About 15 years ago, the government of Norway gave a large extruder originally manufactured by Insta-Pro to Nicaragua. A few years later, the organization responsible for running the massive piece of machinery realized they just didn’t have the capacity to manage it and it was moved by the government to sit in a warehouse near Managua.

Jumping ahead to January 2010, World Soy Foundation representative Nathan Ruby was visiting Nicaragua for a different project when he learned of the unused extruder gathering dust in a warehouse not far from them. The World Food Program discussed its history with Nathan and asked the WSF for help. 

Here is where our story begins with the extruder. Over the course of about four years, the Foundation worked with local non-governmental organizations, local partners, and government officials, to bring the extruder out of the warehouse so it could be utilized to feed a very impoverished population in Nicaragua—22% of children in Nicaragua are suffering from stunting, meaning they are malnourished and will be unable to continue growing to their full physical and mental potential.

After years of work, the Foundation gained permission to move the extruder.  WSF’s local partner, Fabretto, offered their warehouse located near Managua. WSF’s current Director of Development Nathan Ruby and Randy Van Kooten, WSF Board member and Iowa grower, traveled to Managua with an Insta-Pro technician mid-August to evaluate the machine to determine how much work it would need to get it back to good running condition. To their surprise, the machine ran like it was brand new—no shaking, vibrating, or broken belts. This massive piece of equipment can produce two tons of corn-soy blend per hour, or 16 tons in an 8-hour work shift! Check out this video to see the brief first test run of the extruder!

Earlier this year, the WSF partnered with the National Soybean Research Laboratory (NSRL) with funding from the Illinois Soybean Association to complete a market assessment and business plan to recommend uses for the extruder. It will be designed for Nicaraguan micro-enterprise partners, and the assessment will include a draft formulation for a blended, soy-based extruded product that will help develop a protein-rich, soy-based food to promote the nutritional value of soy.

The next step is to identify a food manufacturer in Managua that can run the machine. WSF will help create a financially sustainable program utilizing the extruder to produce soy-based products that can be sold into the market and provide food to World Food Program recipients, Nicaraguan school lunch programs, and thousands of individuals around Managua.

Not only does this extruder have the ability to provide protein-rich soy-based foods to malnourished people, it is building microenterprises along the soybean value chain, educating communities on the benefits of soy protein, and addressing the immediate needs of hungry people. This project is reducing malnutrition through the power of soy in a big, two-ton-per-hour way!

Visit www.worldsoyfoundation.org or check us out on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube to see what other exciting projects are happening and how you can help us continue furthering our mission!

Photo: Iowa grower and WSF Board member Randy Van Kooten shows Nicaraguan Cabinet members, and Fabretto and Insta-Pro staff the output of the first extruder test.