Dell Social Innovation Competition_Moringa HOPE

Africa boasts with some of the most beautiful cultures and landscapes in the world, but it also has millions of people hungry for opportunity to break away from socio-economic concerns like poverty, HIV/AIDS and unemployment in rural communities. The Moringa HOPE project aims to address these social-economic problems using an easily implemented and self-sustainable plan to address Health, Opportunity for growth, Poverty alleviation and Economic development. We propose the plantation of Moringa oleifera trees in small, community-managed farms. Moringa trees are entirely edible and have above average nutritional content. In addition, it produces seed with high oil content that have been shown to be suitable for biofuel production. Moringa trees are easily cultivated in sub-tropical climates of the Kwa-Zulu Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces of South Africa. Trade of Moringa products hold lucrative rewards, because products like leaf powder and purified Moringa oil have high market values. We also propose a strategy to use Moringa oil for biofuel production that could supply some, if not all, of the communitys energy requirements. Because of dwindling fossil fuel reserves and high fuel prices, alternative sources for fuel production are needed. Moringa is a renewable source for such fuel and, unlike soy, maize and sugarcane, the use of Moringa oil for biofuel production will not influence food reserves. Also, Moringa can be planted on marginal lands, thus not …
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