For those who’ve been following us diligently, we’ve been actively working with The Pond Foundation to build value chains from the ground up, to showcase with tangible actions and outcomes, what WhatIF Foods refers to by the WhatIF Way of Regeneration.

Over the past 6 months, we’ve seen so much progress, from inviting farmers to partner with us to grow the Bambara groundnut, through respectfully approaching the communities, chiefs, and explaining what we do, seeing our first Bambara seedlings sprout from the ground.

We’ve also had those who were a little more sceptical, preferring to wait and see, to see if we are the same as the others who have come before, or if we are really doing what we said we would do.

This week, to start it all off, Scott Poynton brought us some really uplifting news: that two communities here in Ghana have made him Chief:

The first, with the name Maligunaa, which, when translated, means “peacemaker”.
 

The second, with the name Zisungnaa (pronounced zee-soong-nar), which similarly, speaks of a “chief who presides over peaceful co-existence.

We want to do things a different way. At the Pond Foundation and at WhatIF Foods, we want to stay true to our pillar of Reconnecting and creating truly regenerative value chains, not just coming for something that will simply benefit us and not anyone else. Neither are we just here to donate or give aid. We have come to speak to the communities about what we can do to work together, that we build this up as partners.



Our partnership will surely face challenges over time, but just like the Bambara groundnut, we’re creating strong roots together, building up trust, and continuing respectfully to fulfil our commitments to our partners throughout this journey.

To end it off, the skies greeted the Ghanaian fields with a shower of rain, welcomed by the happy farmers.



To our WhatIF tribe, keep watching this space, to see our Bambara bushes and our partnerships continue to grow!



#JointheRegeneration

What's next?

Read all about the mighty BAMnut and its journey to your kitchen here.

Learn more about the show-stopping nutritional profile of BAMnut here.

Discover how biochar plays an important role in reducing our carbon footprint here.

Find out how we create a Better Better with our partner farming communities here.