The Marketplace Magazine November/December 2008

November December 2008

Where Christian faith gets down to business

“I can do that”

MEDA banks on “lead farmers” in former Mennonite homeland Giving thanks for trucks & toasters The seed that grows where coffee can’t Malaria Shoppe joins mosquito war

The Marketplace November December 2008

Roadside stand

Not business as usual There’s something exhilarating about entrepreneurs in action. Like the Creator we see at work on the first page of the Bible, they start with a concept, blend it with resources and risk, and fashion something that is beautiful or useful, and often both.

Entrepreneurs get their share of bad press, some of it deserved. But the inventive flair they all have in common generates benefits that civil society would not want to be without.

Their huge role in reducing poverty is seldom acknowledged. While the Christian world often seems preoccupied with simply redistributing wealth to seek economic justice, entrepreneurs have quietly forged ahead with alternate means of wealth creation and whole-life stewardship. Far more enduring, they might say, to provide others with opportunity and sustainable livelihoods.

This issue features several examples of how entrepreneurially endowed people are bringing economic hope that far outlasts mere transfer payments.

• In Ukraine (page 6) a business approach aims to unleash the potential of 5,000 smallholder farmers who till land once occupied by Mennonites in pre-Soviet times.

• In Nicaragua sesame producers (page 14) are finding a special niche in the global marketplace.

• MEDA’s Sarona fund (page 18) has had the courage

to invest where many investors fear to tread, for the benefit of millions of poor people.

• Who would have thought, a few years ago, that business had something to offer in fighting the world’s number one killer — malaria (page 20). And now a recent headline declares, “Malaria deaths fall in Africa” (The Guardian).

In numerous ways, the light of entrepreneurship is being shone into dark corners of need.

of ours. (Word is out, by the way, that some are suggesting applying the 100 mile test to other goods, such as laptops, cellphones, BlackBerrys, books, clothing, DVDs, building supplies and automobiles.)

Punching in. Koreans work an average of 45 hours a week, making them the hardestworking of 30 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Next in line were Greeks, Czechs and Hungarians. Americans came in ninth, at 35 hours a week, and Canadians lagged an hour a week behind them. Holding down last spot on this list were the leisurely Dutch, who clocked in an average of 27 hours a week. (CLAC Guide)

Also in this issue: In his usual crisp style, former MEDA staffer Ed Epp (page 13) gives a pro-poor take on the 100 mile diet that aims to reduce the distance food has to travel to our plates. He points out what wide-scale adoption of this diet would mean for the world’s poor, whose carbon footprint is about a fortieth

Why study economics? (1) You can talk about money

Protecting clients: 34 microfinance investor institutions (including MEDA/Sarona) have formulated and signed on to Client Protection Principles to ensure that low-income clients are treated fairly and protected from potentially harmful financial products. They’ve agreed to: (1) extend credit only to borrowers who are able to repay and not expose them to over-indebtedness; (2) disclose pricing, terms and conditions of financial products clearly and transparently; (3) ensure debt collection practices are not abusive or coercive; (4) employ high ethical standards with clients and ensure adequate safeguards to detect and correct corruption or mistreatment; (5) respond promptly to complaints or problems; (6) respect privacy of individual client data.

Internet mergers. Financial gurus are reportedly predicting unusual corporate consolidations in the months ahead: 3M will merge with Goodyear to become MMMGood, and FedEx is expected to join its competitor, UPS, and become FedUP. — WK

Cover photo of garlic seed enterprise in Molochansk, Ukraine,

by Wally Kroeker

The Marketplace November December 2008

without ever having to make any. (2) Mick Jagger and Arnold Schwarzenegger both studied economics and look how they turned out. (3) When you are in the unemployment line, at least you will know why you are there. (Globe & Mail)

In this issue

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The hidden power of sesame seeds. Page 14

Departments 2 4 13 22

Roadside stand Soul enterprise Sand in the gears Soundbites

Editor: Wally Kroeker Design: Ray Dirks

In Ukraine, farmers struggle to match the bounty produced by Mennonites a century ago. MEDA’s newest project is using a “lead farmer” model to showcase what can be done.

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Table graces

12

Business in his bones

14

Tiny seeds, big ambition

20

And now — the Malaria Shoppe

This being the season of gratitude, here’s a contemporary Thanksgiving blessing for ranchers, bakers, truck drivers and clerks....and microwaves, freezers and toasters. By Gerry Derksen

Meet Craig Martin, the new business prof at Canadian Mennonite University. He’s heading up a new academic program that blends business, faith ... and MEDA. By John Longhurst

The sesame seeds on that hamburger bun or morsel of sushi are so small, but their impact is huge for Nicaraguan farmers who battle poverty and frequent hurricanes. By Greg Amos

The battle against mosquito-borne malaria goes on — with plenty of help from business. The latest initiative? A factory outlet in Dar es Salaam’s teeming commercial district. By Nate Overly

Volume 38, Issue 6 November December 2008 The Marketplace (ISSN 0199-7130) is published bi-monthly by Mennonite Economic Development Associates at 532 North Oliver Road, Newton, KS 67114. Periodicals postage paid at Newton, KS 67114. Lithographed in U.S.A. Copyright 2008 by MEDA.

“I can do that”

Change of address should be sent to Mennonite Economic Development Associates, 1821 Oregon Pike, Suite 201, Lancaster, PA 17601-6466.

To e-mail an address change, subscription request or anything else relating to delivery of the magazine, please contact subscription@meda.org For editorial matters contact the editor at wkroeker@meda.org or call (204) 956-6436 Subscriptions: $25/year; $45/two years.

Postmaster: Send address changes to The Marketplace 1821 Oregon Pike, Suite 201 Lancaster, PA 17601-6466

Published by Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), whose dual thrust is to encourage a Christian witness in business and to operate business-oriented programs of assistance to the poor. For more information about MEDA call 1-800-665-7026.

Web site www.meda.org

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The Marketplace November December 2008 The Marketplace November December 2008

Too smart to listen?

Jesus talked about people who “hardly hear with their ears” (Matt. 13:13).

Turns out that could apply at work.

We’re told that most people hear only half of what’s being said to them, and really listen to only half of that.

Which means we grasp only a quarter of what is being said.

So in a 20-minute meeting with a boss or employee, the average person hears 10 minutes, and registers only five.

Why is that? Researchers say it’s because our brains function four or five times faster than people talk, so our minds wander to fill the gap. Seems we’re a bit too smart to be good listeners.

