In many of the poorer countries around the world peanuts a.k.a. groundnuts or "G" nuts are a major source if not the major source of protein. This is great not only because they can grow in a variety of situations and are very nutritious, but they also are a nitrogen fixing crop. This means that they actually improve the soil when they are grown. They are perfect for food and are great to rotate with other soil depleating crops. They can help to heal the land. The problem is that they are labor intensive to shell if you are not a peanut factory. Many women around the world sit around and shell these things till there fingers bleed. However, this no longer has to be the situation. A recently invented machine can shell these bad boys with the crank of a handle. All we need to do is get these out to the poor around the world and they will be able to utilize a valuable food crop that will heal their land.
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One of the reasons that this invention hit home with me is that when I was in Burkina Faso I saw women working this kind of tedious work. I was even able to help some ladies as they were shelling some kind of seed pod to get the pulp from it. These ladies (who are extremely poor and live in houses made of dung) later brought me some of their own food to give to me(They don't have much food). The women there are always busy getting water from sources perhaps miles away, walking to the market perhaps miles away, raising children, pounding millet or corn to make a paste to eat, or shelling peanuts. The people there appreciated the missionaries coming and would give from what little they had(including a giant basket of penuts) to show their appreciation. However, we in our own wealth give little to nothing.
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