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<<3>> So really what we are trying to do here is to support
<<5>> small holder farming and agriculture all over the country.
<<8>> Right, yesterday we were looking at our Pink Pepper sourcing
<<12>> and I heard about a story, about a woman whose life
<<14>> has been completely changed through sourcing of Pink Pepper.
<<17>> So, we’ve changed our plans, you booked a flight last night
<<20>> with just hours notice, and we want to meet her,
<<23>> we want to understand what Co-Impact Sourcing means to her
<<25>> and her family.
<<35>> ''Pink Pepper Harvester & Mother of 5''
<<39>> 2014.
<<39>> 2014, what happened?
<<42>> A road accident.
<<43>> He was going to work at Nivasha, there.
<<47>> When Veronica got news that she had lost her husband,
<<50>> she was pregnant with her fifth child.
<<52>> Meeting Veronica was incredible, because we were able to see,
<<56>> first hand, the impact that Co-Impact Sourcing
<<60>> has on families in Africa.
<<62>> It was hard to feed my children. I was very stressed.
<<66>> I struggled, very much. Yeah, life was hard.
<<71>> To provide for her children she started making ropes from the fibers of plants.
<<75>> She would make about 200 shillings a day,
<<77>> which is the equivalent of 2 US dollars.
<<81>> Veronica would take these ropes to sell to shop keepers,
<<84>> originally they would buy them because they would feel sorry for her,
<<87>> but overtime they stopped buying her ropes.
<<90>> So, she started taking them to truck drivers
<<93>> to see if they would buy her rope.
<<96>> The truck drivers wouldn’t buy her rope,
<<98>> but they would buy something else
<<100>> and she found herself having to give away
<<104>> her dignity and her respect
<<106>> and the only way she had to provide for her children.
<<111>> Veronica and Lucia were friends, they had a
<<114>> common bond because they had both lost their husbands.
<<117>> As they were sitting in front of the shops, wondering what they
<<120>> were going to do to provide for their families.
<<123>> Kigo came and he offered them an opportunity to harvest Pink Pepper.
<<129>> That’s how we met. They were just sitting in front of the shop
<<132>> and I said hi to them
<<134>> and I said I have seen a lot of trees here which have got a lot of
<<136>> Pink Pepper seed on them
<<139>> and I think you ladies you can be able to do that.
<<142>> He told me to leave this job. There isn’t enough money.
<<146>> I told her maybe try the Pink Pepper.
<<149>> You might make slightly more than that.
<<151>> She told me some of the children were at home
<<154>> and they hadn’t gone to school.
<<156>> Even that day I gave her some advance.
<<159>> I told her I would cover it from the seed we would get later.
<<162>> So, you gave her a little bit of an advance, you took a risk
<<165>> on her, and then she delivered some Pink Pepper.
<<168>> The following day she had like 20 kilos.
<<171>> Really? The next day?!
<<172>> My first time.
<<176>> Since Veronica started harvesting Pink Pepper she now
<<179>> makes 1500 shillings a day on average, versus
<<183>> two or three hundred shillings a day before.
<<187>> I like to work. I don’t like to stay idol
<<192>> and when you stay idol and when you gossip,
<<195>> your children will sleep without anything in their stomach.
<<200>> So I like to work.
<<204>> Veronica and Lucy are just two examples of
<<206>> the hundreds if not thousands of lives that are and will be
<<210>> impacted by the harvest of Pink Pepper.
<<212>> That’s why we do Co-Impact Sourcing. It will always be
<<215>> about the individual and how we can make their lives better.
<<220>> That job is good. Because this time I afforded to rent.
<<227>> I afforded to eat. I afforded to cover my children. My family.
<<234>> I thank Mr. Kigo
<<239>> and I'm thankful for all of you.