Banana Wine and Other Answers to Global Warming

With warmer weather moving northward, England is experiencing an increasingly robust wine industry. But, in addition to new vineyards, global warming has inspired a slew of innovations.

They include banana wine.

Banana Wine

To avoid being washed away by Lake Malawi, nearby banana plantations had to move to higher ground when more rainfall elevated water levels. Then though, hotter weather created new problems. With temperatures touching 42C (107.6 Fahrenheit), the bananas started ripening too fast.

Location of Malawi:

This is where a co-op stepped in.

Composed of women running small businesses, their co-op is a venture that makes wine. Knowing too ripe bananas are too sweet and too green bananas too tart, the women time when they pick, peel, and cut them. Then, they mix the bananas with sugar, yeast, and raisins, place lemons at the top, and let it all ferment for several weeks. The result is a yellowish wine whose flavor echoes lemons and bananas. Rather like a dessert wine, its alcohol content is 13%.

Our Bottom Line: Microfinance

For $3 a bottle, the women sell their banana wine at local markets throughout Malawi. Letting them afford chickens and livestock, better meals and homes, the business elevated their standard of living. They are typical of women throughout Africa.

But these women need money. And microfinance has been one vehicle. As a source of money in developing nations, small loans provided the support that women traditionally could not access. Instead, micro-credit institutions were formed to offer funding without collateral. For livestock or crops or microenterprises, a loan is made. From there, support groups work together to form goals, training, and selling networks. They ensure success similar to the banana wine initiatives that the BBC says are thriving.

My sources and more: Thanks to the BBC’s World Business Report for alerting me to banana wine. From there, this article had more detail. I hope also you will read Chapter 11 in my new book, Degree in a Book Economics where I present microfinance stories. And finally, do take a look at the Grameen foundation.