Soybean paste made from soaked soybeans. This paste
is then put into the VitaGoat cooker along with water and
cooked, using steam from the boiler, to make soymilk.

Soymilk is produced by the group. The system is rated at 30 liters/hour. Assuming a 4 hour/day production, this is equivalent to the milk output of several hundred (real) goats! Soymilk and its derivatives – including tofu and sour milk – were very popular and can be sold at a good profit while remaining affordable for most people.

“Beurre de karité” (shea butter) is used locally for cooking,
treating aching muscles, relieving congestion and as a
general skin cream. Shea butter is very high in Vitamin E
and other anti-oxidants and it is believed that there is a
large market for “authentic” locally-processed shea
butter in the West.

These women have been processing shea nuts into “butter” for most of their lives (shea is known as “karité” in French West Africa). This butter is much sought after in the West, where it is used in cosmetics and chocolate making. The VitaGoat grinder made grinding the nuts into a paste much easier and faster, leading the women to remark that this system would greatly improve their lives.

This woman is grinding roasted soybeans to make soya
“coffee” - a popular drink in some regions of West Africa.
The VitaGoat grinder made the grinding much easier than
using manual methods and the quality of the grind and
flavour of the coffee was praised by all.

The woman above is shown pumping water (via the hose leading from the bucket) into the boiler.
The water level is monitored via a ‘sight glass’ which indicates when more water is required. The boiler is simple to use and much more fuel efficient than traditional cooking methods.

VitaGoat Africa
April 2004 Field Project Report – Chad , Central Africa

TThis report describes the installation of the third pilot system in Chad and assesses the technical and business potential of the system in an African context.

The results documented point very favourably towards the large positive potential that the VitaGoat has in enhancing food and income security in Africa .

When Africare was asked to select pilot sites for the first three VitaGoats, the second country to be selected was Chad . Malnutrition Matters staff traveled to Chad between April 27 and May 4, 2004 .

The VitaGoat was installed in Doba in the South of Chad, in the oil-producing region. Doba is a city of over 200,000 inhabitants situated 400 km (250 mi) south of the Chadian capital, N'Djamena. The selected partner group was a mix of 12 investor/partners. There were many potential partners identified by Africare who were interested in investing in a system; a selection process was used to choose a highly motivated group.

Each of the members of this ‘VitaGoat cooperative' had each contributed about US$60 towards the set-up and purchase or raw materials for training. The funds for the building were covered by local investors, and the balance of funds required to purchase and ship the equipment was loaned by Africare.

A site had been prepared according to a three-page checklist sent to Africare, with the main feature being the right size of building to house and operate the system. The initial setup of the VitaGoat required 3-4 hours and was problem-free. For the 3-day training session, in addition to the cooperative members, other people were present, including local government representatives, other NGO staff and technical personnel from the regional agricultural department.

The training included operation of the cycle-grinder, boiler, cooker and press. A wide variety of food types and value-added processing were included in the food processing section of the training. Foods produced included: peanut butter, corn meal and flour, mango puree, mango juice, tomato puree, soymilk, tofu, soy yogurt and sour soymilk. Sufficient quantities of each product were processed to determine the output per hour and to adjust the cycle grinder to the correct speed. The fruit / vegetable grinder was of course used to produce the mango and tomato purees and juices and the cereal / nut grinder being used for the the soybean mash, peanut butter and corn meal / flour.

The foods most appreciated in priority order were: soy yogurt, sour soymilk and soymilk.

The training included both food production and sanitation practices. The local sanitation standards were somewhat low, so it was necessary to repeatedly stress that careful cleaning was highly important, especially in the value-added processing for tofu and soy yogurt. It was noted that failure to have clean utensils and vessels risks contamination of the yogurt/tofu cultures with other bacteria which would change the taste and/or lower the time to spoilage of the products.

Other practices that were included in the training were packaging and storage of the processed foods, and maintenance of the equipment. Maintenance training included thorough daily cleaning of the cooker, press and required utensils. Other maintenance practices shown were cleaning of the fire pit in the boiler and cleaning of the inside of the boiler itself, to ensure that scaling is occasionally removed from the inside of the boiler to ensure long life and efficient operation.

