Well, as a testament to the mysterious ways of the universe and the value of never-giving up I bring you this tale.

Our efforts to open up international markets to the Aloe farmers of Uganda has been a long slow process with a few glimmers of possible hope but no real action that we could bring to the table. No cash in anybodies pockets, no deals, no forward momentum, just lots of information, conversation and contacts. We dreaded going to the farmers with more “please be patient” and “we are working on it”

And then one day the question came…

“Do you have any Moringa?” Ummm… whaaaa?

“MORINGA? What is that?” So scratching our heads we began to mine the all knowing “Google” and discovered that we did indeed have Moringa. Not only did we have Moringa, but it is an amazing multi-use, hardy miracle plant that if you believe what everyone says about it could feed the poor, help HIV/AIDS patients, purify water, feed livestock, be used as a biofuel, as well as grow stronger healthier plants and children. It almost sounds like the latest huckster prank, there is almost nothing this plant cannot do. If we had not been approached for it by a trusted friend I doubt we would have believed a word of it.

Oh… if you are as ignorant of it as we were… here are some pictures of it for you.

So we added it to our project list, and got to work learning what we could about the economic viability of the plant as a crop and what it takes to process it. All the same stuff we have been doing for Aloe. As we were plodding through our research a blessing of a bomb got dropped into our plans.

A request for Three KILOS of Moringa. Three kilos, for testing, three kilos that might lead to more kilos, three kilos that someone out in the world was willing to pay for!

Here are a few notes from the field. TMS Ruge, just happened to be in Uganada post EAIC and went straight to Misindi and got to work:

DAY 1

After realizing that we’d need more that 3 Kg of seeds with husks in order to achieve 3 Kg of clean seeds, we sent for about 10 kg of husks. After some trial and error, we started processing the hard way, peeling each husk by hand, careful not to crush the seed. Everyone has jumped in to help. We’ve split 10 Kg between two groups of people. This is my side of the family. My little siblings and their friends pitched in to help. The seeds in the container are about 4 minutes of work for three people…

Processing Day 1

I had everyone wash their hands thoroughly clean, without soap. I didn’t want any residue on the seeds.

I am quite sure that there’s are easier ways to process it, but I didn’t want to try anything we weren’t properly trained to do.

It’s mid-afternoon now, and we have about 1kg done at my house, haven’t heard from the other group…

We should have enough by tomorrow afternoon, so that I can head to Kampala and mail them…

DAY 2

After yesterday morning’s slow start, production kicked into high gear. Turns out that my little sister, Sharon, now 14, got tired of having to open each husk by hand. She instead started scratching her head for a faster way to process the Moringa husks. This is where childhood creativity and “necessity being the mother of all inventions” collide. She spread out a fiber sack, poured out a handful of husks. She then used a flat rock to gently “grind” the husks open in a “wax on, wax off” semi-circular motion. Clock-wise with a little pressure cracks the husks. Reversing the direction “opens” the husks. Then you simply pick the seeds and place them in the container.

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3 Kg of fresh moringa seeds ready for export

My nephew, Ronald, then took over the task of cleaning the seeds this morning—picking out shells and sifting out any dirt. He also picked out the dried out or bad-quality seeds.

I think we ended up with about 5 Kg of seeds. I’ll take 3Kg to Kampala this afternoon and prepare them for shipping tomorrow afternoon.

The method is primitive but highly productive, and with a little trial and error, a more refined process can emerge using simplified tools. I think a rudimentary assembly line could be arranged using this method of extraction. If you study the motions closely, one could actually design a simple mechanical extraction devise to push productivity even further. If I had a minute to spare, I’d design it, build it, and patent it in her name. It was awe-inspiring to see her problem-solving skills at work.

It just goes to show that Africa has solutions. We just need to be engaged properly, with the right tasks (and the right people of course.)

Stay tuned for more!
(PS: Now we have to rename Project Aloe, isn’t that a good problem to have!)