What's cookin' in Tanzania... and Uganda?: All Things Moringa ...and Mamas in COVID19

With people asking about moringa after my three days of moringa madness, it's time to explain a bit (and give you the recipes!) And I can let you know some of the effects that the coronavirus is having on the mamas and how moringa relates to helping to support people during this time of coronavirus.

Monica and Monica with the new stocks of moringa ready to sell!

Moringa Oleifera ("mlonge" in Swahili) is a fast growing, drought-resistant tree, native to India but grown widely throughout Asia and Africa. It has been used for centuries for its medicinal properties and health benefits … you can google all of that … it's fairly incredible! It has certainly earned its name as the Miracle Tree! We have promoted the tree through our tree planting and seedling nursery projects and in teaching health and nutrition… the leaves are particularly nutritious and easily harvested. They can also be dried and the dried leaves pounded into powder. A spoonful can be added to porridge or sauces, making a brilliant nutritious boost to a poor diets, particularly for pregnant and feeding mothers and young children in villages. It is a super immunity booster, so also extremely good for those suffering from immune-deficiency diseases.

Mavuno Village is a wonderful children's home community (with a great agricultural program), not too far from us here in Mwanza. They have all kinds of projects on the go… and one thing they do is grow a lot of moringa and process the leaves. The Upendo wa Mama group has recently started buying in bulk from Mavuno to sell in town (and we can give some to the "at risk" women in the group too). There is no better time than now for people in Mwanza to buy local and consume moringa to boost immunity while the coronavirus lurks ever closer with our first case here today.

This is an incredibly difficult time for many groups and organizations here in Tanzania, as markets and funding dry up. Mavuno Village will lose much needed funding through the economic troubles overseas. And Upendo wa Mama has suddenly lost almost all their customers and markets across the country. We have stopped meeting as a group to make new products, but are still putting together any orders we can! We met last week for the women to again withdraw money to take home and buy supplies. All are worried about what would happen if the government were to lock things down here, cutting access to basic markets. We were also able to send some money via mpesa phone to the women in Dar es Salaam to share amongst the albinism group there. We have long been encouraging all the women in the groups to work on building their own little enterprises at home with the profits they take from the group. This is putting that to the test. For one mama already struggling with mental health issues and vulnerable with asthma, this is just really tough. She was in tears asking for help, and I was almost in tears to know what to say or do. Another mama is also particularly vulnerable with her diabetes, and sees the risk of not being able to get the medication she needs. With the closure of all schools, the children (with albinism) have returned home and while the mamas are delighted to see them, this can be a big worry. All the mamas are aware of reports of people with albinism being labelled "corona" and blamed for a virus that "doesn't affect black people". And we have heard about witch doctors promoting potions to "protect" coronavirus and we pray that this would not involve people with albinism in any way, with their body parts being perceived as a "solution."

But a good number of the mamas are doing well and I pray they continue to do so. A couple of women are now making liquid hand soap and I am trying to help encourage these sales. We are also working to sell more of the moringa powder. We hope that some can soon start making face masks to sell. And 'Make it Matter', which has just launched an online shop and delivery in Dar es Salaam is continuing to buy beeswraps which really helps! But the reality is that this month (we had planned for the Mwanza Craft Fair), and next month (supposed to be the big Artisan Fair in Dar) is going to be a time of huge loss. And we don't know when things will pick up again with tourism and we again see visitors coming to Tanzania. It is particularly bad timing for the Mamas group as we are in the process of getting our own shop and this was also supposed to be a time of handover and training. Please pray for these women! And support them and Mavuno Village (and other organizations for vulnerable people) if you can!

This was taken just before we closed as a group

… a happier time when we finally received our Business License!

So as I do my bit to help by buying some moringa powder, I am also trying to boost sales by encouraging others here also to buy and make use of moringa in new and interesting ways!

So what can you do with moringa powder? Here is what I have been doing with it this past week, with links to the recipes!

Moringa Banana Bread - with this one I threw in some shredded coconut, poppy seeds, nuts and seeds! It was yummy!

https://blog.kulikulifoods.com/…/cooking-kuli-episode-14-o…/

Moringa Wholemeal Bread - with this one I made one large loaf instead of two small. I didn't exactly follow the instructions but treated it more like normal yeast bread with rising times and kneading (and a little less carrot).

https://www.ahealthyleaf.com/recipe/moringa-bread/

Louisa made awesome Moringa Smoothies! Pineapple, mangos, fresh orange juice, frozen banana, yogurt and a couple of spoons of moringa powder!

And today it was Moringa Cookies! (There was a bit of debate whether we should use rationed Canadian chocolate chips on this experiment! Also i used plain flour and sugar... But they are good ... just a little greenish! But you could just use your favourite choc chip recipe and just add the spoonful of moringa)

https://shestartedit.co/moringa-cookies/