We may be missing some good feedback. But if we’re not listening, we may never know.

How to solve the problem?

One way is simply to begin a meeting by jotting down “5 to 1” on a piece of paper to remind you that your brain needs to slow down and be a good listener.

Another way is to take notes of the meeting as a form of mental discipline.

Finally, commit yourself to asking at least five questions during the discussion. That forces your brain to pay attention. (Ragan Report)

Meltdown malaise You’ve wondered about that colleague or employee who is stressed out by the economic crisis. Maybe you see erratic behavior, or detect signs of depression.

How do you “walk alongside” without offending, or even making things worse?

Understandably, workplace stress is rising as people worry about their mortgage, pension or job security. More employees are seeking help for mental strain. Calls to employee assistance programs have jumped 10 percent in recent months.

In New York, business chaplains have been busier than ever counseling dazed employees. Churches are offering courses on coping with stress in uncertain times, and are stepping up personal counseling and job coaching.

Some warning signs: changes in work, eating and drinking habits; despondency, withdrawal and irritability; declining performance on the job.

How do you respond without being intrusive or creating a liability problem?

Experts say showing that you care is already an important step. Asking “How are you coping?” is more invitational than “I think you have a problem.” Don’t try to be the expert. Be ready to suggest the use of a company EAP or other professional.

Employers can run the risk of liability. If you are the boss, writes Elizabeth Bernstein in the Wall Street Journal, “you should offer only work-related help.

Hand out the number to your employee-assistance program. Try to lighten someone’s workload. Encourage the person to take a vacation. Offer additional time off without pay.”

A recent survey found that only 13 percent of senior executives are keenly aware of the impact of mental health on their organizations.

The Marketplace November December 2008

“We may have many different jobs or labors (like raising a family, becoming engaged in politics, or playing in a band), but we must somehow find a way to express the creativity and calling of our soul or we will be the worst of failures.”

— Patrick McCormick in U.S. Catholic

“The next generation workforce wants to do more than just make a paycheck. They want to do good in the world, as well.”

— Marc Benioff, CEO, Salesforce.com

Jesus as entrepreneur Jesus was a carpenter, but what did that mean in biblical times? Ed Silvoso thinks we underestimate the extent of Jesus’s primary trade.

In his book Anointed for Business, Silvoso says Jesus would have been taught his trade in his early teens, so by the time of his baptism he would have been working at his profession for many years. “He was not a mere apprentice but a well-established artisan,” Silvoso writes.

“I suspect that many of his neighbors ate at tables made by Jesus and secured their homes with doors built in his shop. Their houses could have had beams cut and fit by the Savior. Even some of their oxen may have worn Jesus-made yokes.”

He probably ran his shop at a profit, Silvoso says. “His daily business routine likely included the calculation of the cost of goods and labor, the interplay between supply and demand, the establishment of competitive pricing, the measurement of potential return on his investment, the estimation of maintenance costs and the replacement of equipment. Even though it may be unusual, even uncomfortable, for us to picture Jesus working to make a living, this is precisely what he did for most of his adult life.”

Think you’ve got a useless job?

Climbing the ladder Want to be a CEO someday? You may be able to boost your chances with some foreign experience, according to a new study. More than a third of Canadian corporate leaders have worked globally, such as in Britain, Europe, Mexico and other Latin American countries. This is up from 25 percent two decades ago. For CEOs in the financial sector the figure is almost double. “Research suggests that the ability of a CEO to operate at a global level is greatly enhanced by having prior global experience,” says a co-author of the University of Western Ontario study. (Globe & Mail)

“By the time I graduated from college I had held all kinds of menial jobs: bus boy, janitor, gardener, irrigation-pipe mover, window washer. I don’t recall enjoying any of them, but I learned how to keep at a job and not cut corners, even when nobody is watching. I learned that working hard at a job is actually easier than loafing at it.

“Some parents question the value of low-skill jobs, such as flipping burgers at McDonald’s. I believe the key lessons of hard work can be learned very well at such places.

True, a job selling hamburgers won’t make a splash on your resume. It will, though, teach you how to show up on time, behave responsibly, do your duty without shirking and get along with your coworkers. With those lessons learned, you’ll do all right in the working world.” — Tim Stafford in Never Mind the Joneses: Building Core Christian Values in a Way That Fits Your Family

Overheard:

“Anybody can observe the Sabbath, but making it holy surely takes the rest of the week.” — Alice Walker The Marketplace November December 2008

“I can do that” New project in ancestral Mennonite region banks heavily on “lead farmer” model

by Wally Kroeker

E

lionora Seitvelieva thrusts a bag of tomatoes into our hands as we leave her backyard greenhouse in the village of Belogorsk.

“Here, take these,” she says in Ukrainian. “They are the best-tasting tomatoes in Crimea.”

We happily accept them for a later treat, as we are already snacked-out. We have been served refreshments at every stop: fresh strawberries and pears at one; honeysoaked nuts and medicinal herb tea at another. Elionora has just served us olives, dainties and tiny cups of stiff black coffee.

Later, the tomatoes live up to her boast, succulent and full of flavor.

We have seen tomatoes everywhere — climbing up along greenhouse trellises, piled high on roadside stands, served as the main ingredient of salad. Tomato juice is a national favorite, much more popular than apple or orange.

Allan Sauder, MEDA’s president, Kim Pityn, vice-president of international operations, and I are here to observe MEDA’s new Ukraine project in progress. For me it is a fresh experience. I’ve visited many projects over the years, but never at this early stage. It will be a chance to accompany local staff and observe how they gather data and fine-tune their approach.

People like Elionora and her husband Ibragim are not MEDA “clients” but rather models of what we hope our clients will become.

In recent years Mennonites have come in droves to trace their roots. Many have joined humanitarian efforts to assist impoverished Ukrainians. That altruistic impulse has not gone unnoticed by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), which sees it as a commendable act of reconciliation. CIDA is contributing the bulk of a $10 million project to help 5,000 farmers improve production and marketing of table grapes, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers and medicinal herbs.

The project is one of MEDA’s biggest so far. It will work in two oblasts (large regional jurisdictions) — Crimea and Zaporizhzhia, both regions once farmed by Mennonites.

