The power of organic yoghurt

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Published Feb 25, 2017

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Rome - When race riots

sparked by the shooting of two African migrant workers forced

Suleiman Diara to abandon life as a fruit picker in southern

Italy he decided to turn his hand to making yoghurt.

With 30 euro ($32) borrowed from an Italian charity worker,

he and a friend bought 15 litres of milk and tried their luck.

Six years on, the two friends and five other migrants are

running a small organic farming business that U.N. experts say

is an example of sustainable agricultural development, which if

replicated could help feed the growing global population.

"We named it Barikama, which means 'resilience' as we went

through many difficulties to open this company but we never gave

up," he said referring to a term used in Bambara, a language

spoken in his native Mali.

Born in a rural area of southwestern Mali, Diara arrived in

Italy on a migrant boat from Libya in 2008 hoping to make enough

money to buy his family a cow and a plough.

"We had no equipment to work the land and struggled to

produce enough food for the whole year," he said.

Italy has since become Europe's main entry point for

refugees and migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the

Middle East.

A record 181 000 crossed the Mediterranean last year, most

on flimsy boats run by people smugglers.

"I was told it would be easy to find a job in Italy," said

the 32-year old. But the reality turned out to be different.

Like thousands of others, Diara ended up working in

vegetable fields and fruit orchards in conditions that have been

described as exploitative and slave-like by rights groups and

labour unions.

In January 2010, he was picking oranges for 20 euros a day

near the town of Rosarno, in the southern Calabria region, when

a gang of white youths fired air rifles at a group of African

migrants returning from work, injuring two of them.

The shooting set off riots that led authorities to evacuate

more than 1,000 migrants from the town, including Diara and his

future business partners, who had been living in abandoned

factories with no running water or electricity.

The group ended up homeless in Rome, where they decided to

have a go at producing organic yogurt.

Social enterprise

In Mali, making yoghurt simply required putting milk in a

barrel and waiting, Diara said, adding that this seemed very

appealing after two years of back-breaking farm labour.

The young entrepreneurs adapted the Malian method to the

colder climate, warming up the milk to trigger fermentation, and

started selling jars at farmers' markets.

Initially they struggled to overcome Italian customers'

diffidence.

"It's not easy to do business in Italy if you come from

Africa and have a dark skin," said 31-year-old Barikama partner

Cheikh Diop who comes from Senegal.

"Many didn't trust us, believing we had poor hygienic

standards."

But the product gradually grew in popularity thanks to its

distinctive taste and its makers' friendly attitude, Diop said.

"Now we have elderly clients who say the taste of our yogurt

reminds them of their youth," he said.

Operating from a farm overlooking a lake outside Rome,

Barikama now sells about 200 litres a week. The business not

only provides a living for its partners, it has also helped

break down social barriers.

"By touring local markets I've learned the language and met

many nice Italians," said 26-year-old Malian Sidiki Kone.

"Before, I thought there were no good people in this country,"

he added, referring to his time in Rosarno.

Set up as a social cooperative, an enterprise that is

granted tax cuts in return for providing social services, the

company also offers work opportunities for Italians with

Asperger syndrome, a form of autism.

"It's difficult for them to integrate into society, as they

have a hard time communicating," Diara said.

"We thought their struggle is similar to ours in a way, as

we too find it hard to communicate and fit in."

Up to 90 percent of people with autism in Europe are

unemployed, according to estimates.

Green farming

Diara and his friends deliver yogurt door to door by

bicycle, recycle empty jars, collecting them from customers

after use, and have recently expanded into growing and selling

organic vegetables.

"We are all sons of farmers who grew up surrounded by nature

so we like to support the environment," said Diara.

Barikama has become a local success story and in 2014 its

partners were invited to speak at an event on sustainable

farming hosted by the UNFood and Agriculture Organisation

(FAO) in Rome.

"It's a model that can be replicated elsewhere," said FAO

officer Rosalaura Romeo, referring to Barikama's green business

approach to farming.

Small farmers produce most of the food eaten in developing

countries.

With climate change threatening food security, the FAO says

helping these farmers to boost yield while protecting the

environment will be key to achieving an ambitious plan agreed by

world leaders to end poverty and hunger by 2030.

Diara and Diop hope the experience acquired in Italy will

help them in their long-term plan of starting a farming business

back home.

"My father farms peanuts, maize and millet, while here I've

learned to grow aubergines and other vegetables that I can try

to plant there too," said Diop.

Their immediate goal, however, is to employ more migrants

and disadvantaged people in Italy.

"We want to extend the vegetable garden, increase yogurt

production and give more people a chance," said Diara.

REUTERS THOMPSON FOUNDATION

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