01b The BAMISA Project

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november 25th 2021

« For peoples' rights to feed themselves »
« For the rights of families to feed their children themselves »

In order to fight efficiently against the malnutrition of infants, the WHO recommends feeding them high protein-energy-rich porridges, fluid enough to ingest even for babies as young as six months old.

The BAMiSA Project proposes the concept of Liquified Concentrated Porridge (LCP) which consists in preparing the porridge, or gruel, with a lot of flour and very little water; then by adding to the still hot and thick porridge a local amylase thus inducing a starch degradation process which rapidly liquifies it. The LCP can thus meet the WHO recommendations of 120 Kcal/100ml. Thanks to this concept, the disastrous dilution of porridge with water is ended.

The use of local amylases is what is so specific to the BAMiSA project. Using malt “rich in amylase”, obtained in situ by germinating locally-grown cereals, liquefies the porridge just as well as would maternal milk or saliva, equally rich in amylases.

Thus the « 1 + 2 + 3 Porridge Recipe », (i.e. 1 volume of flour + 2 volumes of water + 3 pinches of malt) enables the preparation of these LCPs.

The amylasic liquefaction of porridge is proposed to Nutritional Education programmes and the LCP concept is made available to Health Services, to district and village communities as well as families in order for them to prepare LCP’s on their own, free of dependence of any kind.

The BAMiSA Project proposes a formula for a compound flour, the BAMiSA® Flour, which combines one cereal and two fatty legumes, thus enabling to obtain a flour high in lipid and protein (especially Lysin). This flour is pre-cooked by the roasting of the ingredients. Moreover, it is produced from local agriculture.
The use of the BAMiSA Flour formula is royalty-free.

 The BAMiSA Flour enters the category of dietary flours called ‘’Formulated Supplementary Foods for Older Infants and Young Children’’ (Codex Alimentarius CAC/GL 08-1991).

The processing and selling of BAMiSA Flour are submitted to the 10 articles of the BAMiSA Project Charter. A patent protects the intellectual property of the BAMiSA® brand name (INPI and OAPI).

The production of BAMiSA flour can be carried out by Local Production Units (LPU) which consequently develop Income Generating Activities (IGA). The BAMiSA flour can also be produced by Community Manufactured Groups (CPG) and by the families themselves.

The BAMiSA Project is supported by associative or communitarian structures in more than 10 African countries: BENIN, BURKINA FASO, CAMEROON, IVORY COAST, GUINEA-BISSAU, MAURITANIA, MOZAMBIQUE, NIGER, SENEGAL, CHAD, (see Document 02 Members of the BAMiSA Project per country).

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