On our visit, we see considerable administrative progress. An office has been set up in an industrial area of Melitopol. Another is being established in Simferopol. A strong staff is emerging. Field project manager is Steve Wright, an American “We can grow who lives in Ukraine, has a Ukrainian wife and speaks the language. His development crops that experience includes project can’t be grown management work in Tajikistan.

Another local hire is Oleg elsewhere.”

Osaulyuk, a veteran agricultural specialist who has long experience with agricultural supply firms and the United Nations Development Program. He holds a master of science degree in horticulture, with a major in economics, and has completed PhD work at the University of Bonn, specializing in the adaptation of western management to Ukrainian agriculture.

Helping smallholder farmers is nothing new for MEDA, but this venture has some different dimensions.

For one thing, it aims to help farmers who occupy land that was collectivized after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Back then, thousands of Mennonite farmers were driven off their land in the sweep of communism and fled empty-handed to Canada. For many Canadian Mennonites, the Crimea and other parts of present-day Ukraine hold a mythological grip as the Eden-like land where forbears transformed the barren steppes into thriving farms.

My own mother was born only a few hours’ drive from where Elionora and Ibragim’s greenhouse now stands.

The Marketplace November December 2008

An important early step in any new project is

to build relationships with other agencies already on the ground. Accordingly, we visit the local office of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and sign an agree

ment to share information and collaborate. We arrange to visit a UNDP cooperative project promoting the picking, drying, packaging and marketing of medicinal herbs.

Along the way we pick up the director and an agronomist from the Association of Farmers and Land Owners of Crimea, our implementing partners and in whose headquarters we will locate our Simferopol regional office. They came into being in 1991, shortly after the break-up of the Soviet Union, and remain the only source of extension services to farmers in the area. They represent 400 farmers, ranging from tiny to large. Director Mykola Havrylyuk thinks there is potential for 10 times that number.

Members of the cooperative gather wild fruit

and leaves from the countryside and bring them in to be dried under the sun or in a home-made kiln. The floor of the open-air compound is spread with bright patches of rose hip berries, wild apples, pears and the leaves and husks of walnut trees, which will be blended and packaged as tea or other formulations. We are given samples of their commercial tonic which promises to cleanse bodily toxins. But we are less interested in pharmaceutical claims than in the economic vigor of their enterprise, which we want our clients to emulate.

Wild rose hip berries dry in the sun, on their way to becoming medicinal tea.

apples. Most of them have 10 to 12-acre farms. There are more than a thousand small farmers in the region, many with greenhouses. We’re told the community has 600 acres of “kitchen gardens,” and a hundred acres under plastic.

It’s the only market of its kind, and buyers come from all over Ukraine and as far as Moscow. But customers who want to buy in quantity are disappointed. The small growers do not have the capacity to build large shipments.

When the crop is ready, it can’t wait.

That can work against them. “When the frost came we had to harvest all of our cabbage right away,” recalls one grower. “The price fell.”

Now they have the same worry about tomatoes.

The problem is storage. A temperature-controlled facility would allow them to assemble shipments to meet large orders, and relieve the urgency of selling from the field. They’ve sketched out the costs, but Steve Wright, who has experience in such things, thinks they have vastly underestimated the size they need.

We visit a wholesale market in the town of

Sadovoe. It operates seven days a week as an outlet for farmers who hawk their wares out of the trunks of their cars — cabbages, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and

We visit farmer Marlen Sary-Belyal who

grows tomatoes and lettuce year-round. His plastic shrouded greenhouse is 50 metres by 10 by three metres high. While a commercial greenhouse that size can cost $10,000, he built his own for $2,000 but has to replace the plastic annually. He can recover that cost in one good year.

Like most small farmers here, Sary-Belyal has no access to credit. He managed to finance his greenhouse by scrounging and borrowing from family members, hardly a sustainable long-term strategy.

“The next stage in this village is obvious,” says Oleg Osaulyuk. “They need storage to market jointly rather than marketing separately and competing in price.”

MEDA staff enjoy hospitality at the home of Elionora and Ibragim Seitvelieva (standing). From left, Steve Wright, field project manager; Kim Pityn, vice-president of international operations; and Allan Sauder, MEDA president.

At right is Anna Shlyakhova, who represents a wholesale market in Sadovoe.

Nikolay Choropita, an official with a large

private company in the village of Roschino, shows us big

The Marketplace November December 2008

grape fields irrigated with water from the Dnieper River.

He is vice-president of a farmers association that helps its members with crop advice and equipment. Some of their growers’ problems are typical of what MEDA will encounter.

“We can grow crops that can’t be grown elsewhere — grapes, peaches, early apples, early and late potatoes,” he says. “The climate here is very advantageous for early varieties.”

That works well for the local market, which includes tourist resorts along the Black Sea. But he would like to boost production capacity for the lucrative European market. One obstacle is getting “When the frost up to European standards for appearance and packaging. came we had He says they need several large central facilities to to harvest all store, package and perhaps crops, adding that of our cabbage process Ukraine is seen as a second-class producer and is right away. The sometimes taken advantage of by large foreign compaprice fell.” nies.

We ask why outsiders are not investing in Crimea’s infrastructure. That leads to a lament we hear over and over again.

“There are contractors in Europe who have asked about setting up a storage facility,” he says. “But owning land is hard here.”

A thorn in everyone’s side is a government moratorium on the sale of agricultural land. Investors are reluctant to risk any land-based initiative if they can’t get clear title.

The moratorium is due to expire, but with the political scene in flux, many expect lawmakers to take the easy way out and simply renew the moratorium while they deal with issues they find more pressing.

Instability aside, some producers are doing well on a small scale. Choropita takes us to a quarter-acre vineyard that has just been harvested. By his estimate, a vineyard like this requires an investment of $10,000‑$15,000 per hectare (2.47 acres), so the woman who owns it would have invested around $2,000. In this, her third year of operation, her revenue was $5,000.

“Our goal is to get our clients up to her level,” says Wright. “She has gone as far as she can go, and now The Marketplace November December 2008

needs marketing and storage help.”

She has more undeveloped land available. “We will learn what to do next to get her family to do more with their undeveloped land.”

Back at the MEDA office in Melitopol we meet

with local credit union representatives. The president tells us the four financial institutions in the area have a combined total of 20,000 members, small by North American standards. Eighty percent of their portfolio is agricultural.

She confirms the vigor of the greenhouse sector and its growing needs and demands. With a higher volume of savings, they could issue more loans, she says.

