The project aims to break cycles of poverty and chronic malnutrition by educating Malagasy people about the benefits of growing and eating moringa.

The project aims to find sustainable solutions to some of Madagascar's complex challenges. Its goal is to make moringa trees accessible to the entire nation. This is achieved by building expertise through agricultural schools and spreading knowledge through the church and other national networks.

80% of the population works in agriculture. Thus, agriculture schools are important institutions in the nation. By equipping and empowering the Malagasy people, we hope to make them self-sufficient and less dependent on external support. We believe that local farmers are the best experts on agriculture in their areas and that they will have the greatest reach in helping their own communities, as they understand the language, culture, and local conditions.

Our partners in Madagascar are the agricultural schools Tombontsoa and Fihaonana. They are owned by the Lutheran Church in Madagascar (FLM).

The agricultural schools are building expertise and conducting research on moringa. The students bring this knowledge home to their districts.

We believe that knowledge dissemination is key to fostering change. For the Malagasy people to start using moringa, they need to be convinced that it works. By developing competence at the agricultural schools, we ensure that thousands of future farmers gain both theoretical and practical experience with moringa.

The principal of Fihaonana leads a network of 191 agricultural schools. Now, the knowledge will be shared with all these schools. Moringa resources created at the schools are freely shared with other stakeholders.

Children are often born blind in Madagascar because mothers lack vitamin A during pregnancy. Moringa contains 10 times more vitamin A than carrots per gram. By adding moringa to the diet, it is possible to prevent children from being born blind.

Malnutrition during pregnancy and breastfeeding are two of the main factors contributing to many children starting life with disadvantages. Giving moringa to pregnant and nursing women increases birth weight and can double breast milk production.

Women's Network
The women's network in the Lutheran church is an important platform for spreading knowledge within the church. They are well organized at the national, regional, and local levels. Moringa has been a topic at several conferences within the network. Here, they have received training, resources, seeds, and small plants. It is crucial to involve women if we want to change family eating habits!

Scouting Movement
The scouting movement is also, at the request of the church's highest leadership, a main focus area for spreading knowledge about moringa through the church.

School Meals
A long-term goal for the moringa project is to integrate moringa into school meals. Many schools offer one rice meal a day. By adding moringa, the meal is significantly improved, providing children with better conditions for learning. Students at Fihaonana eat moringa every day!

The church is the social network in Madagascar. The Lutheran church has 152 "tobyes" — centers where the mentally ill are cared for by "shepherds." The Moringa project, alongside the Green Diakonia project, is planned to expand to all 152 tobyes over the coming years. Thousands of shepherds have already been trained, and more are being trained in the benefits of using Moringa.

By training the shepherds in tree planting and vegetable cultivation, several positive impacts are achieved:

• Improving nutrition and health in the tobyes
• Enhancing economic conditions
• Fostering meaningful interaction between the sick and the shepherds, which is healing and dignifying—those who are ill get the opportunity to participate in growing their own food
• Those who leave the tobyes take valuable knowledge with them home

Tree planting is a natural extension of teaching about moringa.

The Agricultural schools contribute significantly to tree planting activities each year to combat deforestation, moringa being one of many species planted. Trees help retain soil and mitigate the impacts of environmental challenges such as floods, droughts, and erosion.

One vision is that all families will be able to grow their own moringa.

Photo Gallery