The Peanut Butter House is a joint effort between First Presbyterian Church of Fort Collins, Colorado and Hope Feeds, a program of Global Strategies for HIV Prevention. The project seeks to be an answer to the nutrition problems that plague developing countries through the use of Ready-to-Use-Therapeutic-Foods (RUTF’s). Rather than importing rice and corn that provide minimal nutritional value, the Peanut Butter House empowers the people of the countries in need by taking advantage of the highly nutritious and locally grown peanut. Our version of RUTF’s is a blend of peanut butter, powder sugar, and vitamins, inspired by the Plumpy Nut project. This highly nutritious mixture is easy to manufacture, easy to distribute, and perhaps most importantly, it tastes good and is therefore easy to get children to eat it.
The Peanut Butter House was first constructed in Fort Collins in the summer of 2008. While it sat on the lawn of First Presbyterian, it hosted tours and dinners designed to raise awareness of both malnutrition and RUTF’s. While the peanut butter making equipment went to another church to spark similar programs, work was being done to find a permanent home for the structure which would house all the equipment needed to make the fortified peanut butter. Working with existing contacts from Hope Feeds, the Peanut Butter House has finally found a final destination in
Monrovia, Liberia.
The house was erected on the property of Luther Tarpeh, founder of Transformation International, an NGO working with orphaned or abandoned young men, who we hope will be the first team of workers to staff the Peanut Butter House. From this location, it will be able to provide peanut butter to local hospitals, orphanages, and feeding programs.
Beginning January 20, 2010, a group of eight from First Presbyterian Church in Fort Collins traveled to Monrovia to help the boys of Transformation Intl. construct the building. The team was joined by a representative from Hope Feeds. Later the director of the Peanut Butter Project at Faith Alive Medical Clinic in Jos, Nigeria came to help train in production and sanitation requirements.
We are currently raising funds to cover additional costs associated with getting the building and equipment up to government regulations and ready for food production. If you would like to support this effort through a tax-deductible donation please follow the link below to donate online.
BUILDING THE PEANUT BUTTER HOUSE
MORE ABOUT TRANSFORMATION INTERNATIONAL
Learn more about Transformation International and Rev. Luther Tarpeh’s vision for transforming the nations through raising up Godly leaders:
To see more videos from the Peanut Butter House, visit the Peanut Butter House website.
WHAT'S A PEANUT BUTTER HOUSE?
The Peanut Butter House is a building that contains equipment for producing an enriched peanut butter, also known as an RUTF. Originally constructed on the property of First Presbyterian Church in Fort Collins, CO to raise awareness of the hunger crisis in Africa, the value of RUTF’s, and the RUTF production process, the house is now headed to it’s permanent location in Monrovia, Liberia.
WHAT ARE RUTF’S?
RUTF means Ready To Use Therapeutic Food. These foods are powerful combatants against malnutrition in Africa.
WHY PEANUT BUTTER?
The peanut butter made will contain additional ingredients including vitamins and powdered milk, then it will be packaged for distribution to those facing malnutrition. You can learn more about a similar peanut product by watching this.
WHY LIBERIA?
Through work with partners from Hope Feeds and St. Joseph’s Hospital we found Transformation International in Monrovia, Liberia. We believe the peanut butter house will both serve these young men, giving them rewarding work and service opportunity. The peanut butter they create will then benefit St. Joseph’s Hospital, Sisters of Charity orphanage and a nearby orphanage constructed by fellow Fort Collins friends.
WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATUS?
Since returning from our trip in Liberia, we have good news and bad news…
The good news is that the trip and subsequent conversations have validated that the need is greater than we anticipated. As we understand it, a lot of international relief funding is getting pulled away from Liberia because time has passed since the country’s acute civil war crisis. The government and local NGOs are eager for a Liberia-produced product that can help fill in the gap that will be created when this aid funding goes away. On the trip we were able to see first-hand the feeding centers that would be helped by access to this peanut butter product.
The bad news is that the Peanut Butter House needs a remodel! Actually, an addition would be a more accurate description of what is needed. Government regulations and World Health Organization food production sanitation requirements spell out a need for a couple of extra rooms added onto the house, including a cloakroom/wash room and a separate packaging room. At the same time we need to gear up for an increased production capacity from our earlier intentions.
We are learning a lot and getting some questions answered while at the same time discovering new questions to ask. It is clear that to move forward will require raising more funds. We are working on solidifying our list of what is needed to get to production phase, filling in gaps in our business plan, and determining avenues for fund-raising. We are also ever-expanding our contacts and people who can bring different expertise and new energy to the effort who will help us get the Peanut Butter House into production as soon as we can. Please let us know if you would like to help join us in the effort!
HOW CAN I HELP?
If you would like to support the Peanut Butter House through a tax deductible donation you can follow the link on the main part of this page. Or you may send a check to: First Presbyterian Church, 531 South College Ave., Fort Collins, CO 80524. Please write Liberia in the memo line so your donation will be directed to this project. If you would like more information on the project, you can email us. Thank you for your support!
