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

Learn to love who you're with!

Every relationship has a cycle… In the beginning; you
fall in love with your partner. You anticipate their calls,
want their touch, and like their idiosyncrasies. Falling in love wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience. You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called "falling" in love.

People in love sometimes say, "I was swept of my feet."Picture the expression. It implies that you were just standing there; doing nothing, and then something happened TO YOU.

Falling in love is a passive and spontaneous experience. But after a few months or years of being together, the euphoria of love fades. It's a natural cycle of EVERY relationship.

Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother (if they come at all), touch is not always welcome (when it happens), and your spouse's idiosyncrasies, instead of being cute, drive you nuts. The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship; you will notice a dramatic difference between the initial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angry subsequent stage.

At this point, you and/or your partner might start asking, "Am I with the right person?" And as you reflect on the euphoria of the love you once had, you
may begin to desire that experience with someone
else. This is when relationships breakdown.

The key to succeeding in a relationship is not finding the right person; it's learning to love the person you found.

People blame their partners for their unhappiness and look outside for fulfillment. Extramarital fulfillment comes in all shapes and sizes.

Infidelity is the most common. But sometimes people turn to work, a hobby, friendship, excessive TV, or abusive substances. But the answer to this dilemma does NOT lie outside your relationship. It lies within it.

I'm not saying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. You could. And TEMPORARILY you'd feel better. But you'd be in the same situation a few years later.

Because (listen carefully to this):

The key to succeeding in a Relationship is not finding the right person; it's learning to love the Person you found.

SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience. You have to work on it day in and day out. It takes time, effort, and energy. And most importantly, it demands WISDOM. You have to know
WHAT TO DO to make it work. Make no mistake about it.

Love is NOT a mystery. There are specific things you can do (with or without your partner), Just as there are physical laws Of the universe (such as gravity), there are also laws for relationships. If you know how to apply these laws, the results are predictable.

Love is therefore a "decision". Not just a feeling.

Remember this always: God determines who walks into your life. It is up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let GO!
WashingtonFellow2014 | BiofuelsExpert | Zambia
Skype: toba851

Twas their time...

After an exhilirating discussion with a good friend about the perception of the Zambian about fate, I have begun to wonder why we don't live life to the fullest.
Ever noticed how no matter how hard a person works, their success will be attributed to 'its their time' and not, they are intelligent and patient and made the right moves.
If as a society we stopped blaming our short comings on the 'divine time' and put in the work and did our bit to push society forward, Zambia would be much better off!
Instead we have a bunch of lazies sitting around and waiting for their time.
So guess what, I'm going to work exetremely hard over the next few years so that I can secure time for the next 500 to 1000 years, of course for my descendants, because I'm sure that some dumb ass a 100 years from now will accept that my great great grand kids will be lucky. And that its their time!
WashingtonFellow2014 | BiofuelsExpert | Zambia
Skype: toba851

VALUE FOR VALUE EXCHANGE...

From time to time we get trivial situations that conflict our business ethic with personal interests. In our society we tend to mistake charity for business through providing favors to people at the expense of profit. We are all too willing to do this, usually because somewhere in our culture we should help each other through sacrifice even though we lose money doing it. However as a business person, you have to be greedy because business is a value for value exchange.

What this means is that if you are providing a product or service to a customer, there should be a value for value exchange,  preferably in monetary form.

Successful people understand that when a service is provided to a market place, the other party parts away with cash. A lot of people mistake charity for business and what they don’t realize is that they need the money for bills, food, transport and to live. Therefore a product or service has to be paid for.

I had a situation where I was awarded a good chunk of prize money and I had no immediate need for my new found fortune. The story got out that I had some loose change and before I knew what was happening, my usual clients thought it would be the best time to request for heavy discounts, because I could afford to. This is a typical example of how business starts to struggle simply because the culture of having someone to subsidize your life through discounts and giveaways is rife. If I had accepted their suggestions that I could afford to lose some money, I would have to subsidize them at  my own expense. However, I decided to invest the money and expand my operations to generate more revenue for myself. This way I can afford to give discounts without impacting my income significantly.

It doesn’t make sense to try to save the world while you are struggling with your finances. Save yourself and make sure your income is right before you try to save the world by subsidizing. The world doesn’t need any more financially challenged or broke people. The world need s you to be able to sustain yourself and grow your wealth and to help other people to become financially independent.

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The 'business' of #Renewable #Energy

