What began as one church’s mission to Laos 10 years ago has morphed into a worldwide “superfood” enterprise bringing much needed employment and income to southeast Asia’s poorest country.
This fall, 30,000 pounds of FDA approved products marketed under the trade name, Omegoodness arrived in the Coulee Region from Laos. And all the hubbub swirls around a tiny, nutrition-packed seed called Sacha Inchi.
“About 2,000 farmers are growing the Sacha Inchi seeds and this affects around 10,000 lives,” explained Charlie Dee, spokesman for the outreach at First Free Church in Onalaska. “It’s a high value crop. And because of the revenue it generates, it acts as a buffer so children don’t get trafficked.”
Dee went on to add that previously, poverty-stricken rural families fell prey to traffickers who enslaved their daughters in the sex trade and sons in the fishing industry. Much of that has changed. Profits plowed back into the villages helped raise the standard of living, making Laotians more resistant to the trafficking menace.
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A timely discovery
Ten years ago, Dee along with his wife Donna were working on private agricultural development projects in southeast Asia when they noticed that rural people in Laos struggled with poverty as well as the aftermath of the Vietnam War bombings.
About the same time Dr. Phillipe Schmidt, a French surgeon, discovered the high protein and Omega-3 values of the Sacha Inchi seed. With Dee’s knowledge of agricultural business, the two set out to create a sustainable crop for farmers.
Working through the missions department at First Free Church, Dee and his team encouraged Laotian farmers to grow the Sacha Inchi seed. The effort netted farmers three times the earning potential of traditional rice crops.
The seed is processed at the Omegoodness plant in the Laotian capital of Vientiane where it is made into a variety of products including protein powder, granola, and Omega-3 oil. It’s even mixed with chocolate.
Dee says Asians in La Crosse have been impressed with other products as well, particularly the solar dried bananas and the Mack Khen spice.
According to Dee, U.S. Ambassador Peter Haymond, who attended the inaugural shipment to the U.S. celebration in June at the factory, remarked that it was the cleanest manufacturing facility he’d seen in Laos.
More benefits
Economics aside, the mission has also aided rural Laotians culturally.
“The Lao people have very low trust because of their past history,” explained Dee, adding that businesses never grew larger than the immediate family because outsiders just couldn’t be trusted. “By bringing biblical values like hope, honesty and trust, the people have benefited,” he said.
Over the years, Dee credits First Free Church in Onalaska with sending talent, expertise, and finances to help with construction and various agricultural programs.
And Omegoodness still remains true to its humanitarian roots. In the wake of recent natural disasters, it distributed thousands of protein bars to homeless Laotians. Similarly, nearly half of Laotian children suffer from stunting, or diminished brain development due to lack of protein. So for every one-dollar of profit, Omegoodness will provide one protein bar to needy children.
The Hmong Grocery Store in Holmen carries a full line of Omegoodness products, and Dee is currently looking for more local retail outlets. More information is available on the website at www.omegoodness.com.