Growing up in a village in Namibia, Diana Nakuumba's daily chores included herding livestock, toiling in the fields, and pounding the staple mahangu, among others.
But as you wander around the vast fields and salty pans, snacking on different wild fruits and berries is a must, depending on the season.
Among the fruits is the popular bird plum, known as eembe,/oombe in Oshiwambo dialects.
This indigenous wild fruit has been and remains a delicacy in Namibia, especially in the northern regions where it is consumed fresh or dried.
It is also found in abundance in South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Sudan, Ethiopia Botswana, and Angola.
Until recently, the Aawambo did not have any other ways of consuming the eembe apart from as a snack mostly during dry or drought seasons (okwenye).
The furthest they have gone is crushing the berries with a pestle, sieving the finer sweet powder and mixing it with mahangu flour to produce a traditional candy called oshinkhandemba.
In the midst of all this, Diana Nakuumba, a passionate local entrepreneur, saw a business opportunity and she now makes fruit jam from the eembe, something that has brought a new meaning and perspective on how locals
A customized collection of grant news from foundations and the federal government from around the Web.
In the world of social enterprises, failure is a cringe-worthy moment nobody wants to talk about. But, social entrepreneurs can benefit from their failures.