Other agricultural experts note the lack of affordable credit for small farmers. “If you buy a tractor here you have to pay 26% interest or more,” one tells us.

We get back on the road and drive north to the city of Molochansk in the Zaporizhzhia region. This is the

One community has more than a hundred acres under homemade plastic greenhouses.

Tomato grower Ibragim Seitvelieva is a likely candidate to serve as a “lead farmer” in MEDA’s project.

heart of the old Mennonite area. In pre-Soviet times Molochansk was known as Halbstadt, then the administrative center for the Mennonites.

We are here to acquaint new MEDA staff with the region’s historic Mennonite roots. Accompanying us is Doris Wong from CIDA’s office in Kiev. She asked to join our tour to better understand the Mennonite history of the region.

Our visit includes a trip to the historic estate of Johann Cornies, the legendary “Johnny Appleseed” of the Mennonite colonies whose many innovations helped fashion the Mennonites’ vaunted agricultural prowess a century earlier.

We also visit the Mennonite Centre, located in a

“Our crops ripen faster than in other areas,” says Mikhail Soroka, who runs a Molochansk nursery that produces grape seedlings and garlic seed.

historic Mennonite girls’ school which has been refurbished by Mennonites from Canada and which operates humanitarian outreach programs in the area.

A local farmer, Sergei Kondyrevych, has agreed to meet us and explain the current farm scene. He and his family grow wheat, sunflowers and watermelon.

One of his chief constraints is lack of water in an area with annual rainfall of 17 inches. Good water can be found at a depth of 25 metres, but getting access is a problem. Drilling a well for irrigation would cost $5,000, but the bigger issue — common in Ukraine — is a permit. In one of those puzzling realities of Ukrainian life, it costs $20,000 to obtain permission to drill. Few can afford it.

Since this was a region once famous for agricultural bounty, we wonder what had changed. Is there less rainfall now than a century ago? Has the climate changed due to global warming? Could moisture conservation measures, like minimum till, be encouraged?

We also wonder about the project’s appeal to North American Mennonites who have roots in Ukraine. Would some of them want to invest in their ancestral homeland?

We also visit with Mikhail Soroka, who runs a Molochansk nursery that produces certified grape seedlings and garlic seed for sale to Russia. He is fortunate to have access to an artesian well for irrigation.

“The climate here is ideal,” he says. “Our crops ripen faster than in other areas.”

approach.

Clearly, a recurring issue is refrigerated storage so produce doesn’t have to be sold the minute it is harvested. Addressing that need will open the doors to creative new marketing strategies.

Another central issue is farm credit, with which MEDA has plenty of experience.

The project will bank heavily on a “lead farmer” strategy that MEDA has used in Africa and Asia. It selects model farmers, gives them additional training and resources, and lets them serve as community mentors to help others on their way up. Some farmers we met have already agreed to serve in this role.

It is generally felt that small farmers here, who are as independent and resistant to outside advice as farmers everywhere, are not likely to change their behavior through technical assistance alone.

“People in villages aren’t good at sharing,” one specialist told us. “They like to keep their secrets to themselves.”

Moreover, another advisor says, many rural people still hold to “old-type Soviet thinking.”

Working together on their problems doesn’t come easily. “Many still expect the state to look after them,” he adds.

The lead farmer model is expected to help as small producers see the success of the lead farmers and think, “I can do that.”

We are reminded that the successful farmers we have met are not the target of this project.

“We will target people who we want to get there,” says Kim Pityn. “Our goal is to bring 5,000 clients to that level.”

All in good time. Stay tuned. ◆

On our way back

A grower hawks tomatoes at the wholesale market in Sadovoe, a community with 600 acres of “kitchen gardens.”

we review all we have seen and heard and discuss how MEDA staff will refine their

The Marketplace November December 2008

Table graces

by Gerry Derksen Blessed are You, Lord, our God, Creator of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the ground.

Blessed are you... for earthworms toiling through hard clodded dirt for all things dying that feed the earth, for rich dark soil soon giving birth.

Blessed are you... for cycles and seasons in unending stream, for sunshine and rain turning world green for ozone protection beyond sun screen.

Blessed are you... for plants yielding seed and fruit trees with fruit, for potatoes, tomatoes, sending down root, for canola and barley pushing green shoot.

Blessed are you... for chicken and cow, for salmon and snail for lobster and crab, pheasant and quail for creation’s shed blood nourishing all.

The Marketplace November December 2008

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Blessed are you... for gardeners and farmers, ranchers and breeders for shovels and pitchforks, tractors and seeders for satisfied labour and sabbath’s good rest.

Blessed are you... for butchers and bakers and cabbage roll makers for drivers and packers and sorters and stackers for checkers still cheerful at end of long days.

Blessed are you... for fridges and freezers, ovens and toasters, for mixers and blenders and electric can openers, for microwave ovens we can’t do without.

Blessed are you... for tastebuds and flavours and festive mood, for cooks and chefs and artists of food, for all things tasty, yummy and good.

Gerry Derksen is part of the pastoral team at River East Mennonite Brethren Church, Winnipeg.

Blessed are you... for love and for laughter circling the table for cross-cultural friendships erasing Babel, for eating that binds us one to another.

Blessed are you... your presence at table in bread and in wine, you graciously calling all people to dine, ‘till grand kingdom banquet in fullness of time. AMEN.

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The Marketplace November December 2008

Business in his bones It’s hard to draw lines when you live above the store, says new CMU prof

by John Longhurst

L

ots of people can say they grew up in a business family. But Craig Martin grew up in a family business — quite literally.

Martin, who directs the new Business and Organizational Administration program at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) in Winnipeg, spent the first 10 years of his life living above his family’s hardware store in Picton, Ont. “It was hard to draw a line between the family and the business,” says Martin, 42, of living in the combined business and residence. “The two were pretty synonymous.”

From an early age Martin worked in the store after school and on weekends, stocking shelves, sweeping floors and helping customers. At age eight he was assembling bikes. As for pay, “it was called room and board,” he says.

After his parents sold the store in 1976, he worked summers at his grandfather’s dairy farm. “Farming was also a big part of my life growing up,” he says, noting that two uncles were also dairy farmers. “I really enjoyed time spent working at the farms.”

Both experiences ingrained in him an interest in business and agriculture, and a healthy respect for small business owners and farmers.

“I learned the importance of a strong work ethic from my parents and relatives,” he says. “I also learned about the importance of thrift, about the need to handle money carefully, and how to treat employees.”

