JustNeem has begun another exciting journey! This time it’s a partnership with the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC – Chapel Hill, together with the Center for Sustainable Enterprise.
We have been accepted to participate in the BASE Program, the Business Accelerator for Sustainable Entrepreneurship, organized by the Business School. It focuses on bringing together local North Carolina businesses with environmental and social objectives in order to connect them with development resources in the community.
On Wed., January 28, we attended the first BASE reception and had a chance to meet the other participants, such as the Green Fountain Group, an organization that focuses on providing information, education and training about ‘green’ living to low wealth communities, along with a host of advisors and mentors that will guide the program.
Next we’ll all be meeting with folks from the Hutchison Law Group and SJF Advisory Serivices to learn more about growing a business in a challenging economy. This should be good!
We are excited to get to know other social entrepreneurs in the North Carolina area with similar visions of making a difference, and we feel privileged to network and learn from the business development folks that have offered their time to the BASE program. You can read more about BASE on the Kenan-Flagler Web site.
Tags: BASE, Kenan-Flagler, social entrepreneurship
Here's the evidence...Whole Foods at Waverly Place sells JustNeem Soaps! (picture take by Matt in Cary, NC.)
Whole Foods now sells our Neem Soap! After much hard work and intense preparation, JustNeem is proud to present a brand new line of Neem soaps made especially for Whole Foods. Our friend Matt just sent us this photo: the soaps are officially on the shelves of the Whole Foods at Waverly Place in Cary, NC. Definitely, one giant leap for JustNeem!
These soaps are made with organic oils and can be found in the Whole Body Premium Line. The scents available are: Lavender Shea, Lemongrass Aloe, Rosemary Eucalyptus, Chamomile Grapefruit, and Orange Mint. We also offer a scent-free soap.
For those of you live in the Cary area, let us know which one you bring home! We love to hear which ones become your favorites.
Tags: neem soap, news, product, whole foods
If you’ve been around JustNeem for any amount of time, you’ve probably gathered that we like Neem trees. Yes! We think they’re pretty cool.
Our friends in Mauritania have been catching that Neem fever as well. We just got some pictures from our partner non-profit group on the ground in the capital of this Saharan nation. Lots of young trees were distributed to families in the sandy shanty towns of the capital city Nouakchott. These trees were raised from seeds with support of JustNeem’s 2007 revenue. A big Thank-you! to all of you for making this happen. Here are the pictures!
Each woman gave one of her shoes to the pile; these were then randomly place by trees. The tree your shoe landed on was the one you got to take home! So in a few months or a year perhaps, each these families may have some shade in their courtyard where the women cook, the families eat, and the children play. And maybe by the next year, they’ll have some vegetables growing under those shady trees, too!
Tags: families, neem trees, Nouakchott
- Scarcity of water, nutritious food, and grounded education
- Oppressing heat in the midst of dust and dirt
- Sickness and the inability to see a doctor or buy medicine
- Rigid traditions that seem to prevent any possible changes in people’s lives
Despite the dignity with which many of the people here carry themselves, I was struck by the rudimentary conditions. I began to wonder, is there really anything anyone can do to help improve the lives of these poor people? Can all our efforts, as well meaning as they might be, truly make a difference for the people in these crowded village-slums?
Then I met the man from whom JustNeem bought the first batch of Mauritanian Neem leaves back in December. He has since become the propeller of the Neem tree planting initiative that JustNeem supports in Mauritania.
After hearing his transforming story and spending time with his loving family, I was convinced that, yes, there is hope! Yes, change is possible in the midst of despair.
The change will happen one person, one life, at a time.
– Magda
Tags: hope, JustNeem, Mauritania, Neem tree project, poverty
Our first purchase of Mauritanian Neem has arrived!
These are the leaves we received from Mauritania. See how Ben and his wife processed the leaves in the video below!
We also received some Neem Seeds from Mauritania
Tags: Mauritania, Neem leaves, Neem seeds
In mid-December, 2007, Peter Radtke and Bill Criswell flew to Mauritania to finalize a collaboration agreement with an NGO in Nouakchott, the capital city of Mauritania. We had begun to talk about working together during our last visit in the spring of 2007. This organization works directly with the poor in areas where living quarters are 1 to 2 rooms maximum – oftentimes with no window and always without running water. Food preparation takes place on small gas or wood-burning stoves in the courtyards that multiple families share.
