Why we started Fresh from the Field

Fresh from the Field is an initiative of Jolinaiko Eco Tours, born during the first months of the Covid-19 crisis. When travel restrictions were imposed in March 2020, all booked tours were cancelled in a matter of days and our tour business grinded to a sudden halt. This new reality has been leading to financial challenges and a loss of jobs in our company and in our whole value chain, local and abroad.

In order to survive in these difficult times we must think ahead and be creative, while staying true to who we are. So we had to refocus on our core values as a company, and started to explore new opportunities from there.

Back to our core values

In the past we have defined Jolinaiko's mission, our ‘Why’, as follows:

To create opportunities for people to grow into their full potential, so that they are inspired to prosper in life and improve the lives of others.

Our Why describes our deepest drive, why we exist as a company, and our contribution to the world this leads to.

We also defined our ‘Hows’. These are our strengths, the things we do when we are at our best and let our Why come alive:

• We value and share our unique cultures and roots, facilitate mutual understanding and authentic connections;
• We inspire people to be proud of who they are and what they can contribute;
• We are an ambassador and a consistent presence. We share our expertise, values and love for our region;
• We are responsible and make sustainable choices, and enable and inspire others to do the same;
• We think in possibilities and potential, think long-term and look for opportunities to combine, creating synergy;
• We grow and learn together, in partnerships, sharing lessons and making results durable;
• We always go for quality and act from integrity;
• We always improve ourselves, take initiative and add value where we can.

We are actively using these values to define and build our brand and to guide the direction of our company as a whole.

Our Why is also the reason we started other endeavours in the past, like our NGO Stepping Stones for Africa Foundation. With our foundation we have been doing many development projects over the years in our partner communities, ranging from developing tourism opportunities, to building household and school latrines, to current projects like our plastic recycling project in Liati Wote, and the building of a a healthcare clinic in Atiekpoe.

With our international travel business currently on hold, and probably limited to local and regional travel in the near future, we are exploring other business opportunities to express above values.

Bringing the best of rural Ghana to you

Starting Fresh from the Field is one of several of Jolinaiko’s survival strategies for the coming year.

One of the things that we can always rely on is our strong regional network of friendships with people and communities in the rural areas of Ghana, Togo and Benin. Our ‘field’ so to speak. People in these communities are also heavily affected by the current situation, even more so if they were relying on the income from tourism.

Therefore we thought, if we cannot bring our travelers to the best of rural Ghana, let us bring the best of rural Ghana to the homes of people. This way we can do what we do best: create opportunities both for people in our destinations and in our company, promoting our culture with pride, thinking in possibilities, growing and learning in partnerships, and protecting the environment by creating sustainable options to buy. The products and producers we select will have to be in line with these values.

Our goals for the future

Our aim with Fresh from the Field is a value chain from the producers in the rural villages to a market in the Greater Accra region, and in the future possibly other cities or even abroad. It will be a perfect opportunity for our staff to strengthen their entrepreneurial skills. So it will be Jolinaiko’s dedicated team of office staff, drivers and guides who will be handling your orders and delivering your products.

It’s the Jolinaiko owners' dream that when we get back to a ‘new normal’, Fresh from the Field will be standing on its own feet, continuing to create opportunities for the people in our rural travel destinations and for our wonderful team members that we are striving to keep on board in these difficult times.

So, we are excited to present you our first selection of Fresh from the Field products, mostly from one of our favorite rural destinations, Liati Wote village in the Volta Region in Ghana.

This is just the beginning. We will be adding more products over time from producers in other rural destinations.

On this website, we not only want to promote our wonderful products, but also tell you the stories of the people in the rural communities that produced them, so that you know who made the product you bought, and how this created opportunities for them to improve their lives.

Fresh from the field partners

Fresh from the field is made possible by: