Turning Sahel 'Famine Foods' into a Livelihood

Founded in 2014 by Josef Garvi in Zinder, Sahara Sahel Foods works with a network of roughly 2,000 suppliers — about four-fifths of them women — across 80 villages in central Niger, buying wild-harvested fruits, leaves and seeds from 22 native species such as baobab and moringa. The social enterprise processes them into more than 60 products, from flours and oils to jams and spices, sold mainly in Niger's urban markets. Harvesters who often previously had no personal income now earn from produce that also protects root systems and helps regreen the Sahel. The work earned Sahara Sahel Foods a place among the UNDP's Equator Prize 2024 winners, recognizing locally-led, nature-based solutions to the climate crisis.