4. May 2017

New transport crates for Burkina Faso

Via crowdfunding we were able to send mango transport crates to Burkina Faso again at the beginning of the year. A total of 1,248 crates arrived in Burkina Faso at the end of March.

There is a lot of waste when processing the dried mango slices because the fruits, for example, cannot be used due to pressure marks. This results in financial losses for the dryers, and the farmers' work was also in vain. To gain sound knowledge about how to best preserve the quality of the fragile mangos, gebana Afrique and 25 mango farmers are testing careful harvesting and transport with the delivered crates.

When the ripe mangoes fall from the tall trees during harvest, they are caught using an old rice sack that serves as a landing pad before they hit the ground. For transport, the delicate fruits are placed individually into boxes padded with leaves. These, in turn, are not filled to the top so that the fruits are by no means crushed from above when the boxes are stacked. There are no longer any damaged brown spots, so waste is avoided and the whole fruit can be processed.

The used goods we collected so that the boxes could be declared as "gifts" are handed over to employees. Gifts enjoy a high symbolic value in Burkina Faso: "It is a nice gesture, that is what matters," says Karim Traore of the UST drying unit.

Many thanks to all supporters!