When the Toloma Women in Action (TWA) signed up with the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Program (GEF SGP), little did the group know that its product would grow in leaps and bounds.
Toloma is a Dominican strain of arrowroot which is said to have huge potential as a health food for infants and the elderly.
With the assistance of GEF SGP, TWA has made it easier for toloma farine lovers to access their favourite foods in any part of the world.
In an exclusive interview with Dominica News Online one member of TWA explained how her business, which started off small, has grown and developed in a way she never thought possible.
“We are now a group of 28 people with five executive members,” Albertha Sorhaindo one member of TWA said “We have been with GED SGP for about 4 years and it has helped us a lot it is through them that we now have a facility where we will soon be able to grind, package and label our toloma.”
Sorhaindo explained that the idea to package and sell the products came from the Small Business Gateway, a DEXIA initiative.
“We used to sell the products at the market like everybody else,” she explained. “However, it was not packaged nicely and labelled but after discussions and working with Business Gateway, a branch from DEXIA for a few years, we decided that we should up the standards of our products. Packaging and labelling the products makes a great difference. It makes it especially more convenient for people travelling overseas”
Meanwhile Eartha Pascal of Marigot also heaped accolades on the GEF SGP.
Pascal is a member of the Marigot Community Tourism Committee and is the owner and producer of Earth’s Seasoning.
“I started planting peppers and grew a lot of it. However, when there wasn’t a market my peppers were wasted,” she pointed out. “So I got the idea of picking them up and blending them. I picked them up, dried them and eventually added other ingredients to it and realised that it gave the food a very nice flavour.”
She said her product is all natural since no additives have been added to it.
Pascal noted that her small business took a turn for the better when she joined the Marigot Community Tourism Committee which receives funding from GEF SGP.
“My business now receives more exposure,” she said. “We now have plans to build a facility where we can sell and display our products.”
She said prior to joining the Marigot Community Tourism Commitee she was home and hardly anyone knew about her products. “I made small samples and gave people,” she stated. “I had a few sales but since joining I have learnt a lot, attended a few workshops and the standard of my business has improved.”
The GEF Small Grants Programme works in five fundamental focal areas of the GEF: Biodiversity, Climate Change, International Waters, Land Degradation and Sustainable Forest Management, and Chemicals.
SGP provides financial and technical support to projects that conserve and restore the environment while enhancing people’s well-being and livelihoods.
This is a really good initiative. Some of the other islands (like St Kitts) are just starting to talk about making agriculture work for the country; Dominica is way ahead in that game. I’m a proud Dominican!
Toloma farine? toloma is not farine. Do a little research before you feed the world misleading information.
Am proud of you Earth, you go girl and the rest of you.
if anyone is interesting in buy the all natural seasonings u can email [email protected]
I think our young chlidren today needs to focas on pagents ,they should have a prince show :happy:
We need to see more exporting of Dominica products. I even see Dominican Republic and mango long, they are calling Haiti mango here in New York. Dominica produces some of the best in everything we grow. We need the Government to help us get international markets, especially here in New York, because we have one of the biggest Caribbean Communities here.
I have been living her for over 20 years, I buy and cook all my Caribbean foods every day. Once in a blue I cook so called American food. Please we need outside markets. Dominica cannot afford to consume all the foods we produce. I even have to buy mango long, for between one dollar and two dollars for one. So many mangoes wasting in Dominica and other produce.
Congratulations to all involve. Just last week someone brought me some of the newly packaged toloma in the US and I was so happy and proud to see the improvement from home, May God lead and guide the progress of this business and the entire team.
These are the things the government needs to build on – empowering people to take control of their lives and do something useful. Great Job guys.
I like the initiative that this group has taken really government cannot employ everybody therefor if groups can come together to help themselves this is thumbs up
We need help in finding alternative agricultural production packages for this niche product. Production packages which will avoid the use of fertilizers and ag. chemicals because Toloma is said to have huge potential as a health food for infants and the elderly. We cannot afford to give the once and twice a child foods laden with ag. chemicals then come talk about health foods!!!
Well done! How soon will these products be available in the U.K.?
How about someone in the UK trying to find a way to get the products there? The cooperatives in Dominica, while they have great potential, are limited in their ability to get the products to the wider community. This is the way that persons in the Diaspora can make a positive contribution, by doing the ground work on their end and meeting the suppliers halfway.
Way to go GE SGP. Keep up the good work.