KZN moringa dream brewed into tea reality
FROM a qualified attorney to a wellness activist, energetic and lively Durban businesswoman Jenny Maharaj is branching out with her moringa drinks.
She produces teas and energy drinks using the moringa plant as a base ingredient.
Moringa, commonly known in KwaZulu-Natal as the “drumstick tree”, is revered for its role in lowering blood sugar and cholesterol levels, as well as its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.
“It’s one of the most nutritious plants on the planet. There are lots of nutrients that our body needs and moringa has them. It is pure health,” said Maharaj.
Maharaj’s love for the moringa plant and its benefits took root in 2010, when she decided to retire from a corporate law firm and start a new chapter of her life.
“It was time for me to give back to the community. I was developing my social-responsibility vision and reaching out to rural communities – that is when I first engaged with moringa through Professor Indres Moodley and his research on the plant,” said Maharaj.
Maharaj said the idea of growing the moringa tree and producing tea was then formed, but she needed help to make it a reality.
At the time, she had no farm, but just an idea.
“In 2014, Subasen Naidoo and I teamed up as business partners. We went to a rural community along the South Coast. We met Inkosi Prince Ngamizizwe Madlala and told him about my idea, and our need for land to plant on,” said Maharaj.
Madlala is a traditional leader for the Madlala Traditional council for communal land in Ugu District.
The Madlala area is between Mzumbe and Umzimkhulu.
Madlala said: “We did not know anything about what Maharaj was bringing to us. At the time, people were concerned about their pieces of land. Me and Ndlukulu (chief’s wife) decided to donate our farm to this moringa project.
“The intention was to empower individual farmers in our area. The moringa project educated and trained our individual farmers about growing moringa. Eventually they were able to farm together collectively.”
The end product of this collective effort are drinks called Superinga and Jai Ringa.
Now they are growing fast, with national retailers stocking the drinks, and talks on with an airline to serve them in-flight.