TRANSCRIPT
“So these are tiger nuts. Tiger nuts are not actually nuts, but they get called tiger nuts because they've got little stripes on them that look like tiger stripes.”
Tiger nuts are in fact a root vegetable, each one the size of a chick pea. The nuts are used to make a plant-based milk, which is gaining popularity worldwide. Laura Hindson was introduced to the nuts by a relative from Mali, and quickly saw a business opportunity.
“They are a great versatile ingredient to make plant-based milk. Tiger nuts themselves are incredibly high in fibre. They're a good source of plant-based iron. They've got lots of vitamins, magnesium and potassium. So, they are quite a nutritious food source.”
Tiger Nuts were found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs and are a staple food in West Africa. Now, the rest of the world is catching on. Ms Hindson says demand for tiger nut milk is rising.
“It's quite unique, it's very creamy, very smooth, and it's slightly sweet ever so slightly nutty. Last year our business doubled every quarter, which was exciting and challenging at the same time.”
At a purpose-built factory in Melbourne’s south-east, Ms Hindson’s business called Madame Tiger can produce up to 40-thousand litres of tiger nut milk in a single day.
“So, we wash then we soak them to soften them and then we mill them with water and then we filter out any fibre that is left in the milk and then we blend it with the other ingredients and bottle it.”
But there’s a lot more to this story. Madame Tiger is changing the lives of more than 600 women and their families in Africa’s Burkina Faso. Ms Hindson explains:
“So, we get our tiger nuts from a female farming collective in Burkina Faso called Mousso Faso. And Mousso Faso means land of the wholehearted woman. So, when we first met the collective, they'd been really mistreated and the pay that they were getting per kilo of tiger nuts was really not okay. So, we are paying about three to four times what they were being paid previously for their tiger nuts.”
Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world. Of its almost 14 million inhabitants, only 22 per cent are literate, and life expectancy is below 62 years old. Farming tiger nuts is exhausting hard work, mostly carried out by women who are vulnerable to exploitation, according to collective spokesperson Maria Marquez, who’s based in Spain.
“In the past, and this is not only happening with tiger nuts, but it's an example of what happens with sugar, with coffee, with cocoa, y’know they are not fair systems for that people. So, they have been exposed to scams and to not fair commercial relations, and that has been real pain and a real hurt for those families.”
Selling tiger nuts to Australia for a fair price has helped rebuild trust and improve the lives of the Mousso Faso women, says Ms Marquez.
“Building these stable trade relations helps them to grant their children the opportunity to go to school and to improve infrastructures and their daily lives.”
But secure income is not the only concern for these women. Burkina Faso has become a terror hotspot. Last year, it topped the Institute for Economics and Peace Global Terrorism Index. Founder and Executive Chairman Steve Killelea explains:
“In 2024, there was 1,532 deaths. That's about 25 per cent of all deaths globally. Successive weak governments through Africa, combined with a whole lot of tension between different tribal groups and ethnic groups within the Sahel, and that's been compounded by international Jihadists moving into the area now and starting to become active.”
Non-Government organisations or NGOs try to help Burkina Faso villagers tackle poverty and rising terrorism. Ms Marquez volunteers with an NGO called CIM Burkina.
“There is y’know an increasing violence on the country with armed groups that are attacking and there are lots of civilians dying, that has been increasing. So, the situation on the country overall is very, very hard. And this project and this relationship with Madam Tiger has been helping them to have a fair income for, to improve their lives.”
For her part, Melbourne-based entrepreneur Laura Hindson is incredibly proud to be building a small business that helps the women of Burkina Faso.
“They've done things like building shelters, sorting shelters so that they're not as exposed to the sun. They've built wells and better facilities for washing the tiger nuts. They've been able to build a warehouse and pipelines as well. So, it has made a really big impact on the women and the farmers.”
The global milk alternatives market is expected to reach 150-billion dollars by 2035. The Australian market is already worth more than 600-million dollars annually - and is growing quickly. As local demand increases, Madame Tiger needs ever more tiger nuts, as Ms Hindson explains:
“We bought six tonnes of tiger nuts in 2020. In the next year we did seven tonnes, then 15 tonnes, then 30 tonnes, and then last year's harvest was 60 tonnes. So they're 10 times what the volume was in 2020.”
Tiger nut milk may be on a roll, but growing this business hasn’t been easy. Ms Hindson says the support of family and friends was vital.
“Yeah, the first few years were really hard. Setting up a business where you work with international growers and you're buying products straight from the farms in West Africa, certainly has its challenges! But I think the rewards and the impact that you can make definitely outweighs the challenges. We're certainly very proud to have worked with Mousso Faso for five years and seen them grow like they have. And we are also really proud of the milk that we've been able to make from it and it makes us feel really good that we've been able to produce something that people in Australia are loving.”
