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Six years ago, Australian businessman Michael Gravina walked into a cafe in Harare, Zimbabwe. He was traveling at the time and looking for a new project. By chance, he began speaking with Dr. Loki Osborne, an American-born scientist. Loki shared stories about his work in elephant conservation. Loki was looking for a partner to join him in discovering a way to address the conservation of elephants while addressing the poverty issues of African farmers.
Mike and Loki teamed up and began to research solutions to repel elephants from crops. The solution needed to be environmentally sustainable while being friendly to animals, and in the humble chilli pepper they found their answer. Chilli-based repellents were found to repel elephants from fields significantly faster than the traditional methods. After finding that elephants hate chillies, Elephant Pepper was born.
Elephant Pepper began to educate and train farmers using the chilli-based deterrents, keeping crops and people safe from hungry elephants, and the elephants safe from angry farmers. Fields of chillies began springing up around food crops, and farmers started dressing their fences with chilli-grease soaked rags. In the evenings, the time when elephants usually raided the crops, many farmers burned briquettes made of elephant dung and chillies. The elephants stayed away.
With people and elephants safe, Mike and Loki looked for ways to increase livelihood opportunities for the Elephant Pepper farmers. The team launched the Elephant Pepper brand, where they could manufacture and sell chilli sauces and other branded products using chillies grown by the same small-scale farmers. In order to ensure future economic stability for farmers and safety for elephants, ten percent of profits from the spice products are returned to Elephant Pepper projects.
The Elephant Pepper sauces and spices were made to be not only socially progressive, but taste delicious too. Only the best ingredients go into our products. Outside ingredients are sourced locally from small farmers and reputable businesses. We are involved in every step of the planting, harvesting and manufacture of our products, so our loyal customers can be sure their purchase represents integrity from beginning to end, and tastes great too.
Mike and Loki continue to be the driving force behind Elephant Pepper, a project that would not be possible without the support of our customers, and would never have been realized without that chance meeting in a little café in Zimbabwe.
Visit www.elephantpepper.org to find out more.
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