When the time came to settle on a career, Martin merged his two interests by studying agricultural economics and business at Ontario’s University of Guelph; his Ph.D. dissertation is an economic analysis of the demand for dairy products in Canada.

Although he will be teaching all areas of business at CMU, the growing and selling of food remains a special interest. “With all the competition at the local, national and international levels, you have to not only be a good farmer, but also be good in business to be successful,” he says.

Also of interest to Martin is the issue of food aid. “We need to send food to hungry people around the world,” he says. “But we have to do it in a way that is not destructive to farmers in poor countries.”

The Marketplace November December 2008

For Martin, the best way to help hungry people is by buying food locally or regionally. At the same time, he acknowledges this can be a sensitive issue for some North American farmers who also have come to depend on their governments buying surplus crops for foreign aid shipments.

“While we want to support farmers at home, we need to be careful that food aid programs aren’t more about providing support for domestic agriculture than truly helping needy people,” he says.

Of the new business program at CMU, Martin says that he wants to see students graduate with “good, strong technical skills that are equal to any business school,” along with “strong ethics and a keen social awareness based on Christian beliefs and values.”

At the same time, he says the program will be a good Craig Martin starting point for students who want to work in the non‑profit sector.

“The same principles that govern businesses apply to non‑profit groups,” he says. “Non‑profit groups measure outcomes differently than businesses, but both have to use sound business and organizational practices to ensure they are meeting their goals — whether that’s making products or serving needy people.”

Martin is especially grateful that MEDA’s Winnipeg chapter has signed an agreement with CMU to support the new program through things such as internships, mentoring and collaborating with the university on business‑related forums and events.

“I look forward to working with MEDA members to help students become successful in their careers in business, or the non‑profit sector,” he says. “MEDA’s involvement is important to the success of the program.” ◆ John Longhurst is director of communications & marketing at Canadian Mennonite University.

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Sand in the gears

Rethinking the 100 mile diet

by Ed Epp

M

iguel is a small bean farmer in the highlands of Nicaragua. His farm can produce world quality beans. His local market is not large enough to support his family and he must rely on bean markets in Mexico and the United States. His work will provide him with the income to feed his family, send his children to school, and even expand his farm.

Miguel does face competition from North American farmers even in his local market, but he is confident that with a level playing field and equal access he can thrive.

Miguel’s story can be repeated millions of times, in all parts of the world. The products might change but the underlying facts do not.

The effect of the 100 mile diet could drive Miguel back into poverty.

The motivation for the 100 mile diet is laudable. It is also a wonderful educational exercise helping people understand more about the path food takes before it reaches our table. Buying locally does provide markets for local producers, and cuts down on the environmental impact of transporting products to faraway markets. If everyone in North America bought into the 100 mile diet however, global poverty would rise astronomically. If followed by all, the 100 mile diet, now in vogue by people who do not know Miguel, would drive his family and many others like them back into poverty. Even many Canadian farmers outside the 100 mile radius of major urban centers would go bankrupt.

The idea behind the 100 mile diet is for consumers to limit their food purchases to 100 miles. It does not speak to producers limiting their market to that same distance.

A pure 100 mile diet plan should limit purchases from farmers who certify that they will only sell within that distance. Most agricultural producers, even in Canada, would be hard pressed to make a decent living if their market was limited to 100 miles. I wonder how many of these producers would sell locally if that meant certifying that they were limiting their market to that same locale.

Producers in Canada have access to world markets, and naturally wish that to continue. Farmers want access to both the local and global market chains, and I don’t blame them. Miguel wants that same opportunity.

Even in their own local market, farmers from poor countries face competition from global producers. Many times, North American and European products are subsidized by governments, driving the price downward and putting even more pressure on the Miguels of this world.

It sounds good, in theory at least, to limit food

Our economy is increasingly global and interdependent. purchases to a Global commerce that eliminates barriers for 100 mile radius. small and poorer producers reduces poverty. The Unfortunately, issues are much more complex then just buyit would drive ing locally. They include equalizing access to a lot of peasant global markets, reducing subsidies on production, farmers deeper and ways in which small producers in poor countries can access global into poverty. market chains.

In the last decade the poor have begun to make the global market work for them. Now we, in our rich world, want to keep their products from our table without restricting our own access to theirs. This will drive Miguel and millions like him back into poverty. I don’t think that they will much care if our motivation behind this was good.

I would rather live in the world where Miguel, and millions like him, are proud of their self‑sufficiency through the products they can sell, than wait ◆ to exercise our good will through Christmas charity.

Former MEDA staffer Ed Epp now works for Tourmagination in Waterloo, Ont.

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Tiny seed, big ambition The seeds on that hamburger bun are helping Nicaragua’s small farmers beat hurricanes and poverty

by Greg Amos

S

natural disasters and unforgiving world markets. antos Machado takes off his baseball cap and Produmer takes a different approach than some develwipes the sweat off his brow. It’s early August and opment projects, which dump money and technology into Machado is lying on his back on the dirt drivecountries without collaborating with the people meant to way of his 3½‑hectare farm in León, Nicaragua, benefit. Instead, it hinges on the idea that poor farmers halfway underneath his sembrador — a large seed and are perfectly capable of taking responsibility for improving fertilizer dispenser meant to be hitched behind a pair of their own lives — so long as they can access the necessary oxen. He takes a breather before torquing a wrench to cash, equipment and training. make adjustments to the machine. Fruit trees shade the yard from the hot midday sun while a half dozen pigs As far as needy locales go, Nicaragua is near loiter nearby in a swale of cool mud. the top of the list. While the World Bank reports that the Machado is getting ready to plant a new sesame country’s economy is crop, and in a few days, slowly growing and stawill use the sembrador bilizing, it remains one — bought with help of the poorest countries from a Canadian‑funded in Central America, aid project called Produwith the third‑lowest mer — to plant seeds for per‑capita income in the his family’s future.

Western Hemisphere.

Machado is one of Almost 70 percent of more than 800 Nicarural Nicaraguans still raguan farmers being live in poverty. Farmers helped by this unglamhave worked at organizorous but progressive ing themselves here, initiative – one that’s bartering collectively showing measurable in co‑ops to gain some results and attracting leverage when they sell investors and supporttheir goods, but many ers from across North still distrust the handful America. Produmer is of exporting companies managed by Mennonite that dominate their comEconomic Development modity markets. Bank Associates (MEDA), loans that could allow and gets funding from them to grow out of private investors and the their dependent posiCanadian International tions are extremely hard Development Agency to come by.