This NGO has operated in Mauritania for the past 20 years and has established relationships with its people and government. As we got to know them, we were impressed by their dedication and care for the poor.
These friends in Mauritania are now partnering with one local Mauritanian to plant Neem trees. They hired a young local man to harvest and process Neem in a rented facility. Bill and Peter visited the Neem processing facility and met him and his wife. Here’s a video of them pulverizing the dried Neem leaves:
Bill and Peter also discussed financial support for planting more Neem trees in the future. The NGO is currently experimenting with growing trees from seeds.
On their last day in the country, they received a Neem order for JustNeem that was delivered and shipped home to us the next day. Back home we were thrilled to receive our first batch of real Mauritanian Neem!
Tags: Bill, Mauritania, Peter, visit
About six years ago, the Mauritanian government invited our friends Bill Criswell, founder of Impact Team International based in Seattle, and Bill Stoffregen, founder of Homewood Nursery in Raleigh, NC, to Mauritania, West Africa. Considered to be one of the most disadvantaged countries of the sub-Sahara, the Mauritanian government was looking to find new economic opportunities and had invited the Bills to come and help identify job opportunities.
As they traveled the country, Bill Stoffregen noticed trees that appeared to grow very well in the desert environment of this sub-Saharan region. When he learned that these trees were Neem trees, he realized he had been using a natural product from exactly this tree in his greenhouse back home. With this discovery, the two men began to wonder whether the Neem tree, that already grew in the country, yet, was not used for commercial purposes, could become a resource for the Mauritanian people.
Upon their return to the US, they began to research the Neem tree and its different uses. The findings convinced them that this tree could very well be an answer to the Mauritanian government’s quest. Thus, the vision was born to utilize the Neem tree for economic opportunities for the Mauritanian people.
Shortly thereafter, Bill Stoffregen, in collaboration with the University of Nouakchott, Mauritania funded a research study on existing Neem trees in the country. Many trips to Mauritania followed to negotiate with government personnel, business owners, and university professors on ways to utilize Neem as an economic resource.
Bill Criswell, Bill Stoffregen, and Peter Radtke - the visionaries behind JustNeem
In 2004, Peter Radtke, a biochemist by profession, joined the team. Together they extended their research on the amazing features of the tree, initiated the testing of active ingredients in Neem from Mauritania, and built a rather amazing network of friends who shared and embraced their vision of the “Neem Project.”
The search for a practical application of Neem led the three to the uses of Neem in India, where people mainly utilize Neem in their cosmetic industry, in soaps, body care products, and health supplements. This application appealed to the Bills and Peter and they began to focus on the development of personal care products. The small, yet tangible idea of making Neem soap to utilize the medicinal properties of Neem from Mauritania, West Africa, was born.
Then Came the Soap
Magda Radtke started as a hobby soapmaker in 2005. During a six-month sabbatical from teaching emotionally at-risk boys, she learned about the fascinating chemical process of “saponification,” the process that turns oils and fats into soap that, in turn, attacks the oils and fats from which it is made. Talking to the two Bills and Peter, she embraced the vision of using Neem in soap making. She gathered a group of friends together and began producing and selling Neem soap, as well as raising awareness of this amazing tree at craft shows and the Farmers Market in Raleigh, NC.
Madga attends many local artisan markets, presenting the vision and products of JustNeem.
In 2007, we chose the name “JustNeem” for our small company, registered as a business, and filed for trade marking of name and logo. In the spring, we established a collaboration agreement with an NGO in Mauritania. The 2006 soap sales provided the funds for this NGO to plant 1000 Neem trees for 1,000 families in villages surrounding Nouakchott, the capital city. These tree owners will soon reap the benefits of their Neem tree as it grows to maturity in only five years. In the very near future, these 1,000 trees will help provide income to their owners as well as shade in a very hot desert climate
In the fall, we placed our first large order of Mauritanian Neem. The our partnering NGO hired a local man who harvested and processed Neem from existing trees in response to the order. In December, we received our first large batch of Neem from him. Paying him a fair market price, JustNeem provided financial stability for him and his family for one year.
