The fundamental question driving the Mushumbi Water Project in Zimbabwe was: How can we ensure safe, easy access to water to improve health and quality of life in rural communities in Africa? Put simply, our solution was to build wells, which local communities operate independently via their own Water Committees.

Healthy water supply = healthy people

According to health organizations, more than 700 million people worldwide lack access to clean drinking water. In places without a safe water supply, cholera and diarrheal diseases are some of the most common causes of death. Many children do not get enough to drink – with fatal consequences.

The new wells in Mushumbi are having a positive long-term impact on the health of the local population, who are no longer forced to drink contaminated water. “Drinking safe, worm-free water has changed our lives,” said one woman. “We no longer have diarrhea and stomach problems.” With the help of the Mushumbi Water Project, 20 wells were built from 2020 to 2022. More than 2,000 households – that’s around 10,000 people – are benefitting from the new drinking water supply.

Saving time, changing lives

Another benefit of the wells is that they save time. Previously, the women and children – who are traditionally responsible for fetching water in African families – had to undertake frequent long walks to the waterhole. Their only alternative was to scoop up water from the Dande River. “Before the wells were installed we used to waste a lot of time,” another woman tells us. “We would get out of bed at 4 o’clock in the morning to set out on the long search for water. We would lose three hours and not get to the fields to work until 7 o’clock. By that time it was already hot and the work was hard.”

Autonomous management and gender balance
A fundamental part of the Mushumbi Water Project is to share knowledge and enable communities to autonomously and sustainably improve their standard of living. Everyone involved benefits from the shared knowhow and the sense of community is strengthened.

One example is the autonomous management of the wells by Water Committees. We held various workshops and training sessions to show teams how to take care of the wells themselves, to maintain them, and to resolve smaller problems by working together as a community. Since almost all the fields are traditionally owned by men, it was important to us to ensure a better gender balance in the Committees. The proportion of women in the Water Committees is around 60 percent, ensuring greater inclusion of women in community decision-making processes.

Organic Africa brings new knowledge

Before the small farmers in the Mushumbi region began cultivating hibiscus for Organic Africa, most of them grew cotton or tobacco. Not only was this less lucrative, the work was also much more hazardous to health due to the use of various chemicals. As cotton and tobacco harvests deteriorated year on year in the wake of long periods of drought, the farmers became more interested in switching to a different raw material. Since then, hibiscus has been an important source of income in the region. “Rosella,” as the locals call the plant, only needs water just after sowing – afterwards it thrives, even in very dry places.

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However, there are two types that have stood out amongst the rest due to their use in traditional medicine: German chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.) and Roman chamomile (Chamomilum nobile). In this blog, we are talking about German chamomile – a favorite amongst many consumers because it makes a better tasting cup of tea.

Chamomile is native to Europe and West Africa and since ancient times, it has been highly valued by Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks for its medicinal properties – so much so that it was worthy enough to offer it to their gods. They regularly used the chamomile flowers to treat skin conditions caused by dry weather and as a calming beverage in the form of tea or tisane.* Today, chamomile is still valued for its personal care and calming benefits, but now it is being cultivated commercially in many countries. Martin Bauer’s supply chain, alone, spans 4 continents. Literally, chamomile is blossoming all around the world.

Chamomile has come a long way since ancient times and not just in terms of cultivation areas, but harvest methods too. Unsurprisingly, the first method of harvesting was hand harvesting. Finger picking, the most labor intensive harvest method, is only carried out on small stocks in most countries except in Egypt, where it is used almost exclusively. The picking rate of freshly harvested short-stemmed chamomile flowers is about 3-5 kg per hour. Somewhat higher picking yields were then achieved with so-called chamomile picking combs. They were used for harvesting cultivated fields in Hungary until the 1970s and are still used today for organized harvesting in wild populations. The picking rate of fresh flowers is about 50-150 kg per day. Throughout history, other methods included the use of special rakes or the comb shovels used in Hungary, which were swung through the chamomile stand like a scythe. Ultimately, such manual methods were not feasible for the production of large quantities. This was primarily due to the labor time requirements of about 25-30 working days per hectare. This problem had to be solved by the construction of mechanized harvesters.

