cereamine peace corps-mauritania. imagine combining health, ag. and business

CEREAMINE

PEACE CORPS-MAURITANIA

Imagine Combining Health, Ag. and Business

What is Céréamine?

• Céréamine is a high-energy flour that is made from corn, beans, rice, millet, and peanuts.

Corn Beans Rice Millet Peanuts

GRAINS AND THEIR RATIOS

Ingredient

French Pulaar Hassaniya Wolof Quantity

Corn Mais Makka Maize Mboq 4 parts

Beans Haricots Niébé Aad Leguen

Nebbe 4 parts

Rice Riz Maaro Marro Cëbb 2 parts

Millet Mil Gawri Zra Dugub 2 parts

Peanuts

Arachides

Gerte Gerta Gerté 1 part

• CEREAMINE DEVELOPPED BY NGO “ACTION”. DR.

DIAGANA:NUTRITIONIST AND PROFESSOR.

• PROMOTED AS JOINT EFFORT BETWEEN THE NGO AND PEACE CORPS (all sectors but mostly Health Education and SED)

• C4:B4:M2:R2:P1 RATIOS MAKES IT UNIQUE. LOCAL POPULATION LIKES THE TASTE.

• RATIO BASED ON NUTRITIONAL QUALITY, TASTE AND AFFORDABILITY/AVAILABILITY

• WHERE INTRODUCED WITH SOME FORM OF EDUCATION IT WAS MET WITH SUCCESS.

• The flour is used to make a warm porridge similar to Cream of Wheat.

• Introduction made relatively easy because all ethnic groups already eat porridge and other flour based meals (nshe, Thiakry, Kodde etc..) but only with one flour type

Why Céréamine?• Provides product diversity• Can be used in a porridge that is in continuous

demand; as a drink, and can be used in lieu of flour for almost any recipe. (very culturally adapted

• Improve health conditions/highly nutritive • Easy to make • Extra source of income• Local employment opportunities• Tastes great

• Even though very nutritive with high levels of energy and proteins, it lacks micro nutrients like vitamin A and C. Adding fruit to the Cereamine porridge can enhance the taste and increase the micro nutrients.

Blended flours are more nutritious than single grain flours because they incorporate the different nutritional benefits of various grains. With 150g of Céréamine and 25g of moringa powder a child less than six years old can meet their energy RDA and protein RDA.

A moringa-Céréamine blend can also be used by people living with HIV/AIDS as s food supplement. (NGO ESPOIR ET VIE)

• Most feeding centers for malnourished children use a vitamin-rich flour provided by US Governmental aid organization as their supplemental food, USAID WSB (United States Aid, Wheat Soy Blend).

Céréamine, especially in conjunction with Moringa powder, is comparable to USAID WSB from a nutritional standpoint. As a locally available good, Céréamine can replace USAID WSB to lessen reliance on external aid.

Estimated Nutritional Values for 100g of Flour W/O Moringa

USAID Wheat Soy Blend

Céréamine

Energy (kcal) 355 425

Protein (g) 22 15

Lipids (g) 6 7

Glucoses (g) 47 75

Sodium (mg) - 165

Potassium (g) - 190

Calcium (mg) 840 60

Magnesium (mg)

225 22

Cereamine in Feeding Centers

• Cereamine can be a substitute for USAID Wheat Soy Blend used as a supplement in many feeding center programs particularly if blended with Moringa powder and/or mixed with fruits

• A couple of feeding centers are already using it.

There are many advantages to using a local product in feeding centers: Breaking the cycle of dependency on food aid.

Families can learn how to make it and continue feeding their children the blend after center closes out.

Cereamine can locally be produced and sold by a local business

“Using Cereamine in feeding centers also injects money into the local community. Farmers can profit by planting the beans, corn, rice, millet, and peanuts needed for Cereamine production, and local Cereamine producers such as cooperatives can also profit from the sales. Because poverty is an underlying cause of malnutrition, boosting the local economy may increase overall nutrition.”

• 10 kilos of Cereamine lasted about two weeks in a family with 11 children eating Cereamine porridge twice a day.

ROLE OF VOLUNTEERS• Raising awareness about the product and its

benefits• Training cooperatives and individuals on how to

make it in hygienic conditions• Doing market and feasibility studies• Helping set it up as a business with business

training• Linking producers to consumers: Feeding

Centers (children and people living with HIV) and boutiques

Will Céréamine sell?• People like it• Fits in the culinary habits: People of all ethnic

groups use a certain form of porridge, • Céréamine is comparable to the children’s

cereal Céréalac in energy, calories, and proteins.

• Céréamine can be stored in sacks for 1 year.• Céréamine can be used in different products:

Bread, Beignet, Fataya etc.• Relatively cheap

Will Céréamine sell?Market potential

• 55,000 people in Kaédi• 8 people per family =

6875 families• Each family makes

porridge once a week using ¼ kilo flour (1 kilo during Ramadan, ½ kilo during colder months)

• That’s over 140,900 kilos per year

0

10000

20000

30000

Ideas for the Future• Céréamine with moringa powder• AIDS/HIV patients making, eating, and selling Céréamine

as a food supplement (Espoir et Vie) and source of income• Sell wholesale to feeding centers• Develop one recognizable product for all of Mauritania with

sustainable publicity signs• Make something besides porridge and pancakes with it

Making Cereamine Sustainable• People like Cereamine. Taste like porridge. It is locally

produced and sold. Potential for it to be sustainable as great.

• Cereamine has been made and sold at local boutiques in many towns and villages, generating a good response.

• Still a lot to be done to develop Cereamine as a income-generating product. More trainings on how to make it and on how to run a business is still needed

• Supply chain to the boutiques needs to be developed. NGO ACTION has a semi industrial unit in Nouakchott. Product sold in Boutiques mainly in the poor neighborhoods of Nouakchott.