There ARE good things going on in our world. There are people who care about their communities. People who see a bigger picture. People who think outside the box and beyond. We are humbled and honored to have encountered two such individuals. And it all surrounds an incredible fruit and the community that cares for it- the Malian Mango. When Bella Viva Orchards' Director Victor Martino met Ben DeMuth, founder of the original idea, Victor learned of the efforts of Ben and his colleague Django Cissé to make a part of the world a much better place. We invite you to be inspired and to learn about how this meeting created an opportunity for Bella Viva Orchards - and YOU - to be part of something good. Really good.
This story unfolded between 2015 and 2017 when Ben was living in the West African country of Mali working in Humanitarian Aid. Ben’s dedication to helping people live better, more sustainable and healthier lives drove him to serve. And the results of his compassion and vision have deeply impacted so many people, especially the inhabitants of the villages where he served. Mali is known to be one of the poorest countries in the world, with low scores on the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index. This index measures a country’s advancements in life expectancy, access to education and standards for living. While in Mali, Ben observed severe poverty, low levels of education, an unemployment rate of about 70 percent, lack of electricity and clean water and an astounding rate of waste as the area’s fruit fell from the trees only to go unconsumed. This fruit is the Mango.
The Mango is considered to be a prime export for the country, mostly going to Europe as a fresh fruit. Despite being called a prime export, about 95 percent of the fruit never makes its way to consumers. While in Mali, Ben saw that the local mango farmers, who already have a constant battle of pests, drought and lack of cold storage would benefit from turning the cycle of waste around and producing a perfectly nutritious, consumable and sustainable product. His solution: Drying that fruit.
After serving in the Peace Corps in 2015, Ben was hired as a consultant for Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, or GIZ, in 2016. This organization, part of the German Development Ministry and the German Federal Foreign Office in Mali, focuses on such areas as peace, economic development, agriculture and energy. During Ben’s time with GIZ, he encountered Malian-born and raised Django Cissé, a previously private sector businessman with a passion for improving lives, creating employment, and who wanted to take a role in a more sustainable sector. Django was introduced to GIZ by Ben and under Django’s direction, a food manufacturing company, Yiriden, meaning “fruit” in the Malian language of Bambara, was founded, built by local laborers and started doing business in 2017.
What Django and Ben created is a thriving project that touches so many people in so many positive ways. Through Yiriden and GIZ, over 20 surrounding villages are experiencing vastly improved employment rates. About 95 percent of Yiriden’s employees are rural women who would have otherwise been socially and economically powerless. They are now working in such capacities as preparing the fruit for export. This preparation currently consists of drying and packaging that fruit, and since that fruit is dried, those Mangoes can now go to Europe, the United States and beyond. Local farmers are supported by the project through technological assistance to give them the ability to successfully harvest a much higher percentage of Mangoes, meaning there is a significant decrease in food waste.
The farmers are learning methods to manage their farms more successfully and incorporate sustainable farming practices, including turning Mango shells and “nuts,” or pits, into fuel. The education and support provided by Yiriden is ongoing and has led to greater success for these local communities.
Through Yiriden, the unemployment rate in some communities that once stood at about 70 percent is decreasing. Because of the fuel-generating advancements by Yiriden, the manufacturing plant now has electricity to function reliably. Innovations brought in by Yiriden have repurposed the Mango skins and waste to create methane gas for the facility’s kitchen and to generate electricity for lighting, heating and cooling. Once the methane is extracted it is then made into fertilizer. They use cashew shells to create energy used to operate the dehydrators.
And water, precious water. Before Yiriden was established, the local village relied solely on open wells, which are prone to contamination and create health risks for the residents, especially children. Yiriden’s facility has a modern state-of-the-art well with wonderful fresh, clean water and local residents are invited to obtain supplies of clean water directly from the protected well system at Yiriden’s plant. Bella Viva Orchards’ goal is to work with Yiriden and the local villages/communities to install modern deep water wells in those communities. To kick the well project off, Bella Viva Orchards will be setting aside one percent of the purchase price that we pay for the dried Mali Mangoes, saving up to partner with the communities and drill them wells of their own. Stay tuned for opportunities that we will have for you to participate in this project!
Another beautiful aspect of Yiriden’s project is that all of these Mangoes are organic and meet global standards for food safety, quality management and social justice. Yiriden has earned certification by such global organizations as the British Retail Consortium (BRC), Naturland (guaranteeing that the Mangoes meet stringent ecological and social standards), Ecocert and the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (USDA NOP). Each of these organizations have strict guidelines that must be met in order to obtain certification. Yes, they’ve taken an incredibly delicious and nutritious fruit and made it even better by being organic and fair to the human beings who produce it!
Django and Ben have more plans in the works to continue creating healthier, more sustainable lives for the people in these villages. The story is far from over. Earlier on, we invited you to be part of this goodness. And you already are by sharing in Django and Ben’s commitment to make this part of the world a better place. Thanks to Bella Viva Orchards’ collaboration with Ben and Yiriden, you can now be among the first consumers in the United States to enjoy these noble Malian Mangoes.
As we introduce this new product, we encourage you to think of how your purchase of Certified Organic Malian Mango Slices makes a direct difference to hundreds of people. To introduce you to this very meaningful product, we are offering our Certified Organic Malian Mango Strips for just $9.74 per pound from now through the end of September – that’s $5.25 off per pound! You’ll also want to stock up on Bella Viva Orchards’ Certified Organic Dried Pineapple Rings for just $10.99 per pound from now through the end of September – that’s a savings of $6.00 per pound! Also, to continue the celebration of good things going on in our world, we’re offering you 10 percent off our Certified Organic Dried Pears, Certified Regenerative Organic Dried White Nectarines, Certified Organic Medjool Dates, Certified Organic Macadamia Nuts (Raw), Certified Organic Coconut Chips (Unsweetened) and Certified Organic Turkish Apricots from now through the end of September.
We’d like to thank Ben and Django for their tireless work and for allowing us to represent their products in the United States market. We are honored to be even a small part of this humanitarian work!
