The base model: macadamiafans GmbH

The WELT:KLASSE Foundation was founded in 2006 by Matti Spiecker, an Economics student at Witten/Herdecke University. It initiates and organizes innovative School exchanges for students in emerging and developing countries. Over the past 4 years, a total of over 200 students from 15 schools all over Germany have traveled as WELT:KLASSE ambassadors to China, India, Thailand and Kenya. Through their daily blog entries and extensive video conferencing with their home school, they were able to make their impressions and experiences accessible to many of their fellow students.

macadamiafans GmbH was eventually founded in 2009 by Matti Spiecker and his German brother Hannes in cooperation with Anthony Ngondi in Kenya. Their basic philosophy was to create a model project for a global, sustainable, added-value chain that combines the best practices of social entrepreneurs they had visited worldwide, and also works in close cooperation with the WELT:KLASSE Foundation. This philosophy was applied to everything from selecting the right product to choosing the most appropriate cooperating country. For instance, further processing of the product should be possible without any additional raw materials and, in the interest of good quality management, it should be robust and longlasting. To make ecological cultivation practices simpler to apply, the product should not be particular susceptible to pests, have a beneficial impact on the health of its end consumers and make a positive contribution to the environment during the cultivation phase. The choice was made to go with macadamia nuts, since they meet all the above criteria. Kenya was chosen as the cooperating country because it is the land with the largest volume of macadamia nuts produced by small farmers. While Australia, USA and South Africa produce larger volumes overall, their output is based primarily on mono-culture plantations. In addition, Kenya was considered a suitable destination for WELT:KLASSE students because of its diverse culture. The business has operated a processing and training center in Githure/ Kenya since January 2011. macadamiafans GmbH works with an organization of about 400 small farmers, who receive training and support with the process of converting to organic farming practices. This process of converting the macadamia trees to ecological cultivation practices was certified by the Swiss Institute for Market Ecology (IMO) in May 2011, and final organic farming status (“organic” or “Bio” seal) is expected by May 2013.