Natasha Kilburn (Tash) is Co-Director of Moringa Initiative South Africa. The daughter of Evan and Bernice Kilburn, she’s the entrepreneurial brain and the magic behind the marketing of Moringa Initiative! Natasha is an inspirational, dynamic, young businesswomen who is driven by her family’s passion to distribute their home-grown Moringa across the world and promote natural health to all.
Moringa Initiative is a proud family-owned business. They distribute Moringa capsules, powder and tea through retail outlets and their online store. Their headquarters are in Chisamba, Zambia – where Evan and Bernice have been farming Moringa since 2013. Moringa Initiative’s products are listed in over 100 stores nationwide, including Pick n Pay, Shopright, Spar, Choppies and Link Pharmacy.
As of March 2018, a branch was opened in Durban by their daughter, Natasha and her partner, Lloyd Abernethy. This put Moringa Initiative closer to the Durban port and gave them an opportunity to break into the South African and global market. Since their opening, Moringa Initiative’s products have been listed in over 80 stores nationwide, including Spar KZN, Spar WC and Spar Gauteng. Our product will soon be listed with Pick n Pay head Office, allowing listings in franchise stores, nationwide.
Tash and Lloyd were thrown right into the deep end when it came to “listing” products in stores. But they’ve grown to love the challenge and love the relationships they are building with some of the biggest retail gurus in South Africa.
Under the guidance and support of Trade and Investments KwaZulu Natal (TIKZN), Southern African Trade Hub and USAID, the two of them have represented Moringa Initiative at two of largest food trade shows in the world: The Maritime Silk Road International Expo (MSR 2018) in Guangdong, China and The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT 2019) in New Orleans, USA!
“We are just at the beginning of this journey and can’t wait to share every step of the way with you all. Thank you for your continued support of our growing family business!” says Natasha.
“Our Moringa is organically grown and lovingly processed on our family farm in Zambia. With us you are dealing with a fully transparent, ethical source of top quality, nutritious Moringa. We supply bulk quantities of Moringa to both local and international markets. We have also developed our own retail products that contain our homegrown Moringa! From the farm, directly to you – our valued customer.”
Their farming practices ensure that they boost the socio-economic status of Zambia. Currently, they employ over 150 Zambian farmers, of whom 85% are women! All farmers are thoroughly trained in order to produce the highest quality Moringa. As well as being trained and mentored, all farmers are given free health care and housing.
“Our Moringa is farmed to biological standards, with the only thing being added is natural compost, sun, water and rain. Our Moringa is tenderly harvested by hand, washed and left to dry for a period of 24 hours.”
They pride themselves on the quality of their product and being transparent in all their farming processes and practices. Their Moringa is dried in a conventional heat exchange system where temperature, humidity and air circulation are carefully monitored, resulting in high quality dried Moringa leaves. Good prices don’t usually associate with great quality, but with Moringa Initiative, it does. Because they are the source, they are able to better most prices on the market today.
“We appreciate every like, share, comment, testimonial, coffee date, bit of advice, lending ear, contact and lead each of you have given us. Thank you!” concludes Natasha.
About Moringa
Moringa is a treasure chest full of all the essential nutrients that are needed to improve your immunity and elevate your energy! Moringa is a 100% natural superfood that is easy to take and far surpasses the nutrient count in the vegetables on your dinner plate. It contains 92 different nutrients, 36 antioxidants, 46 anti-inflammatories and vitamins A-K. It is made up of 33% protein and 19% fibre. Its magnesium and potassium levels meet the recommended daily dose for adults.
The miracle of Moringa lies in these incredible components:
- 2 times the PROTEIN of kale
- 12 times the VITAMIN C of oranges
- 10 times the VITAMIN A of carrots
- 15 times the POTASSIUM of bananas
- 17 times the CALCIUM of milk
Benefits:
- Boosts energy
- Improves brain power, health and concentration
- Improves health of kidney and liver
- Improves immunity and fights off colds and infections
- Assists in balancing sugar levels for diabetics
- Combats high blood pressure and cholesterol
- Reduces inflammation and pain associated with arthritis
- Increases the rate of muscles recovery
- Improves eyesight
- Good for skin, hair and nails
- Balances mood swings
Moringa is suitable for children, vegans, vegetarians, diabetics and is halaal friendly.
Overcoming life’s obstacles
Life has thrown many challenges at Natasha and her family. “At the age of two, my eye had to be surgically removed after I was diagnosed with Retino Blastoma Cancer. Since then I have been blind in my left eye and it was replaced with a beautiful prosthetic eye,” explains Natasha.
“Being different wasn’t easy, in fact it was really hard, but it didn’t stop me from achieving my goals. It didn’t stop me from being in first team sports, excelling in class or graduating from university or running a business! I was raised to believe that I could achieve anything I put my mind to, and the only person stopping me from doing that is myself. My family did everything in their power to ensure I had a normal life.”
In 2007, her family’s life was forever changed when they were kicked off their farm in Zimbabwe. They were given 48 hours to pack up their lives, home and pets. “We were forced to leave our home, farm, friends, everything. My dad found land in Zambia and he started from scratch again. His resilience and determination to create a new and comfortable life for his family was incredible. He put my brother and I through school and university.”
Natasha studied at Rhodes university and obtained her undergrad in Management and Organisational Psychology. She then did her honours in Media Management and at the same time studied Events Management online. She then taught English in South East Asia while studying Nutrition. “And then, I got the call from my Dad, asking if myself and my boyfriend, Lloyd, would be interested in joining the family business and opening a branch in South Africa. Filled with excitement, nerves and joy, we made THE BEST decision and said YES! I absolutely love what I do!” says Natasha.
“I sympathise with those suffering with chronic illnesses, disabilities and nutritional deficiencies. I’m right where I am meant to be. I’m in the right field, with the right product, with the perfect support system. I believe I am here for a purpose and that is to help, inspire and make a change,” concludes Natasha.