Today, large scale commercial cultivation of chamomile in Germany and abroad uses chamomile picking machines, which pick the flower heads in the fields automatically and mechanically as a self-propelled machine, as a front carrier machine, or as a full harvester. These mechanical harvesting methods have a picking rate of 200-400 kg per hour and an area output of about 3.5 ha per day. These modern methods capture about 65-90% of all flowers, depending on climate and stand-specific conditions.

^*American Botanical Council

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For us, quality and sustainability belong together. We want our business practices to be good for nature, people, and society. Not only do we set the highest standards for our product quality, we are also careful with the natural resources we use. We are committed to biodiversity and more sustainable practices, and the diversity of our products reflects that. Here, we introduce you to some of our favorite crops and provide some information about how they are sourced. Today’s main actor: Peppermint Leaves.

Part 2: Preserving History

Peppermint is entrenched in our society: it is synonymous with oral care (chewing gum and toothpaste), a signal that the holidays are approaching (candy canes and peppermint bark), and a common component of our beloved home gardens. Although one of the most popular herbs today, not a lot of people know about the rich history of peppermint.

Pliny the Elder, the Roman naturalist, wrote that Greeks and Romans used peppermint to adorn themselves and their tables at feasts, and that their cooks used it to flavor both wine and sauces. (1) These dark green, coarsely serrated leaves may only grow to 2-5 inches in length, but their aroma and taste packs a refreshing punch to any product. Today, peppermint is a common flavoring for a range of applications, from cocktails to ice cream.

The same active that gives peppermint its distinctive flavor, menthol, also provides a sensation of coolness and easier breathing in today’s cough and cold remedies. (1) Peppermint has a long history in herbal medicine beyond immune health. One of the oldest surviving medical texts in the world, the ancient Egyptian Ebers Papyrus from 1550 BC, cites mint as a digestive and a tool to soothe flatulence. (2) To this day, peppermint in the form of tea is commonly consumed to aid in digestion and calm an upset stomach. (1)

With such widespread use, how do we ensure this history-rich botanical continues to be a common component in our lives? Fortunately, peppermint is an undemanding plant in terms of cultivation compared to other botanicals. However, it still requires intense field management to ensure optimal yields and the highest leaf quality. This includes careful tillage practices to help insulate the shallow root system through the cold winter months and integrated pest management practices that introduce natural predator insects, which greatly reduce the need for agri-chemical applications.

It is a perennial so well managed stands can last for 4-6 years, and many growing regions have conditions that allow the plant to generate two harvests per season. During harvest, peppermint is cut and laid out to naturally dry in the fields in the arid high desert growing regions, like the American Northwest. The dry leaves are removed and unused stems are most often finely cut and returned to the soil surface as water saving mulch, giving back to the very ground it came from.

1American Botanical Council
2JSTOR

Related Topics

Newsletter on Peppermint October 2020

Licorice root 

Products: Tea

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Der Beitrag Peppermint: Refreshingly Good and Good-For-You erschien zuerst auf MartinBauer.

For us, quality and sustainability belong together. We want our business practices to be good for nature, people, and society. Not only do we set the highest standards for our product quality, we are also careful with the natural resources we use. We are committed to biodiversity and more sustainable practices, and the diversity of our products reflects that. Here, we introduce you to some of our favorite crops and provide some information about how they are sourced. Today´s main actor: Licorice root

Part 1: The principle of careful use (Licorice root)

We treat nature’s treasures carefully to ensure they are still around for subsequent generations. We consider the needs and natural environment of the wild plants our collectors harvest before devising a moderate plan for their use that ensures their long-term survival.

We all know the unmistakable taste of licorice – it seems you either love it or you hate it. But not everyone is familiar with the root that the confection is derived from. The licorice plant is found in western and Central Asia and on the Mediterranean. The dark-brown roots, yellow on the inside, are 50 times sweeter than cane sugar, with an intense flavor reminiscent of fennel or aniseed.

