Packaging moringa powder for a customer order at our Masindi office

It has been a while since we updated the world on how this small company is growing. Before the year is out, I thought it was time we gave you a glimpse into where we’ve been and what is in store for 2012. It has been a very challenging but rewarding year of work. We have had to endure rolling black outs in the country that have made production difficult. We are trying as much as we can to operate cleanly with respect to the environment and your bottom line. We try to limit the use of generators to power our production facilities to a minimum. Sometimes, this can’t always be avoided though. If you experience a delay in your order, more than likely, it is because we are having to juggle this very difficult decision between running an environmentally clean company, and our growth.

Because of the effects of climate change, we’ve had to deal with unusually long rainy seasons that have made harvests difficult. Seeds can’t be harvested until they are dry. The cost of fuel in the country has also meant that our shipping costs have been a little high in the second part of the year because carriers have kicked their freight charges.

Despite all of that, we have grown and increase sales this year over last. We have managed to add two more people to our team for a total of 5 employees. Just this past month we dusted off an idle production facility in Kampala so that we could increase our production capacity. With two processing locations, we are better situated to produce large orders quickly once we are firmly into the dry seasons and able to access raw materials from our farmers.

Measuring one acre and planting moringa in the rich organic soils of Masindi's countryside

Speaking of raw materials, we just started breaking ground on 25 acres that will be our primary supply for our moringa oil, and moringa seed cake products. 2 of those acres have been planted and will be our primary supply for moringa powder. This capacity will come online in about 6-8 weeks.

New growth for a new future: A moringa tree begins its journey to fruiting profits

Another 20 acres, which we expect to finish planting in a few months, will be specifically dedicated to producing our seed supply. We will start accessing this capacity in late 2012.

The future is looking bright and we would like to thank the customers that have engaged us this year. Moringa holds a lot of promise in our community as a job creation engine and we look forward to expanding responsibly and employing more people. So please, continue to send us your orders. We are committed to providing you a quality product. Because without a quality product, then you as a customer will have no reason to come back to us. And without customers, we can’t grow to meet your needs.

From all of us in Masindi, Uganda, thank you for a great year and we look forward to an even greater 2012.

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