Last week Stitch teamed up with Project Mitsinjo for the second instalment of the health talks. Mampandry, the Mitsinjo Community Agent for Sainte Luce planted some moringa seedlings around the Stitch studio. The seedlings were very kindly donated from SEED Madagascar’s nursery project in Sainte Luce.
Mampandry digging outside the studio
The moringa oleifera plant has enormous health benefits and can be used to combat malnutrition. Nutrition is a huge concern in Sainte Luce and many people eat either cassava or rice for every meal. Some people are able to afford fish and greens for some meals, but many rely on cassava, which has very limited nutritional value.
The Stitch monitoring since the project began has shown a marked improvement in the diets of the Stitch women and their families due to their increase in income. The 21 Stitch women are now collectively responsible for feeding 177 people with the hamlets of Sainte Luce.
Olga and Hambrolline outside the studio
Moringa leaves are not only delicious but they contain a huge amount of nutrients. Gram for gram their contain seven times more vitamin C than oranges, four times for vitamin A than carrots and double the protein of yoghurt.
Didiane making moringa tea
Mampandry demonstrated how to plant a moringa seedling and then the women took over the digging and planting themselves. He then showed them how they can use moringa leaves in cooking and in tea. When the moringa plants around the studio grow, the Stitch housekeeping team will make tea for the studio every day.
Kirisy planting a seedling
We gave each woman a seedling to take home. As the Stitch women are very well respected within the community, we hope that demonstrating the benefits of moringa will consolidate the work of Project Mitsinjo and encourage people within the community to use moringa plants to improve their nutrition.
Didiane, Nesiteni, Fideline, Anastasy and Fraline leaving with their seedlings
Next week we will be delivering a health talk on eye care and distributing some much needed and very kindly donated reading glasses!
Comments