The Grandmas and their grandchildren came to see the dryer arrive all the way from China. Inside the crate on this truck is the heat pump fruit dryer that will enable the grandmas to dry their own pineapples, pack and ship them to the UK where they are being sold through Amazon and Shopify. This premium pineapple snack is a favourite choice for vegans and one of your five a day, best of all it is plant-based and packed with healthy vitamins.

The journey began thousands of miles away in a factory in China, then packed and put on board and shipped to Mombasa the principal port for East Africa. The distance from Quangzho to Mombasa Kenya’s Red Sea port as the crow flies is 6,838kms. The journey to Kampala is another 1,000 kms and 100kms to Luwero. The fruit drying processing facility will produce premium quality dried tropical fruit, with profits returning to the Grandmas Gardens for the benefit of community projects.

The precious cargo of the dryer is so important to the Grandmas’ Gardens group as it means they can dry the tropical fruit themselves (now pineapple but they’ll soon be drying mango, jackfruit and bananas for sale!) reducing the cost of contract drying the pineapples. More importantly, the grandmas will be learning about food preserving by drying, adopting recognised hygiene standards, and building a local skills base in food technology that will support the wider family farmer community. These benefits are all part of the lasting legacy of this social enterprise. The real beneficiaries are the children whose education can be assured with income to pay school fees, as well as develop opportunities to work in the food technology industry.