fruits and nuts. Communities are extremely poor, living in some of the harshest environmental conditions known to man. The AKRSP Dry Fruit Project, now known as Mountain Fruits Limited trains farmers in processing fresh fruit into valuable dried commodities that they can sell. The methods used create a product of an international marketable standard, with greatly improved stability and food-safety compared with traditional drying techniques.

 

Uganda (Banana Chips)
Fruits of the Nile (FON) in Uganda was set up in the early 1990s by Adam Brett and Angello Ndyaguma. They wanted to find a way for Ugandan farmers to process and market their fresh fruits and vegetables. As a land locked country with poor transport infrastructure, no glass manufacture or canning facilities, Ugandan farmers were frequently left with fresh agricultural produce going to waste for lack of markets.

 

Adam and Angello designed affordable, easy-to-construct solar driers made from frames, locally available mosquito meshing and long lasting plastic (the only imported material). Working with local development agencies, they trialled the technology with innovative farmers. The first sun dried fruits and vegetables were test marketed by Adam, and his partner Kate Sebag in the UK at street markets under the label "Tropical Wholefoods".

 

Fruits of the Nile buy all the sun dried products at fair trade prices. They support farmers by offering training in areas such as food safety, hygiene and quality, business development and GAP (Good Agricultural Practice) as well helping people to get access to sources of soft finance and loans.

 

Zambia (Forest Honey)
In the remote North Western Province of Zambia lies a great plateau covered by forest. Here the scattered villages are isolated clearings in the bush which stretch out like a dark green ocean to the horizon. It is a region hardly touched by modern "development', where people live much as they always have done - by hunting, fishing and growing crops.

Certain tribes have specialised in beekeeping and use techniques that enable them to harvest honey and beeswax in harmony with the bees and the forest. It is remarkable that while African bees are generally feared for their stings, traditional beekeepers do not need protective clothing because they know the laws by which bees recognise friend or foe.
It is the traditional beekeepers, together with their District Councils, who have formed the North Western Bee Products Company to market their honey and wax throughout Zambia and abroad. This has encouraged beekeepers to increase production so they can purchase essential items like salt soap and blankets.

 

There are three main partners in Burkina Faso; Association Ton, Wouol and Cercle des Secheurs. Cercle des Secheurs (CDS) was formed in 1994 by five founding members all using solar and appropriate drying technology developed by the Centre Ecologique Albert Schweitzer. Three of the five founding members were cooperatives, of which two were women's cooperatives. The other two were private enterprises. CDS's first and main products were dried organic mangoes. For the last two years, they have also manufactured and exported mango juice and mango syrup. They also export sun dried tomatoes.

 

Association Ton is a large co-operative of 2800 members all living in villages. TON runs literacy campaigns for its members and promotes reforestation and good agricultural practice amongst farmer members. For six months of the year, TON is busy with mango drying. Each week a different village supplies fresh organic mangoes to TON's central drying station which is operated by a team of 100 women from the villages.

 

The recent war and continuing unrest in neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire has stifled traffic through Niangoloko meaning that all the restaurants and shops have lost their customary trade from passing lorries and cars. To add to this squeeze on resources, many refugees from Cote d'Ivoire have travelled into the area, looking for help from relatives living on the Burkinabe side of the border. In this difficult context, Ton's mango business provides essential income for its members.

Association WOUOL has 1000 members who are formed into 30 groups. Wouol promotes good agricultural practice amongst its members and actively trains in organic farming. Member are also encouraged to diversify into new activities such as hibiscus and sesame farming. WOUOL have a large mango drying station. Both men and women work on dried mango production with the men responsible for the pruning and harvesting of trees, and planting of new stock, and the women responsible for the mango drying. Monsieur Antoine Sombie, chairman of WOUOL, describes WOUOL's "mission to be to work with the producers and elevate their condition...we are one big family who work out our problems together."

Tunisia (Dates)
Sekem was founded by Dr Ibrahim Abouleish in 1977 on 125 acres of desert land 60km north east of Cairo. Today, Sekem farm over 150 farms comprising 6500 acres using biodynamic methods of agriculture. "Sekem" is a translation from an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph meaning "vitality from the sun".

 

At their farms, Sekem educate 260 children from nursery through to secondary school, as well as train 160 adults at their vocational training centre. They also run a primary health care centre which treats thousands of local people. In 2003, Dr Abouleish won the Right Livelihood Award 2003 widely known as the Alternative Nobel Prize for its approach to socially responsible economics.