Other processes discussed during training included the marketing approaches and techniques one might use in introducing the various foods (some new to consumers) to the marketplace.

One highly encouraging discovery was that a number of the foods could produce a very high profit margin for the cooperative. A cost benefit analysis revealed that the higher margin foods were soy yogurt, sour soymilk, soymilk and mango juice. As the production cost for soymilk was about 5 times less than the selling price for milk, there was plenty of room for profit even after consideration for a lower price (than comparable milk products) and the payback of investors' and Africare's loans.

Cow's milk is sold in the morning by street vendor women, carrying a large bowl on their heads. Soymilk and derivatives could easily be sold in a similar manner. The primary challenges to success were identified as low sanitation standards and the ability to introduce new foods to the market. Several group members were experienced at business and had sold food before, so this bodes well for the success of this cooperative venture.

In the end, the cooperative group, Africare staff, government representatives and other NGO representatives now all believe that the VitaGoat can easily be used from the moment it is “out of the box” to create value-added products made from locally available commodities that can sell well. This pilot training again confirmed that the VitaGoat could be very successful and sustainable in Africa.

Future innovations to the system may include adapting a battery–charging system to the flywheel on the cycle-grinder in order to provide lighting for nighttime production or other activities (like allowing children to do homework, etc) and to finding other uses for the steam boiler (food and industrial applications have already been discussed).

Here is a brief illustrated montage of the VitaGoat experience in Chad :

Soymilk Production in the room built for the VitaGoat

Mango puree is prepared with the fruit mill and yogurt is being distributed for local sampling

The local group of “partners” and guests gather to sample soymilk, tofu and soy yogurt.

VitaGoat Africa
May 2004 Field Project Report - Mozambique

The objectives of this trip were:
a) To install a VitaGoat system at a site sponsored by Africare, in the Sussundenga District, near Chimoio in central-west Mozambique.
b) To provide training in the operation of the system and the processing and formulation of various foods, particularly soymilk and derivatives.

Background VitaGoat systems had already been successfully installed in two other Africare-sponsored (click the Field Work tab elsewhere on this website for more information) locations: Guinea, and Chad. Both locations had subsequently indicated the need for additional systems, and two have already been ordered for Guinea.

Preparations

According to the VitaGoat site preparation guide (see Site Requirements under VitaGoat elsewhere on this website for more details), a number of preparations were made prior to the installation and training. Most notable were:

· The construction of a small hut of about 20 sq. M, with concrete floors, and separate rooms for production (wet area) and storage (dry area). This was necessary as no building was available with the required space.
· The installation of a water tank (no running water is required).
· The provision of work tables, utensils, vessels, food ingredients, etc.

The location of Ms. Lazaro’s compound was conveniently next to a local school so that as soon as products were available for sampling, there was a ready supply of students and teachers keen to taste the products. In addition, the school provides additional opportunities for informing the local community about the foods which will be available and nutritional information as well.

Day One
Installation

The two crates containing the VitaGoat system were unpacked and set up with the help of Africare personnel and the local handyman.

During the installation, various points about maintenance were covered. In addition, a detailed VitaGoat Technical Guide was provided, which included topics such as installation, maintenance, operation, food formulation etc.

The installation was completed after about four hours. Normally this might take half the time, but because of the training aspect going in parallel, additional time was needed.

One of 2 shipping crates for the VitaGoat

VitaGoat Operations Building

Training was provided in the method of bean soaking (i.e. time required, amount of water, etc.) and three batches of soybeans were soaked, with 2kg in each batch. This would allow about 45 liters of soymilk to be produced on the first training day.

The system was first tested – demonstrated by cooking water only, as a way to show the general operational principles and also to test the boiler, cooker, safety valves, etc. After this the first production of soymilk could be started.

