Local entrepreneur gives life to Tamarind

DOREEN NAWA, Lusaka
TAMARIND, known as kawawasha in some dialects in Zambia and prized for its sweet-and-sour taste, is rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
Often used to make juice, its sticky pulp is also a rich source of dietary fibre.
Ecological research done by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) called Sustainable diets and biodiversity shows that 100 grammes of fruit pulp provides 5.1 or over 13 percent of the dietary fibre that a human being typically needs in a day.
A private nutritionist Felix Kabbila says tamarind, which is native to tropical Africa, is particularly useful for restoring electrolyte imbalance when one experiences dehydration.
This is the reason some Zambian communities will serve a glass of tamarind to a guest on a hot day – or as a hangover remedy.
“It belongs to the vegetable order though it is treated and consumed like a fruit. It is this pulp that contains all the nutritional and health benefits of the tamarind fruit.”
However, despite all the beneficial nutrients present in tamarind, it remains just a wild fruit for many.
Mr Kabbila believes that value addition to this wonder tree and its fruits would be of great help in up-scaling ways of combating malnutrition in the country.
But for all its widespread use and health benefits, tamarind still remains largely unimproved and unappreciated as a horticultural crop.
Goodson Gatsi, a resident of Kafue district, says he has known the fruit since he was born.
“I only know that you can eat the fruit just by sucking it. I did not know it has several benefits and can be made into a juice. We also use the tree for firewood,” Mr Gatsi says.
Sustainable Innovation Africa (SIA), an initiative by a Zambian agribusiness expert, has started adding value to tamarind and now makes juice out of it.
The juice is packed in bottles as a fusion and sold on the local market and abroad, particularly in Lesotho and South Africa.The juice named busika, which is the name for tamarind in Tonga, entered the market in December last year.
Since then, 21, 000 bottles have been produced.
SIA is currently working on a digital application that will see consumers buy the product online.
“We’re looking at digital marketing,” SIA executive director Wesley Wakung’uma, says.
“We decided to develop this initiative because we noticed that this fruit is going to waste yet it has a lot of health and environmental benefits.”
“Tamarind is a versatile fruit whose value can be added to a number of different consumer products. The seeds, bark and stem have also been shown to have medicinal properties. Currently, the demand for tamarind processed products exceeds supply,” Mr Wakung’uma says.
However, the commercial potential of tamarind has not been realised yet despite the value being added to it. It is believed that there is a lack of awareness of the potential of tamarind at village level.
But there is anecdotal evidence that the crop could be more profitable to farmers than moringa. What is lacking though is developing the industry and building farmer capabilities to increase volumes.
Mr Wakung’uma says according to a research he did on the benefits of tamarind, many people are turning to the exotic option of tamarind juice to improve their health in various ways.
The fruit of this wild tree has a taste that can be described as both sweet and sour.
This plant now grows in many tropical areas in the world.
But because of deforestation that has hit the country following the high production of charcoal, SIA has acquired land in Njolwe area, east of the capital Lusaka, where a project to start cultivating the tamarind trees has commenced.
So far, 10, 000 tamarind seedlings are earmarked to be planted as a way of restoring the forest.
In Zambia, there is information gap on the growth, genetic conservation and development and utilization of tamarind.
“Countries have overlooked the significance of tamarind resources in terms of food security. To diversify livelihood and food security for the poor people in arid lands having poor soils, persistent agricultural crops failure and chronic annual famine, there is need to identify such useful trees for their utilization in food, beverages and other industrial products, Mr Wakung’uma says”
Almost every part of the tree is usable.
Vice-President of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) Non State Actors Coalition (CNC) Cris Muyunda says wild foods are important for food security and nutrition while trees and forests are vital for their role in the provision of ecosystem services to agriculture locally and globally.
“Wild foods like tamarind and many others contribute both directly and indirectly to food security and nutrition globally,” Dr Muyunda says.
He says with food security and nutrition high on the agenda in the nation, it is crucial to understand the contribution of forests and trees to family needs. PUBLISHED ON MAY 27, 2018. ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL.