In this blog we explore the concept of community or service milling (also known as “posho” milling in Eastern African countries) and why Roff’s Posho roller mill is the ideal compact machine for the job.
WHAT IS COMMUNITY MILLING?
Community or service millers charge members of the local community a small fee for milling their maize, often the staple food of rural families. These millers provide a valuable service to people in rural areas, who cannot afford to travel great distances to have their maize milled or to purchase commercially packaged maize meal from retail shops.
It’s a win-win situation for both parties: the entrepreneur or small business owner with the mill makes a sustainable, profitable income, while the community member benefits from getting his maize milled at a competitive rate close to his home.
In some cases the millers also keep the bran that’s a by-product from the milling process, and either sell it on to animal feed producers for an extra income, or use it to feed their own animals.
Community milling plays an important role in promoting food security in Africa, creating business opportunities for African entrepreneurs, and creating jobs for the people employed at the mill.
ROFF’S POSHO MILL IS THE PERFECT STARTER MILL FOR COMMUNITY MILLING
- Capacity: The Roff Posho roller mill has a capacity of 750kg per hour if continuously fed, but when it’s used for batch milling like in a typical service milling setting, it will mill a 25kg bag or bucket of maize in about two minutes.
- Quality: It delivers a sifted or special maize meal at an 85% extraction rate, with the bran by-product that can be sold for an additional income.
- Small footprint: Thanks to its small footprint of just 2m x 1m, it can be set up in a small building such as a single garage.
- Easy operation: The Posho is very easy to operate, and after a few hours of training, practically anyone can run the mill.
- Optional extras: A 70L batch mixer can be added that will make conditioning of the maize a lot easier, and increase the quality of both the maize meal and bran.
For more helpful information and guides on how service milling and the Roff Posho Mill can work for you, click here.
