In the latter part of 2005 Liberian Ministries put out a request for someone to research the potential of the Moringa Tree for Liberia. Earl and Esther Worthington quickly responded to the request and took on the assignment. Below are some of the results of their research. Liberian Ministries is still very interested in using the information that the Worthington’s provided to improve the health and finances of the Liberian people. If you would like to continue this work through championing the project, providing funding and/or traveling to Liberia for an extended visit please contact us.

Email from the Worthington’s on November 5, 2005

Rodney - This is a rather long and involved document (for our readers I’ll make this document available later) - but I received it from a friend in the field of HomeEc. who is also interested in Liberia (you may remember her - Janett GIbbs - she was at the meeting we had at FBCJ this summer and her church was helping a church in Liberia with a new roof - )

I'm sending this on to you for two purposes -  #1 - the information contained on Moringa trees -  and also #2 so that you can get a bit of insight and contact information from the Methodists who are working in Liberia -  They have a very active ministry and appear to be sending containers on a fairly frequent basis.

We are in the "push time" for the tree farm - but am anxious to get on to some more exploration on the Moringa tree stuff. I'm going to contact them (ECHO) about getting some seeds.

Esther

Email from the Worthington’s on February 5, 2006

Dear Rodney -

Hope that you are doing well.  I'm sorry it has taken me a while to get back to you on the moringa tree. 

We visited ECHO in Ft. Meyers FL on the 28th of Jan. and took a tour of their plant area and looked through materials that they have in the book store. 

The moringa tree shows real promise, particularly as a source for nutritional supplements and for use in water purification.  The seed can be either directly planted in the growing area or started in a seed bed for transplant after it grows some. 

From what we were told, by 3 months the tree is usable for leaf harvest.  The leaves then are dried and ground into powder to add to the food that is already accepted in the local diet, and it provides significant vitamin and mineral enhancement.  This looks like a very good way to increase nutritional quality for the under nourished, and would be an economical way to enhance efforts in a feeding program for schools and orphanages.  As you know, the ability to learn is greatly hampered when nutrition is inadequate so this would be a benefit to school children as well as being essential to infants and small children for basic development.  It is also encouraged as a nutritional supplement to pregnant women.

There are a number of "medical" types of claims made about the Moringa tree materials, but I'm a bit reluctant to move into those without further information and confirmation through medical practitioners.

As far as I could see, what would be needed to introduce this on a small scale, would be Morniga tree seed and a mechanism for grinding the dried leaves into powder form. Seed is available at ECHO and also at the Methodist Mission headquarters in Ganta, Nimba County, Liberia.  Various methods could be used to pulverize the dried leaves - a mortar/pestle system or a hand grinder - or for a  larger operation such as a school, there are some motorized grinders available. 

The United Methodists in North Carolina are taking a mission team to Liberia in March to do a session specifically related to the Moringa tree.  They will do planting, harvesting and utilizations sessions - the "teaching session" will be in the Nimba County area, near Sanniquellie I believe.  I have spoken to the man leading the team, James Perry of Raleigh, and will send you his "letter of invitation" sent out to United Methodist churches for people to consider being included on the mission team.

You may want to talk with him - he has volumes of information on their work in Liberia and is very open to share that information.  He has said the young men we have been working with are welcome to come and learn from the teaching sessions - we hope some of our young men will do that.

ECHO has a great web site www.echonet.org  and they have lots of printed materials of plant and animal production in tropical areas.  They are very helpful and will respond to "how to" and "problems" types of inquiry and have a large research library for information on food production.

Hope this information helps and from what we've learned so far, I'm anxious to see some efforts towards establishing Moringa tree production in Liberia - especially to see it used in nutritional supplements. 

Thanks for letting us share in this -

Esther and Earl Worthington

I will send you by US Mail a copy of some of the information we picked up at ECHO

and am attaching a copy of an interesting article on work in Africa that was published recently in the "World" magazine