Olowo-n'djo's Update - African American History Month

Dear Friends of Alaffia,

With this brief note in the celebration of African American History Month, I would like to first thank you for all you have done in supporting Alaffia in the empowerment of our communities during the past ten years. Many generations before us have fought and died for the rights that all of us of African origin enjoy today. And in honoring their sacrifices, one must, regardless of skin color or origin, continue the fight for better rights for the generations yet to come.
From the 1800s through the 1960s, the civil rights movement in the USA and fight for desegregation in the South directly contributed to decolonization of our African nations in the 1960s. While the physical presence of European rule is no longer in place in our countries, the continent continues to be plagued by human and economic injustices for the masses.  These injustices are due to a combination of self-infliction on our own people and global economic systems with the sole desire of producing economic gain for the wealthiest. 
As with all my visits to Togo, last month I returned to the USA with great sadness in my heart since the human condition seems to worsen every year in my country despite the efforts of Alaffia.  I see my country being recolonized by foraging emerging economies; our major industries are controlled by them, our precious resources, minerals and lumber taken away, and our peoples cultural history and basic rights are not being respected. I see cargo ships lined up as far as the eye can see at the Togo port. Yet, the streets of Lomé are filled with girls 11 years old or less, selling bean cakes in the hot sun, and more and more families are digging through garbage heaps for recyclables to pay for a day’s worth of food.  I visited a cloth-dying neighborhood of Lomé, next to which is a large dumping area for electronics, where young men break down computer monitors and other electronics in search of valuable metals and parts. Copper sells for $2 per pound, but it takes four days of smashing toxic components without respiratory protection to get this much.
In summary, economic injustice continues in my home country and across the globe, prohibiting the attainment of all other human rights. To fight this injustice, I put out a calling to my own people, to the powerful in the West, and to the emerging economies to compensate the poor fairly for their resources and labor.  For your part, I urge you to support fair trade initiatives and, most importantly, activities that do not destroy indigenous cultures. I am optimistic that by continuing this work together, we can bring full economic rights for all our communities and our future generations, and in the process preserve cultural diversity and indigenous knowledge.

Peacefully Yours,

Olowo-n'djo Tchala

Alaffia’s Response to the State of the Union

“Today, women make up about half our workforce.  But they still make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns.  That is wrong, and in 2014, it’s an embarrassment. A woman deserves equal pay for equal work.  She deserves to have a baby without sacrificing her job.  A mother deserves a day off to care for a sick child or sick parent without running into hardship – and you know what, a father does, too.  It’s time to do away with workplace policies that belong in a “Mad Men” episode.  This year, let’s all come together – Congress, the White House, and businesses from Wall Street to Main Street – to give every woman the opportunity she deserves.  Because I firmly believe when women succeed, America succeeds.” - President Barack Obama

This week the President said, in his State of the Union address, if you put in a hard day’s work, you deserve fair compensation. He also stated that raising the wage for workers is good for the economy and for America. At Alaffia we believe this applies not only to the United States, but across the globe. Everyone deserves equal pay for equal work and the opportunity to provide for their family. We are working to make this happen by paying fair prices for raw materials, fair wages to employees, and through our empowerment projects. If we come together to make this a reality, not just in the United States, but globally, everyone will have the ability to lead an empowered life.

Please share these images to help raise awareness of the benefits of fair trade and a fair wage.

Red Palm Oil - A Cause and a Recipe

Orangutan in the wild - courtesy
of wikicommons

With the recent surge in popularity of palm oil in both natural food and personal care products, there has been a major concern of the effects on orangutans habitats from the growing and harvesting practices of the oil. In many countries forests are cut down to make way for palm oil plantations.  In places like South-East Asia these forests are the only natural habitat for orangutans.  Over the past few years the number of orangutan deaths has increased to nearly 5,000 yearly, and with only 60,000 estimated orangutans left in the world, the species is facing a very real threat of going extinct.

At Alaffia, we use red palm oil and other oils in several of our products.  However, our natural West African palm oil is grown and harvested by small-scale farmers in the Maritime region of Togo. Oil palms are native to West Africa, and have been grown as part of multi-cropped sustainable small farms for centuries. Furthermore, it is important to point out that orangutans do not exist at all in Africa.

If you have purchased some Alaffia Red Palm Oil recently, and are looking for some recipes to use it in, look no further. Below is a recipe that was recently featured in Whole Foods' online magazine Dark Rye.

Black-Eyed Peas in Red Palm Oil

Serves 10

Ingredients:

·         1 cup red palm oil

·         2 large red onions, thinly sliced

·         3 cloves garlic, minced

·         2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

·         1 or 2 jalapeño peppers, finely chopped (omit seeds if you want less heat)
1 teaspoon salt, divided

·         1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

·         1 pound tilapia or other whitefish

·         3 large carrots, cut in ¼-inch slices

·         4 (15-ounce) cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed or 6 cups cooked beans

·         1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced

·         2 Roma tomatoes, sliced

·         2 cups green beans, cut in 1-inch pieces

·         Rice, for serving

Method:

Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet (the larger the diameter the better). Add onions, garlic, ginger and jalapeños, and cook until onions are caramelized (add ½ teaspoon salt to develop flavor). Add tomato sauce and remaining ½ teaspoon salt (if desired) and cook until tomatoes are reduced. (Note: Adding a little salt at every step develops the flavor.) Add fish and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until fish is cooked through. Add carrots, cover and cook until crisp-tender. Add black-eyed peas, bell pepper, tomatoes and green beans to the pan, stir gently and thoroughly; cover and simmer until vegetables are cooked to desired consistency. Serve over rice.

For more recipes check out the latest issue of Dark Rye, and while your there please watch an amazing video taken by a team that went to Togo to see firsthand the amazing work Alaffia is doing.