How Umoya Foods Aims To Provide Products That Drive Rural Development
How Umoya Foods Aims To Provide Products That Drive Rural Development. Umoya Foods is a venture of Scaled Impact, a South African not-for-profit that creates local and international products and markets to drive rural development. Each one of its healthy whole foods based products contains ingredients that are carefully chosen and, wherever possible, sourced from the local producers and small farmers the company works with to drive rural community incomes. Umoya products link clients directly to the farmers who grow and gather the ingredients. The company’s products are also free from refined sugars, gluten, artificial additives or preservatives and are packaged in fully recyclable packaging.
The foundation of Umoya is built on 3 pillars: High quality health food products: the company uses as few ingredients as possible with intent behind each choice. No refined sugar, artificial additives or preservatives have been used. Local sourcing: Wherever it can, it works directly with local producers and small farmers to drive rural community incomes. Buying an Umoya product links clients directly to the farmers who grow or gather the ingredients. Developing small producers: Umoya Foods works with small scale farmers in Limpopo and Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, to identify high value crops, assist in developing on-farm processing systems and guide the farmers to meet food safety requirements for commercial retail products.
The company is currently focussed on creating a market for the amaranth plant which is a drought resistant crop suited to the Southern African climate. Its amaranth leaf is grown by small scale farmers in South Africa. Umoya Foods also strives to ensure that its products impact the environment as minimally as possible. The company’s packaging is therefore fully recyclable with home compostable inner bags.
Umoya Foods sources its baobab powder locally from Eco Products in Limpopo who work with local rural communities to sustainably gather the fruit of the quintessentially African Baobab tree with the aim to protect the trees and to provide these villages with income. EcoProducts then further processes the fruit into oil and powder which the company then uses in the production of its Feisty Baobab Spring nutrient boost and its Thrive Baobab cereal.
