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| Making Peanut Butter Profits with Markala Women's Association (ABEF) |
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| Project Director |
| Cecile Kiye, Tamba Traore |
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Project Number |
Total Cost (US$) |
Location |
CH02-09 |
$984.68 |
Markala, Mali |
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Project Details
On his first visit to the Markala community near Segou, Mali Executive Director Scott Lacy met with the
leaders of ABEF, a self-advocacy and micro-enterprise group of local women. ABEF president Cecile
Kiye presented Lacy with a comprehensive proposal and budget to launch a soap making enterprise that
would be operated exclusively by ABEF members for income generation. African Sky funded their
proposal with a modest start-up grant, and within a few months Country Director Tamba Traore reported
that ABEF had already produced two batches of soap and reinvested their profits to bolster their
production. But the soapmaking enterprise soon transformed into a new and more profitable business.
The women of ABEF proposed a transition from soap making to peanut butter production. They discussed
the idea with African Sky leaders, who reminded the women that the were encouraged to do with their
profits whatever they saw fit. As a result, the women closed down their soap making business and started
making and selling premium peanut butter. Their strategy was straight forward. The ingredients to make
soap were expensive in Markala because some of them come from far away. Conversely, Markala and
nearby communities grow plenty of peanuts. ABEF started purchasing peanuts from local producers, and
they used past soap profits to start buying basic equipment to make large batches of peanut butter.
In 2009 African Sky assisted ABEF with their transition to peanut butter production. We provided two
small enterprise grants to invest in their new business ($711.16 in January, and $273.52 in July). The
women used their grant money to purchase better equipment for making peanut butter including durable
tubs, an iron barrel spit to roast the peanuts, a quality scale to weigh and sell the finished product, and
more. Today, ABEF meets approximately once every 4-6 weeks to make peanut butter, some of which
they bring back for their families, the rest of which they sell to neighbors and others. Because ABEF uses
only high quality peanuts, and because their prices beat local market prices for peanut butter, their
customer base is growing faster than their production rate! ABEF members report that they are using
their personal profits to pay for their children's school expenses, their family's food, and for personal
needs including soap, clothes, medicine, and tea.
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