The Wenchi Business Advisory Center in collaboration with the Wenchi Municipal Assembly has organized a training workshop on Cassava/Gari Processing for women at Amponsakrom in the Wenchi Municipality.
The training program was organized as part of the Assembly’s contribution to the Local Economic Development (LED) agenda of the Municipality.
The Wenchi Municipality is one of the large producers of Cassava, hence the need to offer income generating skills to women in this area. The objectives of the training workshop include the following;
To empower trainees to produce good quality and safe Gari for consumption and/or commercialization
To create employment for the beneficiary clients and help alleviate poverty in the area.
To offer participants the opportunity to have a decent livelihood.
At the end of the day a total number of 30 Women participants attended the program. The facilitator Ms Ruth Kubi took the participants.
- Gari Processing Processes
- Sorting, Peeling, Washing and Grating: fresh cassava roots harvested 10-12 months after planting are mostly used for gari. The fresh roots must be healthy without rot and well-handled from farm. It is advisable to stick to a particular variety. Healthy roots are selected from the lot for processing and unwholesome roots discarding in the process known as sorting .peeling is then done with knives to ensure that the rind and woody tips are completely removed.
The peeled cassava is washed thoroughly to remove sand and pieces of peel and then grated properly to obtain uniformly smooth mash as the smoothness of the mash determines the quality, yield and market value of the finished Gari.
Fermenting: the cassava mash is put into a clean sack and tied. It is allowed to stand in a fermenting trough for 2-4 days. Arrange sacks in such a way that there is no contact with sand or dirt that can contaminate the mash. Allow free sipping of water from the sacks.
There are variations in fermentation period within and among countries. However, fermentation should not be less than 2 days (to allow development of the characteristic sour taste of Gari).
Pressing: The fermented mash in sacks is pressed to remove as much moisture as possible. Pressing is completed when water is no longer dripping from the sacks. If dewatering is not complete, there would be lumps during toasting which reduces quality and yield of gari. The pressing time depends on the efficiency of the press and moisture content of the mash.
Sacks should not be used for too long to prevent bursting during pressing. In some cases of light sacks or over-use of sacks, it is advisable to double the sacks.
The press and the pressing area should be kept very clean with good drainage system for safe disposal of the effluent to avoid environmental pollution and public health hazards.
- Cake breaking/ Sifting or Sieving: Cake breaking is done using clean hands followed by sifting with non-rusting sifter into clean basin. Sifter made of stainless steel material is preferable.
- Toasting/Roasting: Toast and stir constantly in a large, shallow cast-iron pan over fire, with a piece of gourd or a wooden paddle until the Gari is dried through hand feel. This may take 20-30mins depending on the heat source and quantity of sifted cake. The finished product (Gari) is usually recognized from the color change from white to cream (for non-palm oil fortified Gari) and crispy hand feel of the grains / particles.
Toasting can also be done mechanically using an automated Garifyer or other improved Garifyer made of stainless steel material and with firewood or charcoal as the heat source.
- Cooling: The toasted Gari should be collected into a clean basin and spread on a raised platform lined with clean polythene material or white cloth to cool to room temperature.
- Sieving: Sieve to obtain granules of uniform size.
- Packaging: Pack desired quantities in polythene bags and /or sacks, seal or stitch as appropriate. Properly label the packages according to the standards of national regulatory agencies. Gari should be packaged in clean, insect- and moisture-proof materials that guarantee the wholesomeness of the product and the retention of its nutritional, physical and sensory qualities. Store in a cool, dry, well ventilated, insect and rodent free store / enclosure.
In an interview to assess impact of the training, participants noted that they had become fully abreast with the process to even prepare variety of cassava into gari. after they were taken through the gari processing training shared their experience by revealing that they can now prepare varieties of gari and package it all by themselves.
Participants were also asked of challenges faced in adhering to the gari processing practices. Some of the responses included high cost of milling the cassava and cost of some materials. Mr. Emmanuel Ofori however advised them to grate the cassava and buy the materials in bulk.
The program yielded the achieved the set objectives as the participants were able to produce gari a result of the training.
Source: Information Services Department (ISD/WMA)
By: Stanick Sofel Amuzu Kpodo