Cashews for Africa

LEAD International has chosen Portland State as the first university to take part in a LEAD project under their guidance. Five PSU students are currently helping to raise money to support a woman in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa, in launching a cashew processing plant. 

LEAD is a nonprofit organization, which strives to end poverty through entrepreneurial business principles, according to its Web site.

One of the students involved with the project is Inna Makheddinova, an international development and Russian student in her third year at PSU.

Makheddinova found out about LEAD when its founder, Mike Blondino, spoke to her international development class. Makheddinova was drawn to volunteering because of Blondino’s “charisma and passion about [his] work.”

Makheddinova learned that the LEAD office, based out of Vancouver, Wash., was seeking students to get involved in a special project they were developing for PSU. The project’s goal is to raise $30,000 with the help of the students and community members of PSU.

The proceeds will be used to launch a cashew processing plant in Guinea-Bissau. They will begin by employing eight people from West Africa, whom they will provide with wages five times above the per capita rate.

“Cashews are ideal because they are native to [the] region and require very little further development,” Makheddinova said.

LEAD Development Officer Cherise Bjornsgard said their non-profit organization has received a lot of interest from other colleges about their economic and international development plans abroad. Bjornsgard is working with the five PSU students to provide them with “hands on experience in the development world that will benefit them.”

“I’m thrilled with the diversity of talent that happened to volunteer,” Bjornsgard said.

The students will have a chance to gain experience in marketing, branding, communication and fundraising.

Makheddinova feels that LEAD could help “break the cycle of poverty in West Africa.”

“[Volunteering with LEAD] is in a way, a calling for me,” Makheddinova said.

She is originally from Moscow, Russia, and came to the U.S. with her family in 1996.

“I know how it is, being with a lack of many resources, like milk, bread, clothes,” Makheddinova said. “[My background] helps me appreciate what I have here and helps me give back to others.”

Makheddinova is intrigued with development work and wants to help LEAD provide West Africans with further resources for a more stable life.

“[Guniea-Bissau] is a region torn with conflict and government issues,” Makheddinova said.

She believes that what LEAD is doing is valuable for the region, because they work with the local people and train them to be sustainable. LEAD does not merely “donate money and resources like other groups,” she said.

“LEAD International empowers African people to be resourceful and develop on their own,” Makheddinova said.

According to LEAD’s 2009–11 Strategic Marketing and Distribution guide, they are anticipating that the cashew program will be sustainable in 2012, and should not require any additional fundraising to maintain production and increase profitability.

“The proverb about teaching a man to fish to feed him for a lifetime is cliché, but there is a lot of truth in that,” Makheddinova said.

LEAD is hoping that a positive economic chain reaction will occur and have a long-lasting effect on the region.

“[The] trickiest part about development work is getting people to understand the connection to people 10,000 miles away,” Bjornsgard said.

She said that the PSU students she has worked with are excited about the project and look forward to gaining experience that will help them in the future.

“We’re being flexible…allowing the students to call the shots,” Bjornsgard said.

“Studying comes first. They can do what they can do, and work around their school schedule,” she said.

Makheddinova said signs will be posted around PSU once the events are planned. They would like to sell the cashews locally as well.

In the future, LEAD International may explore expanding into selling the juice and dry fruit from the cashew tree.

Find out more on their Web site at www.leadinternational.com.