My version of poverty alleviation...

Access to cheap, clean and sustainable energy in rural areas and community based industries. I run a green tech business which has operations in rural Zambia, eastern province. Our primary work there is to collect energy crops from small scale farmers which we transport to major cities for processing into biofuels and biomass energy. Even though the SSF's receive payment for the energy crops, the lack of facilities to provide energy driven products like cheap transportation or cleaner burning charcoal alternatives, leaves the rural dwellers generally in the same economic and social situation that we try to improve upon. The main aggregation hub we work in, Chadiza, has for a long time been exploited by industry for its agriculture food production, as some of the hardest working farmers are in this region. Despite the attention from big city dwellers, the area lacks basic essentials such as transport fuel, bathing soap, cooking oil, which are considered a luxury in most households. Because fuels is scarce in the area, the residents pay upto 3 times more for the same comodity that city dwellers take for granted. The most affected populations in the areas are young and old women because the have to equally work to take care of the family, but go on further to subsidize the male counterparts efforts in covering the costs. 90% of the marketeers are women who have to come together to hire transport to the market, hence have to balance covering the costs of delivering produce to market as well as feed the family.My proposal is to establish small communtiy based industries. When raw materials are harvested from these areas, they are processed in the urban area, and the final product is transported back to the rural area, making it too expensive for majority of houshold. In line with Zambia's 6th National development plan, I would like to setup community based industries to process biodiesel and natural soap from Jatropha oil, sunflower cooking oil from sunflower seed, mango juice from mango fruit.
Jatropha trees in the rural area grow as a perennial tree which contiually produces and oil bearing seed which can be crushed to expel vegetable oils, which can be processed into a diesel fuel supplement as well as natural bath/washing soap. This industry will help reduce the cost of transport to markets and use of diesel powered processing in the area and provide a cheaper source for hygiene in the rural areas from soap production and sales,
The area also boasts of some of the highest yielding sunflower harvests in the country but all the sunflower seed is transported to urban areas and sold back to the rural areas in bottles; localising the processing of the sunflower seed will see the region benefit from the sell of cooking oil locally at much cheaper prices than if transported from the urban area as well as the sell of the high value seed cake for animal farming feed. The combined value of the oil and the cake is 3 times the value of the sunflower seed, asa well as the jobs created around the processing.
Mango trees in the eastern province supply majority of the fruit sold in the major Zambia cities. Despite the large quantites of fruit produced annually, there is still no processing facility in the province, while millions of dollars worth of mango fruit juice are imported every year. I propose to start processing on a small level to suppny the surround ing towns with the juice through the setting up of low cost community based and run processing facilities. This industry will create jobs and an economy in an underutilised inventory, and reduce dependency on traditional cash crops.
My proposal is to establish small communtiy based industries. When raw materials are harvested from these areas, they are processed in the urban area, and the final product is transported back to the rural area, making it too expensive for majority of houshold. In line with Zambia's 6th National development plan, I would like to setup community based industries to process biodiesel and natural soap from Jatropha oil, sunflower cooking oil from sunflower seed, mango juice from mango fruit.
Jatropha trees in the rural area grow as a perennial tree which contiually produces and oil bearing seed which can be crushed to expel vegetable oils, which can be processed into a diesel fuel supplement as well as natural bath/washing soap. This industry will help reduce the cost of transport to markets and use of diesel powered processing in the area and provide a cheaper source for hygiene in the rural areas from soap production and sales,
The area also boasts of some of the highest yielding sunflower harvests in the country but all the sunflower seed is transported to urban areas and sold back to the rural areas in bottles; localising the processing of the sunflower seed will see the region benefit from the sell of cooking oil locally at much cheaper prices than if transported from the urban area as well as the sell of the high value seed cake for animal farming feed. The combined value of the oil and the cake is 3 times the value of the sunflower seed, asa well as the jobs created around the processing.
Mango trees in the eastern province supply majority of the fruit sold in the major Zambia cities. Despite the large quantites of fruit produced annually, there is still no processing facility in the province, while millions of dollars worth of mango fruit juice are imported every year. I propose to start processing on a small level to suppny the surround ing towns with the juice through the setting up of low cost community based and run processing facilities. This industry will create jobs and an economy in an underutilised inventory, and reduce dependency on traditional cash crops.
So far we have worked on aggregating the jatropha seed from the rural SSF's which has seen there incomes rise and there vulnerability to fall into the debt trap reduced. Before I worked with the small scale farmers, they only had their crops to sale at harvest time in may to august, the period from january to may leaves them vulnerable to situations such as contract selling of their produce to briefcase business men, who would buy the crop at less than 25% of the market value simply because the farmers had a need for the money at that particular point.
Through the efforts of my team and I, we now buy energy crops from the vulnerable women during the months of january to june, hence they are not desperate to sale their produce at mediocre prices.
We have also taken an initaitive to start raising funds and look for partners to start the soap processing in one area that we have identified to have the potential commercialise the soap production.
Another project I'm lead on in Zambia is a charcoal from grass project which we have been allocated funds from the US Embassy Zambia Alumni grants. This project will focus on training 30 young men and women on the production of charcoal using locally available resources that are environmentally friendly; whilst generating a sustainable income for the participants.
If this makes sense to you, reach out to mutoban@taperabio.com, let's talk!
WashingtonFellow2014 | BiofuelsExpert | Zambia
Skype: toba851