    Reply
    • The Runaway Guide says

      October 1, 2012 at 2:23 pm

      Yea, you definitely should. It’s super cool. I love doing social enterprise kind of things. Thanks!

      Reply
  2. Audrey | That Backpacker says

    June 27, 2012 at 9:14 pm

    Haha, love your enthusiasm at the market! :D Sounds like a nice new business venture for the locals.

    Reply
    • The Runaway Guide says

      August 10, 2012 at 10:32 pm

      Thanks Audrey, I hope it will be.

      Reply
  3. Raymond @ Man On The Lam says

    June 3, 2012 at 11:12 pm

    You my friend, have got cajones! This is awesome!! Great idea, and I hope it catches on!

    Reply
    • The Runaway Guide says

      August 10, 2012 at 11:05 pm

      Hahah, cheers Raymond. I hope so too! Thanks for all the referrals, I will definitely be sending more your way as things pick up over the next month.

      Reply
  4. Ian Robinson says

    May 28, 2012 at 11:52 am

    This is fantastic. You’ve got guts to set up shop in an area like that. It’s fantastic that you are inspiring people to get creative too. Good on you!

    Reply
    • The Runaway Guide says

      August 10, 2012 at 11:06 pm

      Thanks dude! It was intense but well worth it.

      Reply
  5. Joy says

    May 27, 2012 at 6:22 pm

    i love it! i hope it catches on and brings some income to the beautiful people of Lalibella.

    Reply
    • The Runaway Guide says

      May 27, 2012 at 6:33 pm

      Me too! Glad you like the idea! I love those Ethiopian kids.

      Reply
  6. Victoria says

    May 27, 2012 at 5:50 pm

    Haha that video is so funny, love it when you turn the camera around and they’re just looking at you like WTF?

    Reply
    • The Runaway Guide says

      May 27, 2012 at 6:37 pm

      hahaha, I know. They were really amused/stunned. They did that all day.

      Reply

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Who Is The Runaway Guide?

When I was 16 I ran away from home and traveled the world with nothing but the clothes on my back. Over 10 years later and I'm still "on the run," surviving in style, thriving off adventure, searching for that elusive road to enlightenment, and cultivating the life of travel that I want to live. More...

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