The 'Business' of Biofuels

Its a new dawn in Zambia as the biofuels industry received the much needed boost from the Ministry of Energy. The pronouncement of the buying price and blending ratio by the government, opens the doors for major investment opportunities.
Facts about Biofuels: Biofuels are produced from living organisms; they can be referred to as a solar energy source because they are derived from photosynthesis. More specific is Biodiesel fuel, which is more commonly produced from oils extracted from a variety of vegetable oil seeds which include soybean, jatropha, cottonseed, sunflower, Castor bean and used cooking oil. Biodiesel has been observed to reduce engine wear and produce less harmful emissions.
Recently, the government, through the Ministry of Energy announced their intention to purchase up to 31,000,000 liters each of biodiesel fuel and bi ethanol fuel annually; in order to meet the blending ratio targets set by the Ministry. What this means for the biofuel producers is that there is renewed hope to achieve a sustainable local liquid energy source in Zambia. The pronouncement is also a major milestone for the Biofuels Association of Zambia after years of advocating for the creation of a sustainable biofuel market.
Other such notable milestones in the biofuels industry include:
1. In December 2006:The announcement of the Biofuels Association of Zambia as a driver for the advancement of the biofuels industry in Zambia.
2. In 2008, the Statutory Instrument (SI42) was issued in order to officially recognize biofuels as an energy source. This move in turn led to the development of the technical framework to pave way for official licensing of biofuels.
3. In April 2011, the government announces the official blending ratio for biofuels to fossil fuel. This means that a demand has been created for the biofuels thus a market and further the industry has impetus to develop infrastructure around the biofuel market.
4. In August 2013, the announcement of the official gate wholesale price for biodiesel and bioethanol. At this point, anyone wishing to invest in the biofuels sector can use these prices to see the viability of any biofuel venture they want to undertake.
Some of the companies business in the biofuels are the Copperbelt Energy Cooperation, Schultz and Schultz Green fuels, Brunos Jatropha, Southern Biopower, Nakambala sugar estate, Tapera Industries Ltd and Oracle Biofuels just to mention a few. These businesses participate actively at different levels in the value chain of the industry starting from out-grower schemes providing seed for vegetable oil production, to processing the oil into a usable biodiesel fuel in unmodified diesel engines. Even though several companies have been in the biofuel industry over the years, the lack of a market made it impossible to stay in the business of biofuels without a foreseeable income, this led to diversification/ clearing of energy crop fields to grow stable food crops that can be sold easily. So in the case of biodiesel fuel, to achieve the 5% blending ratio, a crop like Castor beans would have to be cultivated on a minimum of 70,000 hectares. With the vast arable land under utilized, and holding 40% of sub-Sahara's fresh water, Zambia has the ideal conditions to achieve renewable energy independence.
Currently, due to the underdevelopment of the energy crops, the industry biggest challenge is access to a stable source of vegetable oil as a raw material. To address this challenge, several entities such as Tapera Industries Limited have embarked on a commercialized Castor bean farming exercise to cultivate and supply Castor bean oil to the biofuel processors. This will help stabilize already existing supply from small scale farmers and out growers, hence create jobs and reduce on the demand of biofuels production on food crops like soy bean oil. The processing entities like the Copper belt Energy Cooperation, Oracle Biofuels and Schultz & Schultz Green fuels will greatly benefit from a reliable source of raw materials through sustained and consistent biofuels production, hence the end users of the biofuels produced will have a consistent supply of a renewable energy source which will save costs and be cleaner for the environment..
The notable benefits of local biofuels production are:
-increased job base which include farmers transporters, processers and wholesalers.
-cheaper source of locally produced fuel for transport and industry ( biofuels price is determined by the raw materials processed).
-diversification of crops to include a significant portion of energy crops like Castor beans, will enhance Zambia's export potential and maximize on the efficient use of the vast land and abundant water resource.
According to the recent feasibility study conducted by the Brazilian government, Zambia has the full requirements and potential for a sustainable renewable energy industry. The business of biofuels is an industry which should be pursued by both environmentalists and business people, because apart from the financial benefits, the environment and the general health of the masses will be conserved due to the reduced pollution. The is an industry that addresses food security, climate change, fuel sustainability and a good return on investment. That's the 'business' of Biofuels...

Registered Technologist - MEIZ

Work culture...

I'm standing at the Mt Meru gas station, Great north road, at Spar Northrise. Attendant is topping up flammable petrol in my car. Right in front of a "no cells phone allowed" sign, a phone rings, not surprisingly, the fuel attending in mid service answers the call and after a few seconds I'm expecting her to say "sorry i'm decanting fuel, i'll call back" she continues clucking on the phone and i decide thats its not right so I say to her, 'my dear, do you know that phones are not allowed during service' she responds (still on the phone) "i know, its my job, just go away"... I was left with no option but to report to her supervisor, who was equally surprised at me complaining about her subordinates conduct. Apparently they didn't think it was a big deal to have an ignition source active near an explosive substance, in a densely populated area.
That scenario is 1 of thousands that occur every working hour in Lusaka city. We can say the attendant is bad at her job, obviously; what about her supervisor who is indifferent to their subordinates not following the rules, obviously they are to blame; then again does the Energy Regulation Board, regulate the personnel who handle materials that could have devastating consequences if mishandled.
Our work culture in Zambia borders on mediocrity simply because no one cares enough to point out atrocity, well except me, 1 in 13 million me.
i wish we could stop overlooking such atrocities and confront the wrong doers, who knows, we might get Zambia moving forward with employees who are accountable for their actions.

Zed wars, Bubble almost bursting....

I got  so much to say, but cant say much. sometimes I think we live in a society that has at war with itself, lucky me to have the opportunity to see all sides of our little bubble we call zed...
I live in a relatively affluent neighborhood, Zambia vice president is my neighbor. but when i leave for work in the morning, all that is thrown out the window, simply because when i go to work in the industrial area, i have to get in touch with reality. In my hood, theres no traffic, no noise, no cars honking indiscriminately, just peaceful noise birds chirping, trees swaying n Lil boys smoking trees. however, just on my way to the industrial area, i drive through a lil known place called chibloya (most direct non congested route). Most have only heard about it, Trevor Noah even joked about it, the fact is that, its one of those places that a spoilt brat would never dare venture into. Granted our country is a country of laws, but those guys didn't get that memo, trust me. Its a place where you can find Mary Jane sold freely, and with my dread i got offered it, (quite a lot actually lol) and we got self imposed toll booth attendants (without the mandate, authority, uniform, health benefits, lil mogadishu actually), very enterprising individuals actually funnel traffic into one direction by simply placing boulders in strategic positions  and demand a toll charge to let motorists pass. Well they have to make money somehow.
To be honest, i'm OK with the status quo (as long as i work hard to live in a high security area), my only fear is that, they will get hungrier and will demand much more than toll charges i.e. a bus driver got frustrated by passengers nagging him for delaying their journey, he simply parked in Chibolya and let the get robbed. but hey, i'm the VP's neighbor too bad for whoever has to catch the first hit (first line of defense)...