Jobs for 250 Impoverished Families in Swaziland

Marula has played an important part of the cultural heritage in Swaziland for countless generations.  The fruit is used to make a tasty brew called Buganu.  A week long country wide festival revolves around the brew.  But when the brewing (and drinking) is over, all that is left is a pile of discarded hard shells.  Inside the shells are two kernels which are full of an oil which is both edible and in high demand for cosmetics.

In the past we've provided a hand press for the use of women in the community to press oil for their own use in cooking.  There has been some uptake, but not the demand we had hoped.  We bought several kg of the cracked kernels, pressed them, and then gave the oil to a lady who makes hand, body and facial creams and lotions here in Swaziland.  Her enthusiasm for the oil was tremendous.  So with a set market for the oil we are making plans to buy the cracked kernels from the poor rural women in the communities we are in. This will provide a direct income stream to them at a time and in a place of the country affected by the ongoing country wide drought.

Pressing the oil with the original hand press is both time consuming and terribly inefficient. We will be taking delivery of an electric press from the US next month. With the new press, we’ll be able to buy and press large quantities of the oil. In addition, the new press will also be used to press another type of oil also for cosmetics. Moringa was introduced into Swaziland several years ago. The oil from moringa seeds is also in high demand for cosmetics. But pressing with the hand press was almost impossible as the seeds are much harder and the oil content lower. The new press will help provide multiple streams of income to hundreds of people in Swaziland.

Your continued investment in the work Kudvumisa does makes an impact in the fight against poverty here.