2015 Thank You

Alaffia Friends,

I first would like to wish you a healthy and joyful 2016. Equally important, Alaffia families here and abroad would like to express their gratitude for all you have done in supporting Alaffia in 2015. It is my clear belief that each of you brings a critical contribution to Alaffia, and I owe you an overview of Alaffia's achievements this past year and our vision and commitment for the immediate future. Your continuous contributions are a safety umbrella allowing us to move the vulnerable members of our communities out of poverty. I spent the last seven weeks of 2015 in Togo, and below is a summary of what I witnessed.

Visiting Tamongue High School with my daughter, Yemi; Existing straw structures (above) and new Alaffia school under construction, Tamongue, Tandjouaré region, Togo. December 2015.

During 2015 we built more schools than any other year since Alaffia's birth. Last year alone we built five schools: two schools in Essovalé (central Togo), two high schools in the Tandjouaré region (northern Togo), and a kindergarten in Adjengré. Also, we distributed 782 bicycles and have another 500 being distributed at this moment. Furthermore, 902 mothers and babies were guaranteed safe births because Alaffia covered the costs of their maternal care. We planted another 10,500 trees and collected 8,500 eyeglasses with the help of our sales representatives and retailers. Moreover, we constructed the first ever commercial biogas digester in Togo, which we believe is fundamentally the most viable and clean source of energy.

Surveying the newly constructed biogas digester, as shea nut byproduct enters the underground diester chambers, Alaffia Village, Sokodé, December 2015.

On the immediate economic side, our collective members (the women who provide Alaffia with shea nuts, grass, baobab and neem), rose from 4,000 in 2014 to over 7,000 in 2015. The increase is due in part to our growth here in the United States and it means more families in Togo with additional means to send their children to school. In the Alaffia cooperative centers, we added 100 members in Togo, and have a strong 2,000 basket weavers in Bolgatanga, Ghana. Additionally, in June 2015, we established Queen Alaffia - creating batik and fabric accessories with the sole objective of getting our young sisters in central Togo out of prostitution. We went from nine young women in June to 60 by the end of December.

Queen Alaffia seamstresses with Alaffia USE sales managers at the Alaffia Artisan Center, Sokodé. December 2015.

Here in Olympia, WA, we now number in the 90s and have implemented a retirement program in addition to the comprehensive health care system put in place in 2014. Our most lasting contribution to the US economy is the increase of our domestic packaging use from 80 to 85%. Packaging is the third biggest expenditure for Alaffia, and despite this, we continue our commitment to purchase US-made packaging even though it is more costly than sourcing oversees because it helps to create and maintain American jobs.
Our world is a volatile place and sadly many parts of it continue to witness human suffering due to poverty. As we are one human family, we must continue to band together to create peace and justice for all. While the work of Alaffia may be draining and challenging, it must continue. It is poverty and a sense of worthlessness that breed terrorism and civil unrest. Providing our vulnerable communities with jobs, education, and healthcare for our mothers is a moral duty, and I shall continue to dedicate my life for this just cause.

Sewa Kpatchiné, Alaffia Maternal Health Care recipient,
Bitchabé, Togo. December 2015.

Nothing in life is more rewarding than the opportunity to save a human life. While in Togo this past December visiting communities receiving Alaffia empowerment support, we made a home visit to Sewa Kpatchiné, one of Alaffia's maternal health care recipients. I cannot express to you in words the depth of the poverty conditions in which Sewa lives. Sewa and three of her children live in Bitchabé, a small village near Ghana on the western border of Togo. Her husband had been ill and unable to work for several months, and she also cares for her blind father-in-law. Since Sewa and her husband moved to Bitchabé from Ghana, they do not have their own land to farm, and only eat once a day. I was touched by this visit and thought of this family often.

Then, on Christmas Eve, I received a call from Abidé Awesso, Alaffia's Director of Community Support in Bassar. Abidé told me that Sewa's husband had died, and Sewa herself was in need of urgent care in the regional hospital or she too would die, as well as her unborn child. I ordered an immediate evacuation to the larger hospital and authorized Alaffia to cover all charges. By January 5, Sewa was released from the hospital, and the survival of both her and her child was well worth the $300 in medical bills.

Since I returned to the United States, every day I think of Sewa, and the disparities that exist within our human family and how every bottle of lotion we sell can add up to save lives. Once again, you give me the strength and ability to continue this journey, and for that I am forever grateful to each and every one of you.

