Origins of Fairshare peanuts
It is said that the Matai groundnuts or peanuts
have been in Rukwa since the mid nineteenth
century when the Ngoni tribal clan Maseko led
by Zwangeendaba a conqueror and traveller
left Swaziland and Natal and eventually arrived
in the Ufipa plateau and settled near a stream
called Nyiinaluusi. For Zwangeendaba it was
the land of his dreams and he called the place
Maphupho (dreams). Certainly the hardy Natal
red nuts are in abundance in the district.
Groundnuts or peanuts were brought to Africa
from Brazil most likely by the Portugese
explorers in the early nineteenth century and
have since been cultivated throughout the
continent. Peanuts are one of nature’s nutrition
success stories with the highest protein value of
all nuts. USA and Europe are some of the biggest
consumers of peanuts in the world through the
snack market and as a baking ingredient.
There is an increasing demand for organic
peanuts as consumers become aware of the
dangers of the increasing use of chemical
pesticides and artificial fertilizers which in the
long term have negative affects for farmers,
consumers and the planet.