OUR STORY
ORIGINS
The abundance of woody plants is an important source of raw materials for African women in rural areas. The harvesting of their fruits and their resale represent the main source of income generating activity for women producers.
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Local food :
Harvested: woody products (such as baobab fruit) fall from the tree when ripe. Women farmers collect the fruit from the ground.
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Cultivated: Women grow the products in the fields, harvest them when they are ripe, and process them for sale.
PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED
The main problem encountered is the rotting of crops due to the abundance of products during the harvest season. The supply is then higher than the market demand. The products lose value. Their high concentration at the same time leads to a drop in their purchase price.
Lack of electricity, storage facilities and transportation means lead to the loss of a part of the unsold harvest or to the abandonment of unsold products. As women producers are not educated, they do not have access to the global market and cannot obtain fair trade or organic certification.
NGO KANIA DONSE FANYI
Created in 1995 in Kindia (Republic of Guinea), the NGO KDF aims to train African women in rural areas in the techniques of transformation and conservation of local products. It operates at the local, national, sub-regional and international levels.
SOLUTIONS PROVIDED
Training: The NGO KDF trains women producers in solar drying and conservation techniques for local products. The training is provided in the local language.
Processing: The NGO buys unsold mangoes from women producers and uses them for processing. The unsold mangoes are processed using traditional techniques (solar drying, preparation of jam or juices).
INGREDIENT D'AFRIQUE
Founded in 2016 in Nantes, France, the company aims to promote healthy, tasty and responsible food products. The products are grown without the use of chemicals and purchased at a fair price in order to support the empowerment of African women in rural areas.
- We buy the women's products from the NGO.
- Our goal is to introduce new food flavors that are full of vitality, rich in nutrients and low in sugar.
-We are developing an inclusive model based on criteria that prioritize quality, taste, artisanal knowledge, and respect for women producers.
- We value wood products that are naturally organic. They flourish in their natural environment (baobab, soumbara, tamarind).
- We want to promote quality African foods that are natural and do not contain chemicals.
- We help to develop an economic model that takes into account the realities of women producers (no organic or fair trade certification in order to include all women producers who have not been educated).
- Even if the products come from Africa, the number of intermediaries is limited (producers, the NGO KDF, Ingrédient d'Afrique).
