During the Brazilian-style "carnival" last month in Guinea-Bissau, larger than life cashews danced with spectators and music blared from speakers mounted on a flatbed truck as it rolled down the streets of Bissau. It may have looked like the usual carnival craziness, except the band wasn’t playing any ordinary song. The lyrics "Enterprise, Nô Fiança!" were extolling the virtues of cashew processing as a way for Bissau-Guineans to make a good living.

Though the cashews are first-rate in this small West African country, growers typically sell their harvest raw (mostly to India), even though they can dramatically increase their profits if they learn how to process the nuts into finished kernels. To spread the word on this income generating opportunity, EnterpriseWorks Guinea-Bissau Director Gretchen “Gigi” Goodhart decided to hire the local group “RM Band” to write a jingle in Criolo, the local language. Click here to listen to the song (in mp3 format) .

“People love the song, and they even have a cashew shelling dance to go along with it,” Goodhart said.

This USAID and U.S. State Department funded program is clearly taking off since it began two and a half years ago. “We’ve introduced less expensive, locally made equipment, trained over 500 people, 60 of whom have disabilities, created over 560 jobs and increased kernel production by 130%.” In addition, Goodhart said, “we’ve supported the start-up of six brands, expanded regional sales, and helped introduce Bissau-Guinean cashews to Western markets.”

What’s more, the country is about to have the first internationally certified organic cashews in all of Africa. Now that is something for carnival goers to sing about.