We envision setting up a network of Multi Functional Rural Fuel Platform based operations all over rural Afghanistan to implement and roll out the vegetable oil uplift system throughout the region. The first steps have been taken and we have joined the Humanitarian Oil Seed coalition. This coalition's goal is to bring soy cultivation to Afghanistan in an effort to make a big impact on the Afghan protein dietary deficiency.
The Vegetable Oil Uplift System
The Vegetable Oil Uplift System enables community organizations or individual entrepreneurs to begin processing oil seeds. These locally cultivated soy beans are then converted into vegetable oil and meal cake. The vegetable oil is further processed into rural fuel and the meal cake is used as food. The rural fuel is sold to generate cash for the community and the food used to enhance the community's diet.
Vegetable Oil Production Energizes Rural Communities
Rural Development Aid can supply electrification and clean water, but rurally produced vegetable oil is the missing piece in the aid puzzle that can energize rural communities. The vegetable oil uplift system provides long term income generation opportunities for every one trapped in the poverty cycle that typifies much of rural Afghanistan and at the same time helps Afghan women break free from the slavery of daily fire wood and water collection...
How does the Vegetable Oil Uplift System work?
Afghan Vegetable Oil Uplift Project
By kicking off the following two initiatives, we envision making a big impact on the daily lives of poor, rural Afghans:
- The first initiative is to encourage the widespread cultivation of oil seed crops like Soybeans throughout rural Afghanistan.
- Once these oil crops are under cultivation, we envision rolling out the Multi Functional Rural Fuel Platform to as many rural farming communities that are growing soy beans as possible.
By successfully implementing these two initiatives we hope to give rural Afghan communities the capabilities to add value to their farm outputs and use this new economic wherewithal to start pulling themselves out of poverty. The following narrative describes these two initiatives in more detail:
Oil seed cultivation project.
Dr. Kwon meets with a farmer in Parwan province who wants to grow soybean again in 2007. Picture Courtesy of NEI.
A project in Afghanistan to help improve the nutrition of poor, rural farmers who are currently struggling to survive has been initiated by Nutrition & Education International (NEI), spearheaded by NEI's founder Dr. Steven Kwon.
The project has started an initiative that encourages farmers in Afghanistan to grow soybeans so that Afghan's can supplement their diets with, protein rich soy based products like soymilk drunk in tea and soy flower added to Naan bread. Dr. Kwon with soybean farmer in Parwan Dr. Kwon meets with a farmer in Parwan province who wants to grow soybean again in 2007. Feeding orphans Soymilk in Badakshan providence, Afghanistan.
Feeding orphans Soymilk in Badakshan providence, Afghanistan. Picture Courtesy of NEI.
NEI have conducted tests to include just over 10% soy flour mixed in with the wheat flour used to make Naan bread. Consumers either do not notice or prefer the change in taste that this high protein addition makes to their traditional Naan bread.
NEI is producing pasteurized soymilk using soybeans harvested by Afghan farmers.
Through NEI's effort, soybeans have now successfully been grown in all the different provinces in Afghanistan. In order to help the malnourished Afghan women and children receive needed nutrition going forwards, NEI will work with over 10,000 farmers in 2007 to meet the goal of producing 10,000 tons of soybeans. Many farmers are poor and have little financial means, therefore, NEI will repeat what they did in 2006 by donating to these farmers, high quality imported seed, fertilizers, and technical training for soybean cultivation. One ton of soybean seeds will produce about 40 tons of soybeans, which will directly help to provide winter survival nutrition to 1,000 six-member families.
More information on the NEI project is at this URL: http://www.nei-intl.org
Humanitarian Oilseed Development Alliance
An alliance has come together with the first meeting held in Ames, Iowa on March 30th 2007. The alliance is made up of a wide variety of individuals and organizations who have come together to initiate the use of oil seeds in the effort to reduce rural poverty.
The Oilseed Alliance has initially focused on Afghanistan and we anticipate rolling out our Multi Functional Rural Fuel Platforms to farming communities where the Oilseed Alliance has successfully encouraged the cultivation of soybeans. At the moment, these communities currently have no means of processing soybeans into higher value products and we hope that the MFRFP will fill that need.
Center of Excellence
In conjunction with the Oilseed Alliance, we wish to see a Center of Excellence established in Afghanistan that can act as the center for all the activities needed to promote the adoption of the Multi Functional Raul Fuel Platform throughout the region.
This Center would employ agricultural specialists to help farmers with their cultivation, technicians to train operators and field technicians how to maintain the Multi Functional Rural Fuel Platforms and Micro Finance specialists to ensure that the farmers are getting financed.
Multi Functional Rural Fuel Platform pilot install
A partner organization has started sponsoring an orphanage located just outside of Kabul called the Kufa Orphanage and Women's Shelter that is taking in orphans and widows. http://www.kufaev.de
We would like to send a Multi Functional Rural Fuel Platform to the orphanage as soon as possible so that we can test our prototype design in Afghanistan and start letting these abandoned teenagers and women in the village start helping pulling themselves out of the poverty trap.
If the prototype works successfully at Kafu, then we would like to start installing MFRFPs all over Afghanistan.
Project Milestones
- We have built an initial prototype that is currently being readied for field trials in North Carolina (USA). Click this link to follow its progress.
- If successful, a second unit will be sent to Kafu just outside of Kabul.
- If this prototype works successfully in Kabul, we would like to start distributing the MFRFP’s throughout Afghanistan.
