Converting tobacco habit money into money for sustainable social enterprises.

HabitualGiving.org was born of the hypocrisy I feel within myself for being addicted to Nicotine and my overwhelming desire to help facilitate the production and distribution of a life saving product called "Plumpy'nut" for malnourished children worldwide.

My hope is that this lens will inspire my fellow smokers to sign up to join me, pick a date, visit my sites for encouragement and inspiration and share their own stories of switching from the smoking habit to the habit of giving.

Photo from Globalgiving Empowering Women to Fight Malnutrition. A child eating Plumpy'nut.

Plumpy'nut, the miracle mixture of peanut paste, soy, oil, milk powder, sugar, vitamins and minerals is a powerful weapon in the war against hunger and the perfect product to model local, sustainable entrepreneurial projects worldwide.

Plumpy'nut is revolutionary because it requires no refrigeration and no water is needed. Women who once carried their emaciated children to medical centers miles from their villages, can now carry a supply of this life saving peanut paste home for their children.

CNN's Anderson Cooper reported for 60 Minutes on the results of Plumpy'nut in Niger:

"...The grave digger, Salifu Ibrahim, told 60 Minutes he used to dig graves for about seven children a day, but now, on most days, he digs only one."

Peanut sprout photo by Lenka Reznicek http://www.flickr.com/photos/reznicek111/

Plumpy'nut is distributed in foil packs with a shelf life of two years. Because of demand for this product, Nutriset, the French manufacturer has embarked on a revolutionary new project that offers franchising opportunities to local groups desiring to manufacture the live saving mixture.

As of December 2007, four factories are operational in Africa and one has been accepted into the program from the Dominican Republic. Nutriset has requests for franchises from groups all over the world.

In addition to producing Plumpynut to treat severe malnutrition, the facilities will also produce a supplement named Supplementary Plumpy to fend off poor nutrition and give the children of poverty a chance at a healthy life.

Nutriset's franchise model has the potential to infuse the local economy by purchasing raw materials for production locally.This is a sustainable approach to ending a world crisis. These factories provide jobs to the local community and use local products when possible for the ingredients. Because the peanut is a hardy crop and grows in warm areas, many of these factories will spawn the pursuit of peanut farms.

This model of hunger relief enriches the local economy and decreases the distribution costs. Providing commerce, employment and self-sufficiency.

For more information about Nutriset's franchincing visit: Visit http://www.plumpynutinthefield.com/eng/network.php