The women and children of Bounouna, in Burkina Faso, have been more than satisfied with the recently ended mango season, according to Dutch group Eosta.
This is because European consumers have been purchasing Bounouna-grown organic, fairtrade mangoes, which in turn means the villagers will have a new waterwell by the end of this year.
The well will save villagers a 4km-long daily walk to the river, with money for the project raised through the Nature & More 1 Cent for the Future campaign.
“On behalf of the villagers of Bounouna I would like to thank all customers and consumers of Nature & More for their conscious buying decision and good taste!' said Zongo Adama, mango supplier for Nature & More in Burkina Faso. 'By buying our mangoes they contributed directly to building a water well in this village. I will personally make sure that all the money goes straight to the project.”
For every kilogramme of organic Burkina Faso mango's sold, 1 cent was put aside, on top of the regular fairtrade premium. meaning that €12.000 was raised over two years.
Nature & More's mango specialist Pieter-Jan Nieuwenhuijs got so enthusiastic about the project that he went to the Food Film Festival in Amsterdam to sell the mangoes to visitors personally and raise money for the well.
'The villagers now take their water from a little river that is not very clean,' added Adama. 'During the dry season they have to walk a distance of 4km and carry the water back. This is usually done by women and children. A water well means that clean and safe drinking water will be at hand, leaving them more precious time for school and work.'
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