Peacefully together,

Olowo-n'djo Tchala
Alaffia Co-Founder & CEO

Gifts that Give Back

Guest Post from True Moringa Co-Founder, Emily Cunningham:

Conscious shoppers are the missing ingredient in a more inclusive global supply chain that breaks the cycle of poverty for small farming families. 

In January of 2012, my co-founder Kwami and I found ourselves in the middle of rural Ghana, puzzled by a paradox. There are 1.5 billion acres of fertile uncultivated land in Africa and 120 million smallholder farmers living on that land earning less than $2 per day.

It was not for lack of natural resources that these farming families were trapped in a cycle of poverty - beautiful, rare, nutrient-rich botanical crops were all around us. The farmers introduced us to one crop in particular that caught our attention - moringa. 

Moringa is known locally as the miracle tree. The leaves of the tree contain, per gram, more vitamin A than carrots, more calcium than milk, more protein than eggs, and more iron than spinach. The seeds of tree, rich in antioxidants and moisturizing agents like behenic and linoleic acid produce one of nature's finest anti-aging and moisturizing treatments for hair and skin care. Even the waste product of oil processing, the pressmeal, could be used for organic fertilizer, animal feed, and flocculant to purify water. 

So if farmers had all of these incredible natural resources like moringa growing in their backyards-  why were they still poor? And why had so few people heard about the benefits of crops like moringa? 

It didn't take many days in the village to realize that smallholder farmers had the deck stacked against them. They lacked access to reliable financing and inputs like seeds and fertilizer to start new farms. They lacked information about how to grow crops up to the standards of the international market, and about how to maximize their yields. Farmers were risk averse from being told time and again by companies, NGOs and their government to grow particular crops, only to find their was no market for their produce when harvest time came. 

It became clear that if we wanted to bring moringa to the masses, and do it in a way that included farmers earning less than $2 per day, we had to reimagine the entire supply chain. 

This meant building deep relationships with farmers- mapping their farms to determine the yields they could expect and the amount of inputs like seed and fertilizer they needed, and providing constant follow up with a dedicated agricultural extension officer. It meant creating a proprietary processing system so value could be added and jobs created locally. It also meant building a brand and products that would resonate with customers around the world. With all of this in mind, True Moringa was born.

From the outset, we realized that our work, though important to the communities we serve, was a drop in the ocean. We were founded with the intention of joining forces with companies who are doing their own work to build holistic and inclusive supply chains, but most importantly to create products that you actually want and use- products that stand alone even without the social impact story behind them.

 

We are so excited to partner with Alaffia and Madecasse- two companies that go above and beyond fair trade to truly get to know and co-create with the communities they serve- this holiday season to bring you our True Moringa Holiday Gift Box. Each box contains ethically sourced and produced Madecasse chocolate, Alaffia shea moisturizing lotion, and our peppermint moringa oil. It’s our first foray into building a larger more-than-fair trade movement - and we can’t wait to hear what you think!

 

Remember that you vote with your dollars for the type of world you want to live in- even the most elegant and ethical supply chains mean nothing without you.

The future of the more-than-fair trade movement rests with conscious consumers.

True Moringa works to provide food security and sustainable livelihoods to over 1,000 small farming families throughout Ghana. Purchase their holiday gift box with free shipping nationwide (using code 'HOLIDAYSHIPFREE' here.

October 2015 Togo Trip Update

Greetings Friends of Alaffia,

It is my wish that this note finds you and your family in good health. This year, I have visited Togo more often than any other time since we started Alaffia. Last week, I returned from my fourth trip this year, and next week I will return for another six weeks. My frequent visits are due to overseeing Alaffia community projects and expansion of our collective cooperatives. Your continuing support has led to the growth of our brands, Alaffia, Everyday Shea, Everyday Coconut, Good Soap and Beautiful Curls, which has enabled us to expand our community initiatives. As the reach of our initiatives grows, so does the need for me to be on the ground to ensure the most disadvantaged members of the community receive the positive impact. However, my October trip was also for two very specific purposes.

First, I had the honor to host a delegation of donors and leaders of the Whole Planet Foundation, which provides microfinance funding to our communities in Togo and throughout the world. I had the opportunity to share Alaffia’s model and activities on the ground with other leaders from the natural products industry, including Papyrus, Reservage, and Seventh Generation. Our hope was to show that the Alaffia model of empowering humanity’s most vulnerable in Togo and in the USA through the economic process can break the chain of poverty. Not only did we tour the Alaffia Artisan Center, Community Projects Headquarters and “Alaffia Village” (Alaffia Shea Butter Cooperative), but we also visited our Maternal Health center in Bassar, Alaffia schools under construction, and our shea nut gathering communities. The keystone event was a welcoming ceremony attended by a couple thousand community recipients and cooperative members at the Alaffia Village. The speech excerpt below was delivered by a student representing all the recipients of our bicycles, school supplies, and school buildings.

