Alpro Comm. VA

This company, based in Belgium, is Europe's leading soyfood company and specializes in soymilk and soya dairy alternatives. Since 2004, they have sponsored the work of Malnutrition Matters and, as the only corporate sponsor, have been critical in the evolution of the technology and its implementation. This is also the only sponsorship which is not tied to a particular project or region and therefore allows the development of MM's program with any technology and any project or region. This generous support has been provided without "strings" attached and is intended to reflect the corporate spirit of Alpro to benefit the poor consumers in developing countries while the company's own products and business are with the more fortunate "western" consumer. The fact that both Alpro and MM facilitate good nutrition with soy, at opposite ends of world's economic development, is an inspiration for this unique relationship. Learn more about Alpro at www.alprosoya.com.

Africare

Malnutrition Matters has worked with Africare to install VitaGoats and SoyCows in a number of African countries including: Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mozambique, Guinea and Chad. The proposed model in each case is to install a VitaGoat or SoyCow within a community already partnered with Africare for food security and health initiatives in order to create a sustainable small business that can help nourish the community, sell inexpensive and healthy foods to the locals and create employment. The ten VitaGoats installed in Zambia have enabled the establishment of a training and technical support center. Malnutrition Matters has developed a business guide for SoyCow/VitaGoat locations, that includes modules for: weaning foods, foods designed for people living with HIV/AIDS and mango and tomato processing. Information about Africare can be found at www.africare.org.

Child Haven International, India

The first SoyCows ever built were installed in Child Haven homes in India in 1990 in a partnership with ProSoya, the Canadian company which designed the original systems. Eventually this led to a technology transfer to an Indian manufacturer, SSP, who could produce the systems at a lower cost. Since that beginning, many SoyCow systems have been sold in India to both entrepreneurs and NGO's. Information about Child Haven can be found at www.childhaven.ca. SSP continues to manufacture SoyCow systems.

Child Haven also sponsored the transfer of technology to manufacture the VitaGoat in India (to G.D. Machines, see below), with funding from the Donner Foundation Canada (see below), and co-sponsored the installation of the first three VitaGoat systems in India. A second phase of VitaGoat-based development is proceeding in India now, with additional installations already complete in Orissa and Maharashtra. Deployment of the new fruit and vegetable dryer expected in India is in progress.

CIAT TSBF

The Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Institute of the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (TSBF-CIAT) has as overall goal 'to contribute to human welfare and environmental conservation in the tropics by developing adoptable and sustainable soil management practices that integrate the biological, chemical, physical and socio-economic processes that regulate soil fertility and optimize the use of organic and inorganic resources available to the land users'. TSBF-CIAT is engaged in i) strategic and applied research, ii) partnerships with development organizations, and iii) capacity building, facilitated by its African Network for Tropical Soil Biology and
Fertility (AfNet).

MM has been working with TSBF since 2008 and there are now four VitaGoats operational in Western Kenya under a joint program. These involve local co-operatives and micro enterprises. Additional projects are in Burundi and D. R. Congo. http://www.ciat.cgiar.org/ourprograms/

Donner Canadian Foundation

The Donner Canadian Foundation has funded key projects in India and Africa. The first phase of the India project, with Child Haven International as a partner, completed in May 2006, enabled the transfer of technology to manufacture the VitaGoat and allowed installation of VitaGoats in three pilot sites. The second phase of the India project, also funded by Donner is now nearing completion, with installation of 4 additional VitaGoats and the first fruit and vegetable dryer. In Africa, the Donner Foundation is funding the Rotary Club (see below) in their Africa VitaGoat project. Five VitaGoats have been installed as part of that project, in Zambia, Uganda and South Africa.