(CIDA). Its focus is small “It was eye‑opening — the tiny sesame seed how these people are — but its ambitions are denied funds,” says John large: to bring financial Toews, owner of Oakhill independence to farmEnterprises, an Abbotsers who frequently fall Farmers are getting help finding a niche in a volatile global ford, B.C., homebuilding market. One solution has been to go organic. victim to indiscriminate The Marketplace November December 2008

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ment that gives people a lot of dignity,” she says. “One farmer who lost his thatch roof in a hurricane has already been able to replace it — with a metal roof, thanks to the profit he’s now making.”

As managers of develop-

ment projects in Nicaragua since 1990, MEDA put experience to work in launching Produmer in 2001. A four‑year trial run showed sesame was the best fit for the people, the land and the economy. Since then, MEDA has converted $2.8 million in CIDA money into training and development for Nicaraguan sesame farmers, with the goal of fosterSesame grower Santos Machado and his son. Behind him is the sembrador bought ing a crop industry that will keep with Produmer’s help. them prosperous in perpetuity.

Produmer program director Keith Poe, an American raised in Nicaragua, knows firstcompany, and an investor in MEDA’s work. He took part hand that sesame is a hardy crop that can tolerate fierce in a MEDA‑sponsored tour of Nicaragua this year, visiting rains and poor soil and has a strong natural resistance to rural communities north of León. pests.

“These are hard‑working, family‑oriented people, and “Sesame is something that will last forever here sesame seeds are their main income,” he says. Toews put because it’s easy to grow and $25,000 into MEDA’s microfinance program, which it doesn’t take much money Ideal for small enables farmers to access small loans for equipto start,” he says. It takes a lot ment and training, and he expects to net a seven of manual labor, he adds, but percent return in five years. farmers, this requires neither irrigation nor While interest can be as high as 25 percent anvast tracts of land — and it can nually for clients, repayment terms are flexible. The hardy crop be grown where coffee can’t. It bottom line is farmers are able to get a loan, withbucks the trend of industrialized out requiring access to cash as collateral — and 97 tolerates fierce agriculture by suiting the land percent of the loans are paid back. it grows on, and small growers And the firsthand results are eye‑catching, says Catherine Tegelberg, 23, a Vancouver‑based intern rains, resists pests benefit the most from it.

The seed first arrived in Latin who spent seven months as the field coordinator and grows where America from Asia via Spanish for MEDA Trust, which secures the donations that conquistadors, and is now found provide the capital for microcredit. wherever hamburger buns, sushi “Microfinance is an amazing mode of develop- coffee can’t.

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The Marketplace November December 2008

A farmer plants certified sesame seed using an ox-drawn plow.

or tahini exist. The worldwide sesame market is sizeable and growing rapidly, driven by the expanding middle class in India and China and — no joke — a growing international appetite for hamburgers. Worldwide trade was valued at $850 million last year, up 70 percent since 1993. In 2006 Nicaragua’s sesame industry exported 3,000 metric tons within Central America and to Japan and Europe.

Between 2006 and 2007, farmers un-

der Produmer boosted their production of conventional sesame by 68 percent, although those gains took a heavy hit late last year from Hurricane Felix. Crops were lashed by wicked winds and driving rain, but not destroyed altogether.

MEDA holds that a businesslike approach is better than straight charity — a key reason why the organization has attracted the support of private investors such as Toews. The program’s 825 farmers say their gross incomes rose 24 percent last year. That’s the kind of return Toews says he wants from his investment. “It’s important the money helps other people, rather than just having it grow for myself,” he says.

To get the benefit out of sesame, funding and expertise had to get into the hands of farmers.

According to Kerry Max, CIDA’s head of aid in Nicaragua, the agency turned to the Mennonite The Marketplace November December 2008

organization because “there was no local government structure set up that could provide sesame farmers with the comprehensive support that MEDA is providing.”

In the village of Malpaisillo, three hours down

a pothole‑ridden highway from León, farmers such as Carmelo Silva plant their sesame seeds using oxen and local labourers. As a result of Produmer’s training, Silva now “One farmer who plants only certified seeds, which guarantee a high yield and which lost his thatch buyers welcome as a sign of quality.

“Buyers don’t even bother roof in a hurricane offering low prices for my crops anymore,” he says with a smile. has already been After weeks of 15‑hour days in the field, Silva will harvest his able to replace it plants by machete, pile the stalks together in clusters, whack the — with a metal sun‑dried seeds out of their pods and sell them to a buyer pre‑arroof, thanks to ranged through his co‑op.

Luis de la Cruz Sotelo, the the profit he’s soft‑spoken president of the farmers’ co‑op in Las Lomas, in northwest Nicaragua, is equally now making.”

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were of low quality and chemical products were destroying the land,” he says. “Now Produmer is providing us with an answer for all these problems.”

This is the kind of slow and steady progress many foreign aid projects assume the rural poor won’t wait for, says a Vancouver expert on international development.

“There may be a perception that the poor don’t think about the future,” says Hisham Zerriffi, an assistant professor at UBC’s Liu Institute for Global Issues. “But a stakeholder is not just some farmer who sits back and receives foreign aid, then goes back to doing what he did before.”

Zerriffi says MEDA carefully considered the amount of time farmers are willing to forego present value in favor of future cash flow and financial stability. By providing the farmers with classroom and in‑the‑field instruction on how to properly plant, thin, fertilize and control weeds, Zerriffi says, the project also avoids a “technology dump” problem, which occurs when foreign aid agencies pick up and leave after introducing new technology.

Having provided training specifically on growing sesame, Produmer has, according to Zerriffi, established a succession plan for when the project ends.

Nicaraguan farmers have received foreign aid before, but success on this scale is new, and some sesame farmers feel it will be difficult to tap into the competitive world sesame market without MEDA’s assistance. At the 2006 Baking Association of Canada conference, a Nicaraguan delegation was unable to wean Canadian importers away from cheaper conventional sesame from India.

upbeat. “It’s 100 percent easier to make money now,” says Sotelo, 49. Twenty years ago, he scraped by on rented land, but today he owns several acres and adds more land each year.

Rather than focusing on creating value‑added sesame products — which would depend on Nicaragua’s unstable manufacturing infrastructure — Produmer is helping farmers establish a stable niche in the sometimes volatile global sesame markets now dominated by China, India and Myanmar (Burma). One way to do that, as Sotelo discovered, is to go organic.