Whole Planet Foundation with Alaffia team and my family in Sokodé.

Scott White (Whole Foods Market) heling dry shea nuts with Alaffia cooperative members.

Melanie Guidotti (Papyrus) learning to weave baskets with Alaffia Basket Manager, Guiname.

Gathering of Alaffia cooperative members welcoming the Whole Planet Foundation delegation to Alaffia Village.

Amatou Ouro Agaouda represented all student recipients with a speech in English at the welcome ceremony.

Dancing with my mother at the welcome ceremony.

Current school building in Essovale.

New Alaffia school under construction in Essovale with delegation and community members helping.

Joy Stoddard (Whole Planet Foundation), Gayle Grindley (Seventh Generation) , and JoAnne Brenner (Alaffia) helping move laterite.

Making new bricks with Kaze Williams (Reservage) and Tony Huston (Papyrus).

Giving words of encouragement to students of Essovale.

Walking to visit the home of one of the Alaffia Materal Health Project recipients in Bassar.

We were also honored by the presence of Mr. Peter Barlerin, the Charge des Affairs (acting Ambassador) of the United States to Togo and the US Embassy’s Community Liaison Officer, Elizabeth Newton, during the Whole Planet tour of Alaffia Village and Artisan Center. Mr. Barlerin’s regular position is the Director of the Office of Economic and Regional Affairs within the Bureau of African Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Therefore, his visit was a special opportunity for me to share with him how state department policies can influence and encourage job prospects and growth in West Africa.

Mr. Barlerin and delegation in our traditional soap session.

Elizabeth Newton whipping shea butter with Melanie.

Second, for the past several years, we have been researching and developing a way to bring biogas to Togo. Biogas technology produces combustible gas from organic waste products, and is an underused source of clean and renewable energy in West Africa. Installing a biogas digester was a priority of Alaffia’s in order to meet our objective of reaching 100% energy sustainability in our shea butter production.

With the greatest joy in my heart, I am happy to inform you we began constructing two biogas digesters, which will turn all the byproduct from making our shea butter into biogas, providing heat and energy for all our needs in traditional shea butter, coconut oil, and black soap crafting. A team of Ugandan and Togo engineers and masons are joining forces and hands to realize this project, and for me personally, it is encouraging to witness Africans putting their hands and resources together to create an everlasting, sustainable solution to an African problem.

Mr. Abel Adje with our Ugandan Biogas Engineers analyzing the construction plan.

The first step of the digester: digging ten feet into the clay and rock.

The digester begins to take shape; final structure will be a dome.

As with all things Alaffia, our biogas project in reality is not just about providing sustainable energy for Alaffia, instead it is about using Alaffia as a platform to bring biogas as an energy solution to Togo. Alaffia’s goal is to construct biogas digesters in schools throughout Togo and West Africa to turn human waste into energy for lighting and pumping clean water for students. Today, 98% of schools do not have lighting or potable water, furthering the difficulty of our youth to learn and succeed. The ultimate result will be a well-informed and educated generation in our African communities enabling us to control our own destiny, freedom and potential.

Next week, I will be in Togo again to help with the final construction of our biogas digesters, and when I return to the USA in January, I will update you on the progress. I wish there was a way to express how grateful we are for your support of Alaffia, as it is your support that enables us to continue to serve our communities. During our welcome ceremony for the Whole Planet visitors last month, a longtime friend and Alaffia’s Director of Internal Control and Transparency, Mr. Abel Adje, said in the final words of his speech “It is not what you have already done for Alaffia, nor what Alaffia has done; it is what we have not yet done.” On this note, I look forward to the years ahead to do what we have not yet done and together bring about dignity to every part of our communities. Be it that you are a custodian who leaves your family behind every night to clean the store so it’s presentable to customers in the morning, a store owner or executive, sales representative, buyer, shelf-stocker or receiver and so on, my hope is we will continue together to do what we have not yet done to bring peace, freedom and economic equality to all humankind.

On behalf of all of us at Alaffia and those you have touched, I wish you a joyous and peaceful holiday season.

Humbly yours,

Olowo-n’djo Tchala
Alaffia Founder & CEO