Eden Social Development Foundation

• Focus on on-site training of the value of soy to the community within their environment through interactive learning processes (nutrition, animal feed, entrepreneurial opportunities through small scale processing)
• On-site application of modules addressing plant procedure and crop management, domestic preparation of soy food, healthy living, basic business skills, home food security, HIV/Aids awareness, spiritual wellness focus.
• On-site implementation and application of acquired soy knowledge and skills to effectively change existing and new social and economic structures influenced by the addition of soy as a sustainable commodity.

www.edenfoundation.org.za/

First Steps, Korea

First Steps is a Canadian-based Christian humanitarian organization whose purpose is to prevent childhood malnutrition in the DPRK (North Korea) through programs which provide essential nutrients to young children. North Korea, with a population of about 23 million, has suffered acute food shortages for more than a decade. United Nations and World Food Programme reports (2003) show that between two and three million North Korean children (infants to age five) consistently fail to receive the nutrients vital to their physical and mental development. The result has seen the emergence of almost an entire generation of youngsters whose growth is stunted.

First Steps founder and Director Susan Ritchie, spent many years in Korea and China and is fluent in Korean and Mandarin. She is also a top diplomatic translator for Canadian/Korean functions and is very understanding of the political and social system in North Korea.

The First Steps program is centred on providing soymilk and other nutrition to children in various institutions. In 2003, First Steps arranged for the first VitaCows (a previous model of the SoyCow) from Malnutrition Matters. Over the following years the program grew with more and more VitaCows installed in various locations. As of June 2008, First Steps has 27 VitaCows and VitaGoats in operation reaching more than 60,000 children in orphanages, daycares and schools located in the cities of Nampo, Wonsan and Hyongjesan.

Officials remain enthusiastic about First Steps programs and have recently requested that new sites be added in order to help more children.

www2.firststepscanada.org/

GraceWorks Mynamar

GraceWorks Mynamar - What sets GraceWorks apart from other aid organisations is their focus on assisting groups and communities rather than individual children or families. Their objective is to help as many people as possible while keeping administration costs to a minimum. GraceWorks has over 500 passionate and committed supporters around Australia, New Zealand, England and Myanmar. GWM adds value to communities and individuals, and to the breadth of existing local and international NGOs, through differentiation as a lean, specialist, grassroots connector.

OIC International

OIC International - present in Haiti and 17 African countries with a focus on West Africa, OICI is a dynamic and passionate team with skills and expertise in a wide range of areas, including Technical and Vocational Training, Food Security, Maternal and Child Health, Business Development and Development Finance. OICI believes in the philosophy of self-help, and programs in Livelihood Enhancement and Workforce Development focus on empowering individuals and communities with the skills needed to become self-reliant.

Pristine Plants India

Pristine Plants India Ltd has been manufacturing high quality food processing equipment since 2006. It manufactures the VitaGoat and SoyCow for MM and also provides other models for soymilk production including the SC-30 and VS-40 systems, and has a complete line of all accessory equipment. PPI staff can provide commissioning and training services in South Asia. MM is happy to provide any of the PPI equipment to clients around the globe.

WISHH

Malnutrition Matters has been working with WISHH (World Initiative for Soy in Human Health) since 2001. They co-sponsored the VitaCow program implemented with the NGO Africare (see above). WISHH has also facilitated numerous initiatives with MM including workshops at the University of Illinois and conferences and workshops in various countries around the world. The current focus of the partnership with WISHH is the southern African region and the program called SISA (Soy in Southern Africa Alliance).

Information about WISHHs activities can be found at www.wishh.org

WORLD BANK DEVELOPMENT MARKETPLACE

The World Bank Development Marketplace is a competitive grant program of the World Bank that funds innovative, small-scale development projects that deliver results and have the potential to be expanded or replicated. Funding is provided on a 50/50 basis by the World Bank and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Malnutrition Matters was awarded funding for its ‘Rural Micro-enterprise for Supplemental Nutrition in Orissa’ project, as one of 22 winners of the 2007 competition (see the ‘Projects in Asia’ page for more information on this project). For more information on the World Bank Development Marketplace:

http://wbi.worldbank.org/developmentmarketplace/competition/idea/winner/108