Conservation and land restoration
By buying baobab fruits from farmers, we incentivize them to conserve the indigenous baobab trees and so far our work has resulted in conservation of at least 5,000 baobab trees. In addition, we have a seedling nursery with various drought resistant tree species such as baobab, tamarind, melia volkensi, moringa, acacia and marula. We partner with farmers, NGOs, government agencies and community forest associations to plant the seedlings and restore the land.
Health and Nutrition
The two products by Vokenel are of great health and nutritional value. Baobab fruit contains medicinal properties with health and nutritional value such as a source of Vitamin C, high antioxidant content, contains 3.5 times the amount of calcium in milk and 1.5 times the amount found in almonds which may well make it the richest plant-based source of this mineral, a rich natural source of magnesium and a natural source of potassium, containing more than six times the amount of potassium in bananas. The baobab oil on the other hand is a highly sought out commodity in the cosmetic industry and dermatology for its capacity to nourish and heal damaged skin; including treating inflammatory skin conditions like eczema & psoriasis.
Contribution to Research & Development
Social Impact
We buy baobab fruits from at least 2,000 farmers in Makueni county as well as Taita Taveta and Kilifi counties. This provides a source of livelihood for the farmers. I addition we employ up to 70 staff which provides an income for the local communities in Makueni.
Beyond the human nutrition value, Vokenel is applying the circularity model by recycling the baobab seed cake into animal feed and the baobab husk is being developed into a planting medium for hydroponics farming. This has been a contribution to research in collaboration with the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).
Impact Awards
Vokenel has received several awards in recognition of the impact the enterprise is contributing to:
- In September 2023, Vokenel Limited was selected a winner of the Trillion Trees: Forest Communities and Value Chains Challenge. This is in recognition of our role in promoting non-timber forest products, supporting conservation & sustainable practices, enhancing local livelihoods and ensuring a greener, brighter future. The challenge was Uplink – World Economic Forum.
- In October 2023, we were selected as part of the Top 15 enterprises of the Land Accelerator program for our role in advancing landscape restoration using entrepreneurship. The program is funded by the World Resources Institute.
In December 2023, Vokenel was selected as the second runners up of the Green Project of the Year by WIDU Africa. WIDU is a regional project funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.