“If you want to sell, you go conventional. But if you want to keep your money, you go organic,” says Sotelo, referring to the lower costs of pesticide‑free production and higher prices fetched by the organic product. The three‑year wait for certification made for some lean times, he says, but it was worth it: Sotelo and other organic farmers saw their incomes soar by 69 percent between 2005 and 2006. Hugo Ramon Moreno, a Nicaraguan agronomist trained at a national university and working for MEDA, points out that the new techniques are making a difference, as he tours farms around León.

“Farmers weren’t using their land that well, the seeds

That said, MEDA’s $3‑million microfinance

treasury will remain after Produmer is gone, with the goal of growing into a stable source of financing far into the future. Larger institutional investors are also starting to come on board.

Indeed, the Nicaraguan farmers have already proven they can weather the most severe of storms. Last year’s Category 5 Hurricane Felix (and ensuing rains) destroyed nearly a third of the sesame fields planted under Produmer — and yet many farmers still turned a profit due to the higher quality of plants that survived. Now they’re using the funds to invest in their futures by buying equipment, building sturdier homes and sending their children to school.

In a country with a history of natural and human disasters, it’s only natural for there to be some trepidation about the future. But as they begin to take over their own finances, technology and training, farmers such as Santos Machado, Carmelo Silva and Luis de la Cruz Sotelo are starting to believe that they can make it on their own. ◆ Greg Amos is a 2007 graduate of Langara College’s School of Journal‑ ism and the first winner of the CIDA‑Langara Journalism‑International Development Scholarship, which provided funds and support to research and write extensively on Canadian international development abroad.

Produmer staff, like agronomist Rommel Morales, give on-field training in how to plant, thin, fertilize and control weeds.

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A little good news for the global poor?

Sarona report gives an unusual twist to the economic crisis

I

s there any good news on the economic front?

A rare break from the continuing financial gloom is the recent annual report of the Sarona Risk Capital Fund, one of the mechanisms MEDA uses to establish private investment as a solution to global poverty.

“While markets have crashed in North America, the Sarona funds sail on” and performance “has been strong,” say officials of MEDA Investments Inc., which manages Sarona.

“Though MEDA would like to say this performance was due to excellent management, the fund’s seeming indifference to Western markets is largely due to its isolation from these markets,” it adds.

It notes that MEDA’s investments are not as tightly linked to the performance of troubled domestic markets and to some extent may even be used to counter world market disturbances. Payments by micro‑farmers in a developing country, for example, are much more affected by local weather than by commodity prices in North America.

“The general consensus of the hedge investment community is that emerging markets and microfinance institutions both are good places to counter volatile investments in highly integrated world markets,” the report states.

Pries sees a smidgen of silver lining in the dark economic clouds. “It is important to note that the most basic reason for the rise in oil and food prices that occurred prior to their dramatic drop in October, was the success of everything we have been working toward — poverty reduction. We have worked to increase the incomes of the poor, but when poor families in India and China began eating more and driving cars, it drove up demand, which drove up prices. The world’s success has become its woe!”

There are, of course, other contributory factors

that affect commodity prices or diminish the ability of poor countries to deal with them. Even more important than short‑term spikes caused by speculation are market distortions and climate change, he notes.

“Agricultural subsidies in rich countries are a disincentive to development. When Will the strength it is cheaper to import subsidized food from the U.S. and Europe, the agriof developing cultural sector in developing countries stagnates. economies pull Ethanol subsidies have also driven up food costs the rich western by shifting farmland from food to fuel production,” world through? he says.

“Drought and hurricanes have also put pressure on commodity supply. And as global consumption grows, so does climate change.

We know now that the ways of the old economy — ‘just increase drilling’ — can’t save the planet nor feed a richer world. The world needs new solutions — now.”

Pries notes that more than a billion people still live on less than $1 a day. But some impoverished regions are making progress. In the past five years sub‑Saharan Africa has experienced economic growth of nearly six percent a year. “Interestingly, a recent report of the World Bank sug-

But the report was written before the deep-

est parts of the financial crisis arrived in September and October, and this notion may now be severely tested as the financial crisis grows. “It now appears,” says Gerhard Pries, director of MEDA’s investment department, “that this crisis will in fact have serious consequences for the financial sector in developing countries. But we do hope to confirm previous data that shows that investing in the poor through microfinance institutions is not correlated to the risks inherent in major financial markets. We have seen again and again that, as times become difficult, the poor roll up their sleeves, work harder, and keep paying their debts.”

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“As times

He adds that MEDA Investments is launching new initiatives to enhance the environment and support economic vibrancy in poor communities.

The Sarona Green Fund carbon offset website (meda. org/green) went live this summer. Companies and individuals can calculate their carbon footprint, offset that with a donation, and follow the investments made with those funds.

To see the full Sarona report go to sarona@meda.org ◆

gests that the strength of North American and Euroconsumers has pulled become difficult, pean the world through previous global recessions,” he the poor roll up says. “This time around, things look different. While their sleeves, American consumption is expected to dip into negawork harder, tive growth territory, it will be the strength of develand keep paying oping economies that will pull the rich western world through this crisis.” their debts.”

And, he adds, as more developing countries make strides to raise their own living standards, they are poised to become the next frontier for investors.

MEDA Investments was an early player in estab-

lishing private investment as a solution to global poverty.

“That means investing where many investors fear to tread, proving that it can be done, and inviting others to follow our lead,” says MEDA Investments chair Lowell Peachey, a former banker.

“A few years ago, only donors and courageous investors believed that making loans to the poor might be viable. It took a long time to prove it to them, but today even the New York banks are ploughing capital into microfinance banks that lend to poor entrepreneurs. Our challenge now is to prove that other sectors of developing economies also warrant capital investment,” Peachey says.

In the last year MEDA Investments moved $13.8 million in incremental capital to benefit the poor. “Every $1 million invested benefits 2,000 to 4,000 families per year,” says Pries.

