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| Village workers earning money |
"Don't try to work with village people. It will be much more difficult for you."
Those words from a business owner in Indonesia caused me to pause and carefully consider the path I was forging for myself. Although I had that conversation over six years ago I have never forgotten the warning. It was perhaps the best warning I ever ignored.Has it been difficult? Absolutely! But despite the warning, I felt it was necessary to do what I could to help people who were living on $2 a day. Over the years since that interaction with the businessman, it seems that my convictions have grown even stronger that, difficult or not, working directly with village residents may be the only way to create jobs among them. After all, there are mouths to feed in their families.
Has something noteworthy been accomplished? At the very least, it is now evident that village communities are capable of producing food products for export. There are mouths to feed in the rest of the world also.
Mouths to Feed in America
In September, we shipped 705 kg of packaged dried mangos to the US. Of the 2822 packages that were shipped, almost all have been sold. In fact, as of today (May 17, 2013), only 211 packages remain. The remaining packages may be sold soon because of the special offer (see below).
The mouths in America had noticeably different tastes than the mouths in the villages of East Java. Ask a villager in Tiron to taste three different types of mango blindfolded and he/she will guess them correctly every time. On the other hand, the average American may not even be aware that three different types of mango exist.
But ask an American about dried fruit and you will discover an awareness of dozens of types of dried fruit products, which are soft, chewy and full of natural flavor. For an Indonesian, dried fruit is fruit that has been subjected to deep frying in a pan of hot oil!
It was indeed a challenge to train folks who have a very sophisticated knowledge of fresh mango to make a product that they had never seen, and that they didn't even want to buy! After all, when the fresh product is so abundantly available in such appealing variations, a dried product doesn't seem that appealing, unless it is fried and covered in chili sauce.
Nevertheless, these villagers succeeded where many thought they would fail. They produced an exportable product, maintaining hygiene and product quality standards required by certifying agencies. If you don't believe me, you can check out the health certificates from 2012 and 2013. But perhaps more importantly, they made a product that satisfied the tastes of Americans. Check out the unsolicited customer comments here and here and even here. By feeding mouths in America they are able to feed the mouths of their own family members.
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| Java Bite dried mangos in US stores. |
The mouths in America had noticeably different tastes than the mouths in the villages of East Java. Ask a villager in Tiron to taste three different types of mango blindfolded and he/she will guess them correctly every time. On the other hand, the average American may not even be aware that three different types of mango exist.
But ask an American about dried fruit and you will discover an awareness of dozens of types of dried fruit products, which are soft, chewy and full of natural flavor. For an Indonesian, dried fruit is fruit that has been subjected to deep frying in a pan of hot oil!
It was indeed a challenge to train folks who have a very sophisticated knowledge of fresh mango to make a product that they had never seen, and that they didn't even want to buy! After all, when the fresh product is so abundantly available in such appealing variations, a dried product doesn't seem that appealing, unless it is fried and covered in chili sauce.
Nevertheless, these villagers succeeded where many thought they would fail. They produced an exportable product, maintaining hygiene and product quality standards required by certifying agencies. If you don't believe me, you can check out the health certificates from 2012 and 2013. But perhaps more importantly, they made a product that satisfied the tastes of Americans. Check out the unsolicited customer comments here and here and even here. By feeding mouths in America they are able to feed the mouths of their own family members.
Another Shipment
With dwindling inventory in the US, we felt it was time to execute another shipment. By the end of May, there will be another 6750 packages of (150 gram) dried mango available for sale in the US. Packed in 135 cases, the shipment began it's long journey from Tiron village in April. When the product arrives at the warehouse in Iowa, you will be able to purchase the product on our online store.
Expression of Gratitude
If you live in the US, we want to show our appreciation to you for being a part of the market that is helping us to help the folks of Tiron village. If you sign up for our newsletter and let me know that you did so by utilizing the "Contact Us" page, I will email you a coupon code that will deduct 33% off of the purchase price for any amount of Sunburst dried mango (250 gram). Of course, we can only make this offer while supplies last, so you may want to check product availability before you make plans for large purchases.
You can check product availability, sign up for the newsletter, receive updates about the recent shipment and order product at our online store.
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