With own processing facilities for organic avocado oil and organic sesame, Tradin Organic has a long history of sourcing organic ingredients from Ethiopia. Our organic sesame processing facility (Selet Hulling) has been operational for over a decade. They source their organic sesame seeds in close cooperation with local farmers in the Humera district. Our organic avocado oil factory (Sunvado) opened its doors in 2019. Sunvadoe sources its organic avocados from local farmers in the south of Ethiopia.

Organic Sesame Seeds

Tradin Organic supplies organic hulled, natural or brown sesame seeds straight from our production facility in Ethiopia. We work exclusively with the Humera sesame seed variety which has a large size and characteristic nutty and sweet flavor. Our organic sesame seeds are an ideal ingredient for bread, granolas and other bakery products. Other sesame products available with Tradin Organic are organic sesame oil and organic tahini.

Organic Sesame Processing

Upon arrival at our state-of-the-art organic sesame processing facility, the organic sesame seeds are cleaned and hulled using the process of dry hulling. This method requires less water than traditional practices, minimizing the impact on the local environment and ensuring optimal product quality. The organic sesame seeds are then color sorted and prepared for export.

Making a difference for local farmers

Selet Hulling’s operations engage two farmers’ cooperatives consisting of 3000 farmers. The farmers receive regular training in order to improve their yields and organic production practices. The sesame processing facility hires 25 permanent factory workers with fair pay, health insurance and access to an intensive in-house schooling program. To offer further support, Tradin co-financed the construction of a school in Humera so that children of the sesame farmers can attend high school closer to home and go on to attend university.

Organic Avocado Oil - New Opportunities for Farmers

Our organic avocado oil factory SUNVADO is based in Yirgalem, Southern Ethiopia. We source our fresh organic avocados from a group of more than 30,000 farmers. These farmers do not grow their avocados on large scale commercial plantations. Instead, the avocados grow mostly on organic coffee farms, where the farmers use the avocado trees to provide shade for their coffee. Before the opening of SUNVADO, the farmers did not have a market for their organic avocadoes and most of the avocados were not collected or harvested and left in the field. We made it our mission to change that. Now that the factory is up and running, the farmers have access to an organic premium price for their avocados. In addition, we are working to set up a Fair For Life certificaiton, which will provide additional benefits to our farmers.

Organic Avocado Processing - Creating Jobs

The Sunvado factory started production mid 2019. The state-of-the-art avocado processing line was installed by our European equipment suppliers. With our top-notch production line, we are able to produce organic avocado oil according to the highest quality and food safety standards. The factory is also creating proper jobs in a region with limited employment opportunities. During the avocado season, our processing facility employs around 60 workers, half of which are women. In addition, our avocado sourcing operation employs nearly 200 extension workers, field staff , harvesters and collectors.

Organic Sesame from Ethiopia

For a more in depth look at our processes, check out this video of our organic sesame sourcing project in Ethiopia. From the organic cultivation of the sesame and the harvest the crop in the Humera region, to processing in Addis Ababa and preparation for export.