Sairus Kigunddu grew up in Butambala, Uganda, and for years ginger farms were how his family kept life moving, school fees, basics, the small things that add up. Working in those fields, he watched the same story repeat itself: middlemen turning up with low offers, moneylenders circling with loans that left farmers stuck. It changed everything for him.
He started Kibajjo to do something practical with what Butambala already grows well. They take an indigenous ginger variety locals call “kibajjo” and turn it into ginger powder that is clean, strong, and nothing added. When the dried ginger hits the grinder, it fills the room with that sharp, warm smell, and the fine dust catches in your nose for a second, the kind that makes you blink and smile because you know it is real ginger.
Kibajjo handles everything from the moment the root leaves the dirt to the moment it hits the bag. They buy directly from farmers, paying more than 40 percent above what middlemen typically offer, then wash and clean the ginger, hire women to slice it, dry it for over two weeks, and mill and pack it. The core team is four people, and around 30 women are brought in through processing contracts, with 55 farmers already registered in their system.