Using the grain mill attachment, each batch of soaked soybeans was mashed using the VitaGoat cycle grinder. This took about
five minutes of cycling effort per batch. The wet soybean mash
was put in about 12 L of cold water and was ready for the
pressure-cooker.The boiler was filled with the hand pump, and all aspects of its operation and maintenance were outlined during training. A small fire was started in it, with locally available wood. When the boiler reached its operating pressure, production began and continued until all three batches of soymilk were produced

A moderate amount of sugar and salt were added to the finished milk and after some cooling, it was served to dozens of local people including school children and teachers. The acceptability of the lukewarm soymilk was almost universal, with most people eagerly accepting seconds.

Training points covered: · Complete operation of the system
· Formulation for soymilk
· Shelf-life issues - sanitation, etc.
· “Fresh” sales to consumers
· Pricing and sales information

Day Three
Training: Soymilk – Yogurt – Tofu, etc.

At the end of the previous day, instructions were left for the overnight soaking of three additional batches of soymilk, which were to be produced into value-added soymilk derivatives.After the soymilk was produced in the same manner as the previous day, each batch was further processed.

The first batch was processed into tofu. After adding the appropriate amount of coagulant, (a variety which would be locally available), the soymilk curds were left to form, before being ladled into the tofu box for pressing. After the pressing was complete the blocks of tofu were chilled in cool water before sampling.

The sampling audience, including Africare personnel, other local adults and some children, were at first hesitant about this new “bland” type of cheese. However it was explained that tofu is not normally eaten “raw” this way, but is cooked, or fried with spices and sauces, and simply frying in oil with onions or spices makes a crispy / chewy food, which is quite good. The sampling proved successful nevertheless by simply adding salt to the bite-size cubes of “raw” tofu. The next day, a local worker was observed enjoying a sandwich with a slice of fried tofu in it.

It was further explained that by keeping the tofu in cool, fresh water, extra days of shelf-life are possible. The local water comes from a deep well, and when the tofu-in-water vessel is kept on the cement floor, the tofu will stay fresh for several days without refrigeration.

Sour soymilk was also made by simply leaving the milk overnight to sour. This is comparable to the ordinary sour milk which is also locally consumed. This batch of soymilk was all consumed by the next day before detailed evaluation was possible.

Yogurt was made by simply stirring in locally available cow yogurt, to a soymilk which had cooled to between 40-45 C (a thermometer was provided for this purpose). The yogurt was partially incubated in the sun, and when the sun went down, further incubated by insulating the vessel.

The next day, the finished yogurt, which in this case had a consistency somewhere between a typical firm yogurt and a drinkable yogurt, was sampled by various local people. This product proved to be the most popular, even more than the fresh milk from the first day. This is a great factor in the potential success of the whole operation, because:
a) The soymik yogurt is the easiest value-added product to produce.
b) It allows for an additional day of un-refrigerated shelf-life.
c) It allows for soymilk production on one day to provide fresh products for that day plus yogurt for the next day.

Day Four
Tomato Puree / Juice & Peanut Butter

After attaching the fruit mill option to the cycle grinder, approximately 5 kg of tomatoes were processed into a mash of puree and raw juice. Both were put into the VitaGoat cooker and cooked like soymilk but at a lower temperature to preserve vitamins.

The resulting cooked and filtered tomato juice was deemed good but thinner than desired. This was because water had been added because the available tomatoes were not very ripe and harder to process.

Peanut butter was produced by simply switching back to the grain mill option on the cycle grinder. Prior to processing, the fresh local peanuts were de-hulled and lightly roasted. About two kg of peanut butter was produced during about fifteen minutes of operation.

Summary

This site is well prepared for a successful operation. The ultimate outcome will depend on a number of factors, including:

· The co-workers who will be selected and trained
· The local marketing support to be undertaken with the support of Africare
· Local soybean supply (local growing is currently being promoted by Africare), as the soybeans currently available are from outside the immediate region.

Because of the dedication of the local entrepreneur, and the well-prepared site, this location is ideal to act as a training center for subsequent operations in Mozambique.

Fresh soymilk, soymilk yogurt, and peanut butter are certainly marketable in the community, as the local acceptance has been proven. Additional products from mango and tomato will require more development, as they are available in season – ripe and low cost, however the basic training in their processing, using the fruit mill option, has been done.