Kalahari Melon SeedOil - Turning a drought-resistant weed into a high-value cosmetics ingredient

卡拉哈里甜瓜曾经被认为是一种杂草，它是南非本土的一种耐寒、成熟的植物，既容易种植，又可以在浅沙质土壤中种植，而且非常抗旱。它的价值也在迅速增长，因为它被化妆品行业采用，在那里它已经证明了非常有效的特性。KM的抗旱性和易种植性意味着它是撒哈拉以南非洲小农（约3300万）种植的理想作物，气候变化使他们面临作物歉收和贫困的风险最大，因为他们依赖于资源密集型和对温度敏感的主要作物，如玉米和小麦。-我们相信，到2026年，采用摩洛哥坚果及其高价值种子油的生产将成为一个价值10亿英镑的产业（基于最接近天然化妆品成分摩洛哥坚果油的快速增长），并因此成为社会经济发展的有力工具，帮助受气候变化影响最严重的非洲部分地区的农民和小农。-与供应链各个阶段的利益相关者合作，包括来自卡拉哈里盆地的小农和农民、可持续发展研究所、KM油分销商和热带护肤品化妆品，我们的目标是证明经济可行性、化妆品功效、最佳生产实践，并最终鼓励采用KM生产。

Once considered a weed, the Kalahari Melon is an indigenous, hardy, well-established plant in South Africa, that is both easy to grow, can be grown in shallow-sandy soil and is extremely drought resistant. It is also rapid increasingly in value due to its adoption by the cosmetics industry, where it has demonstrated highly efficacious properties. - The KM's drought-resistance and ease to cultivate means it perfect crop to be grown by smallholders (~33m) in Sub-Saharan Africa, where climate change has left them most at risk of crop failure and poverty, due to their reliance on resource-intensive and temperature sensitive staple crops such as maize and wheat. - We believe the adoption of the KM and production of its high-value seed oil can become a £1bn industry by 2026 (based upon closest comparative natural cosmetic ingredient, Argan Oil's, rapid growth) and therefore become powerful tool for socio-economic development, helping farmers and smallholders in parts of Africa most affected by climate change. - Working with stakeholders from all stages of the supply chain- Smallholders&Farmers from the Kalahari Basin, The Sustainability Institute, KM oil distributors & Tropic Skincare cosmetics as we aim to evidence economic feasibility, cosmetic efficacy, best production practices & ultimately encourage the adoption of KM production.