From Oil to Feed
Making the Most of Every Sunflower   

Sunflowers are more than a source of cooking oil — they can anchor a fully circular system that turns every seed into value. After oil extraction, the remaining seed cake is rich in protein and can be used to make livestock feed (theorganicfarmer.org).

That means a single crop can nourish both people and animals, while providing small-scale processors and farmers with multiple income streams. In sustainable models like these, nothing goes to waste. The oil feeds households, the by-products feed livestock, and the same local processing reduces transport emissions while adding value within the community.

“Eventually, one of the products of sunflower is the sunflower cake, which is high protein and used for animal feed,”
says John Mwandia, founder of Kilovoo Trading Company.
“You never know — we could start our own feed line. Once you get started, it becomes easier to add other products.”

That thinking captures what sustainability really means for Sundrops — continuous improvement and practical innovation.

John explains that their Kitui-based operation already looks beyond oil extraction.

“After you sediment the oil, you get clear oil and a viscous layer. Some companies use that to make soap, others mix it with feed. So from a sunflower seed, there’s really nothing wasted.”

But sustainability at Sundrops goes even further. Access to clean water has been a major challenge in Kitui, so the team has expanded its efforts to community infrastructure:

“We have a borehole fitted with smart meters — like what Kenya Power uses — to supply water to about 180 families,”
John shares.
“People can buy water digitally at affordable prices. It keeps the project sustainable and supports the same community that grows our sunflower.”

This combination of clean technology, agricultural innovation, and local manufacturing reflects the broader mission behind Sundrops: to build self-reliant systems in rural Kenya.

For conscious consumers, choosing a bottle of Sundrops means supporting more than healthy cooking — it means investing in a model where every drop, every seed, and every community effort contributes to a sustainable, homegrown future.