Peanut

The peanut or groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) is a species in the pea family Fabaceae native to South America. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing to 30 to 50 cm (one to one and a half feet) tall. The leaves are alternate, pinnate with four leaflets (two opposite pairs; no terminal leaflet), each leaflet 1 to 7 cm (1/3 to 2.75 inches) long and 1 to 3 cm (1/3 to 1 inch) broad. The flowers are a typical peaflower in shape, 2 to 4 cm (3/4 to one and a half inches) across, yellow with reddish veining. After pollination, the fruit develops into a legume 3 to 7 cm (1 to 2 inches) long containing 2 to 3 (rarely 1 or 4) seeds, which forces its way underground to mature. Although a nut in the culinary sense, in the botanical sense the fruit of the peanut is a woody, indehiscent legume or pod.

Full Belly Project

It is estimated that half a billion people on earth rely on peanuts as their primary source of protein. Most of these people are small land-holding farmers in Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. The main factor limiting their ability to increase their output has been that they lack the technological infrastructure to shell peanuts at a cost-efficient rate. The job is usually delegated to women and children, who shell only about 1.5 kg an hour. In 2005 an organization of former Peace Corps volunteers known as the Full Belly Project designed an inexpensive, hand-powered peanut sheller, known as the "Malian Peanut Sheller" that can shell around 55 kg of peanuts an hour. The designs for the machine are in the public domain, and the organization hopes to design more appropriate technology for sustainable development in the future.

Related Topics:
Peace Corps - Full Belly Project - Malian Peanut Sheller - Appropriate technology - Sustainable development

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~