Drinking water for small farmers

Sahel desert is tough! In the African Sahel desert, lack of basic things like clean drinking water, and basic education make daily life very difficult. Only 22% of the adults can read and write. People survive, but face diseases, lack of water, and little means or opportunities to grow out of their misery. The development of some of the poorest countries in the world, like Burkina Faso and Mali, are lagging behind because of the lack of these basic needs in life.

Exporting mango from West-Africa

In 2010 Nature’s Pride started to buy mangoes from Burkina Faso and Mali from Fruiteq; in the first year already more than 40 containers. By doing so, Nature’s Pride became the biggest buyer of Fruiteq. Fruiteq is certified organic and Fair Trade. They pay a good price to the small farmers, also during the peak of the mango season when the local prices drop drastically because of an abundance of fruit.

New boreholes for clean drinking water

Nature’s Pride is aware of the basic and poor living conditions of the local people and has supported 2 small villages. Fruiteq held discussions in the communities about what was needed most. The people don’t have sufficient means to invest in clean drinking water. Therefore two villages have been selected who are serious to make a  small percentage of the investment in a new borehole.  6% of the approximate € 10,000 will be paid by the village. The rest of the investment will be paid by Nature’s Pride. There will be a repairman trained to take care and repair the bore hole when needed. This partial investment helps motivate the villagers to be involved in keeping the water well in good condition.

The two boreholes have been operational since 2011. One in Doussoudiana in Mali and one in a village in Burkina Faso. Fruiteq has organized the construction of the boreholes; they are of good quality, based on a successful water-project that was done with another local village. The operationalization of the boreholes was a very special moment,  the majority of the villagers had never seen clear water before in their lives!