Have you ever wondered, what happens with tomatoes, which are not red or perfectly shaped enough to be put in the supermarket? The Enactus group Leeuwarden did and they started a business in cooperation with a local farmer to reduce food waste. I met with Barbara Bricalli from Enactus and she explained me how it works.
By: Leonhard Wildhagen
Enactus is a worldwide operating student network, which aims to build small business through student projects in cooperation with the local society. The students are providing start up support for local entrepreneurs in all business questions. This is an opportunity for the students to convert their theoretical knowledge into practical exercises. The global Enactus organization called out a competition, called “1 Race 2 End Waste”.
Local Tomatoes
The Enactus Leeuwarden group participated in this competition with an idea of a product, which nearly everybody uses. They produced tomato sauce. Initially, they started collecting used jars of different products to recycle them and give them a new use as a jar of tomato sauce. Moreover, they came in contact with EMPATEC, a local farmer, located in Sneek. They offered to donate their waste tomatoes and the students were able to start cooking their new product. Now, they are promoting and selling it on various occasions, like the Green Alert Market recently.
From Tomatoes to Apples
Now, the next steps for the future of the project are uncertain. The group is going to pick up a new load of tomatoes in the next weeks, so the tomato sauce supply will be steady, but the Enactus group is still looking for someone local to overtake the business. The next step, Barbara said, will be the production of apple sauce, to broaden the companies profile. Moreover, they found out, that apple sauce is much more popular in the Netherlands than tomato sauce.
For more information watch…Video by: Marian Mönkemöller
