POMM’it, a nascent social enterprise that was established in 2016, produces and invests in products made from semi-deteriorated apples such as cider vinegar or apple nectar in the local market, in Midelt.
12 May 2017
Midlet, Morocco
Sustainable Food and Agriculture
Midlet, Morocco
Sustainable Food and Agriculture
Known for its high yield in apple crops, Midelt, one of Morocco’s provinces, suffered a colossal loss and an excessive deterioration in its apple production. Apprehensive of a tumultuous economy in the province, student Walid Ijassi launched Pomm’it, to counteract such losses.
Losses prompt solutions:
The problem in the Midelt region resides in the absence of fridges for the preservation of apples, while apple products that are not immediately preserved get decomposed.
“Having made a lot of site visits, I observed that apple production losses could be up to 60%. Using apples affected by rotting to make cider vinegar is the solution proposed by our project,” Walid Ijassi said.
The project consists of processing partially affected apples and removing the deteriorated parts, then transforming the usable parts into vinegar following a traditional recipe dating back to 1964.
March 2016 marked the start of vinegar production, when Ijassi joined forces with Hicham and Mohcine, two apple growers in the region, and Rqia, a local woman who masters the know-how for the traditional processing of apples in cider vinegar. Eventually, more women joined Rqia to help.
POMM’it contributes to the economic, social and environmental development of Midelt by supplying 100% natural and apple-based products in the region. It now produces three ranges of cider vinegar: food, cosmetics and an economic range for the local consumption, with no marketing costs. In fact, POMM’it attempts to encourage the consumption of their local products with a myriad of medicinal virtues which range from fighting diabetes to weight loss and system detoxification, by offering discounts to consumers who recover glass containers for recycling. POMM’it ensures that these containers are given a chance to be recycled.
The social and environmental dedication of POMM’it made it the winner of the third prize at the Unilever Prize for Young Social Entrepreneurs. POMM’it now works with some beauty brands to highlight the therapeutic and cosmetic perks of its products. It also launched ‘Tips & Recipes’ campaign which encompasses different recipes and tips in order to highlight the health benefits and virtues of its products.
Ijassi managed to not only direct a community towards sustainable management of resources, but offered incentives to proactively pursue such practice.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/POMMit.Midelt/
Story by Oumeima Boughanmi
Oumeima is a writer and a translator by day, a blogger by night and a coffee addict at all times.
She is consumed by words, thoughts & feelings.
Right now she is helping green and social entrepreneurs find their voices and tell their stories.
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