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The Marketplace November December 2008

New Malaria Shoppe opens its doors

by Nate Overly

Factory outlet is latest initiative in the battle against malaria

I

t is a cool and cloudy Friday morning in Dar es SaKariakoo commercial district, home to the Malaria Shoppe laam, the commercial capital of Tanzania. Antony Haji, the owner and operator of Textile Mills of were first being used as a means to prevent malaria infecTanzania Limited (TMTL) — a local manufacturer of tion. Soon after production started, TMTL began bundling polyester mosquito nets — is standing on the sidewalk in each of its mosquito nets with an insecticide treatment Kariakoo, the crowded commercial district of the city, outkit. The net and kit together are now known as an insectiside of his new factory outlet store, the Malaria Shoppe. cide treated net (ITN). Today, ITNs are recognized as one of Haji is waiting to receive visitors from MEDA, the lothe most effective ways to prevent mosquito-borne malargistics contractor for a government project called the Tania. Through Hati Punguzo, pregnant women and caretakzania National Voucher Scheme (TNVS), locally known as ers of infants receive discount vouchers that can be used Hati Punguzo. With support from the Global Fund to purchase ITNs produced to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) by local manufacturers, like and the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) from TMTL, at a reduced price. the United States, Hati Punguzo works to prevent Vouchers are issued through malaria infection for pregnant women and infants medical clinics and redeemed using insecticide treated mosquito nets. MEDA has at registered retailer outlets. worked closely with TMTL and three other local Haji’s visitors arrive; they manufacturers since 2004, when Hati Punguzo beexchange greetings and gan, and today Haji is excited to show off his latest begin talking over cups of venture. hot tea. Haji is excited and Amina Kassim (right), the Malaria TMTL began its operations in 2004, the same discusses his vision for this Shoppe’s first customer, with company owner Antony Haji. time that insecticide treated mosquito nets (ITNs) new venture.

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Malaria Shoppe will change the way people in Tanzania view malaria prevention. It will be the first commercial store in Tanzania to focus solely on malaria‑related products and services. Thus far, indoor residual spraying — another method of malaria prevention — has been done only through government‑run programs. But starting now, the Malaria Shoppe will sell World Health Organization (WHO) approved insecticide kits and sprayers made specifically for indoor residual spraying. Haji also plans to offer a commercial spraying service that will travel to people’s homes. According to Haji, this bold new idea makes the Malaria Shoppe the first of its kind in Tanzania.

While Haji and his visitors are chatting, the first official customer walks into the store. Her name is Amina Kassim and she frequently purchases ITNs from TMTL. For many years Kassim was a nurse at a hospital in Dar es Salaam. As someone who issued vouchers for the government program, she began to see the change in the way people viewed malaria prevention and ITNs. As a result, she quit her job and began selling nets herself. She heard the news about the Malaria Shoppe and decided to pay a visit. She brings with her a number of redeemed vouchers that she will use to purchase more nets.

This is good news for Haji and for the TNVS, and in only its first hour of business it appears the Malaria Shoppe is off to a very good start. ◆

Bringing a life-saving product downtown: Left, warehouse manager Ally Figa and general manager Butchard Patrick.

Prior to the Malaria Shoppe, TMTL only serviced larger retailers and wholesalers selling ITNs; it did not make an effort to sell to individual customers. In order for a customer to purchase an ITN at factory cost they would have to travel all the way to the factory. Despite the inconvenience, many people (including smaller retailers without physical shops) did just that in order to save money. As a result of this demand for factory priced nets, Haji decided to save his customers time and money by taking the shop to them, a move that he hopes will attract even more business and further aid the fight against malaria.

In addition to increasing ITN sales, Haji believes the

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The Marketplace November December 2008

Soundbites

Corporate giving defies economy Last year, before the recent meltdown, philanthropy by large companies appeared to fly in the face of an uncertain economy.

From 2006 to 2007, giving by large multinational corporations rose 5.6 percent, with two-thirds of them increasing their giving, according to the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP).

More than half (56 percent)

of companies that reported lower profits still increased

their giving, as did most of the companies that suffered losses.

“The weakening economy did not seem to play a significant role for most companies’ giving in 2007,” the report said. In addition, 89 percent of CEOs agreed with the statement, “Companies should have mechanisms in place (eg., cash reserves or endowed

The scent of serving “God loves the smell of our sweat. I know that’s a strange thought, and please keep using deodorant, but I think it’s true.... God loves the sound of our voices when we are singing praises to him. But I

also think he loves the smell of our sweat when we are serving him. Service is how we love God with all of our strength.”

— Mark Batterson, pastor, National Community Church, Washington, D.C.

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foundations) to sustain contributions during periods of weak financial performance.”

“Historically, companies have made strong commitments to respond during periods of higher unemployment and elevated community need,” says Charles Moore, CECP executive director. “In addition to sustained cash contributions, companies have also become more creative at better identifying and leveraging resources such as in-kind product donations and employee pro bono service to greater benefit community partners.”

Time will tell if last year’s trend holds true during the current economic crisis. (CRO magazine)

Bored and unhappy in the land of pablum There is no biblical commandment against being boring, but some corporate communicators think there should be.

Talk to any number of them and you’re bound to hear complaints about the bland, inane slogans they are required to convey by higher-ups who must think audiences thrive

readers — “and don’t let your CEO bore them either.”

Being boring is not trivial, he says, but a “violent assault” that drains energy, incites rage and breeds hostile cynicism. It is also costly to employees and companies. “I wish some ingenious accountant would work

on pablum. Being boring — either in printed materials, executive speeches or interoffice communication — can be fundamentally dishonest and expensive, according to communications specialist Bill Sweetland. He tells corporate communicators that their first duty is not to bore their

up a formula to determine the hidden business cost of communications-caused boredom and assign a dollar value to this cost in the profit-and-loss statement,” he says, adding that a bored employee is an unhappy employee. (Ragan Report)

Mennonite food?

Here’s a start-up idea for a food-services entrepreneur, offered at no charge.

Why not open a restaurant that serves “Mennonite food” — cuisine that is actually produced and consumed by the majority of the world’s Mennonites.

The Mennonite map has shifted and so should its food. A third of today’s Mennonites live in Africa. The next fastest-growing regions are Latin America and Asia. Imagine the possibilities.

You could call the restaurant “Menno’s Manna,” and serve daily specials like: • doro wat & injera from Ethiopia • ugali & chicken stew from Tanzania • chick-pea curry & dhal from India • rice & beans from Bolivia • coconut soup from Thailand • empanadas from Brazil • curried goat or ox-tail soup from Jamaica • tamales & menudo from Mexico Oh yeah, and maybe some borscht and shoo-fly pie on weekends.

You’re welcome. ◆

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Pew?

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