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Title: ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT AND NUTRITIONAL ENHANCEMENT THROUGH COMMUNITY NUTRIBUSINESS INITIATIVES

Author
item SEETHARAMAN, KOUSHIK - PENN STATE UNIV
item MARETZKI, AUDREY - PENN STATE UNIV
item HIGDON, FRANK - PENN STATE UNIV
item DUNN, JAMES - PENN STATE UNIV
item BROWN, J. - PENN STATE UNIV
item Bogle, Margaret
item MUKUNYA, DANIEL - COLLEGE OF AG & VET SCIEN

Submitted to: CD ROM
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/15/2002
Publication Date: 1/1/2003
Citation: Seetharaman, K., Maretzki, A., Higdon, F., Dunn, J., Brown, J.L., Bogle M., Mukunya, D. 2003. Economic empowerment and nutritional enhancement through community NutriBusiness intitatives. In: Proceedings of the SYAL Conference, October 16-18, 2002, Montpellier, France. 2003 CDROM.

Interpretive Summary: As we enter the 21st century, hunger, infant malnutrition and poverty have eluded global and regional efforts to eradicate, or even reduce them significantly, leaving an estimated 800 million people food insecure world-wide. A variety of programs and approaches have addressed these issues, ranging from national efforts to produce low cost foods for the nutritionally vulnerable to local efforts targeting behavioral changes within the community to minimize the incidence of malnutrition among infants and young children. A key lesson learned over the past several decades is that the conditions leading to poverty and malnutrition are complex and interrelated. Any strategy designed to alleviate these conditions has to overcome barriers at the family, community, regional, national and international levels. A holistic approach is needed that addresses the immediate needs of the household or community while acknowledging the socio-cultural milieu within which efforts are undertaken to assure that the approach is sustainable. The NutriBusiness concept implemented in two communities in Kenya is being adapted for possible implementation in Namibia and the United States. As a household food security strategy, the NutriBusiness concept takes advantage of the observation that economic empowerment of women typically results in improved nutrition for the family. In addition, the strategy encourages economic activity that keeps individuals engaged in their local community and translates that activity into a profitable economic venture that promotes entrepreneurship, builds self-esteem, creates social capital and enhances community capacity to address local problems.

Technical Abstract: This paper describes a participatory community development initiative that serves the dual purposes of economic empowerment of women in rural areas and improvement of the nutritional well-being of infants and children in urbanizing areas where packaged foods are typically consumed. The dual goals are achieved through the establishment of women-owned cooperative enterprises that formulate, manufacture and market culturally appropriate, nutritious food products using crops grown locally. NutriBusiness cooperatives were established in the Bomet and Murang'a districts in Kenya between 1993 and 1999. Target communities in the two districts formulated porridge mixes suitable as a complement to breast milk for infants over six months of age. The culturally significant ingredient in the Bomet mix was finger millet, while in the Murang'a product it was bananas. Lessons learned in the process of assisting the Kenyan communities to establish cooperatives are elaborated in the paper. The concept has subsequently been adapted for implementation in two other locations; in Northern Namibia and in the Lower Mississippi Delta (LMD) region in the United States. The similarities as well as specific differences in the adaptability of the NutriBusiness concept to developing and developed countries are discussed. The formulation for the potential product for Namibia is based on a feasibility study conducted by the University of Namibia. For the LMD, the formula is based on a study conducted by a Penn State graduate student. The paper highlights the potential for community-based rural development and sustainable household food security that can be achieved with appropriate technical assistance and minimal outside resources.