The desire for sweets is obviously a fundamental human instinct. Sumerian runes dating back over 4,000 years show that Bronze Age humans revered licorice root and used it to flavor foods, beverages, and tobacco products. Roman soldiers are believed to have carried licorice root with them on their marches, as chewing on it quenches thirst and stills hunger.

Today, licorice root is used in many different products from candy to fire extinguishers. It is a mainstay of herbal medicine as a remedy for colds, coughs and sore throats, but it can also relieve stomachaches. The multi-talented herb inhibits the growth of bacteria, fungi and viruses, and has anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic properties.

Wild collectors working for Martin Bauer gather this plant, for example, from the nutrient-rich soil of the sunny fluvial plains by the Alazani River in eastern Georgia. But how can a root be sustainably harvested? Surely the plant dies when its root is torn up? Not in the case of licorice root. This plant has a robust root system that ensures its survival in the harsh steppes. The roots of a single plant can burrow several meters below ground and spread as far as eight meters. Our collectors treat stocks sparingly by only ever harvesting the top layer of roots, giving the licorice plenty of time to regenerate – as long as four years.

Want to learn more about our sustainability commitment?

Related Topic:

Der Beitrag Licorice root: A well-deserved break for a multi-talented plant erschien zuerst auf MartinBauer.

A third of the foods we consume each day relies on pollination, mainly by bees. These industrious insects contribute nearly $20 billion to the value of US crop production*.  Hey, they don’t call them busy bees for nothing!

Protecting and enabling our precious honey bees is paramount. Martin Bauer Group has installed several insect and bee hotels at our headquarters, sowing nearly 2 acres of bee pasture to encourage pollination.

And across the world, Martin Bauer Group is co-sponsoring a beekeeping community development initiative in Paraguay. In it, local families are given beehives and taught how to keep and care for the bees, in order to harvest honey and other products for income throughout the year. The hives help provide a sustainable source of income for 100 participating families, and positively impacts 600 community members. Each hive can produce three harvests each year, yielding up to 60 liters of honey.

You can help the bees thrive, too, in your own yard. Provide a fresh water source for them – a small basin is fine, with a few twigs set inside for the bees to perch on as they drink.  And planting colorful, pollen-rich plants and flowers – such as lavender, daisies, sunflowers and heather – will keep your neighborhood bees happy.  Because bees are central to every ecosystem, local efforts to protect them can have a direct and visible impact on their numbers.

*American beekeeping federation

Der Beitrag Little insect, big impact! erschien zuerst auf MartinBauer.

It’s almost like stepping back in time, to a simpler age.

For even in this era of automation, technology and manufacturing, there remain delicate botanicals that can only be harvested from their natural habitat, instead of being cultivated. With a volume of 30%, Wild Collection remains one of the most important procurement methods at Martin Bauer Group.

Found in very remote locations, wild-collected botanicals – such as – wild apples, linden flowers and stinging-nettle – are painstakingly harvested by hand – so they stay pristine, pure, and uncontaminated.

The process of collecting these precious botanicals isn’t without logistical challenges. Our collectors need to reach these remote sites, work safely and depart with the harvest – while employing methods that are sustainable, respectful and un-damaging to the local habitat.

We take this supply chain responsibility very seriously, for the sake of our environment, native populations, and the future success of wild collection.

We are staunchly committed to fair wages and providing all necessary working materials for our collectors. They also participate in training programs that offer education on various topics. We teach on sustainable collection methods that are both plant-friendly and environment-friendly. The respectful behavior in collection regions, including environmental and noise protection is essential for us. For the quality of our products it is important to learn about proper intermediate storage of the collected plants before transportation. We emphasize occupational safety in the field – for example, climbing training for Linden Flower collectors.

Proof that while this unique collection method may indeed be “wild,” it’s also controlled, respectful and highly principled, day in and day out.

Der Beitrag Into the WILD erschien zuerst auf MartinBauer.