"Even John Cusack doesn't have such appreciation for the idiosyncracies..."
A post originally written July 17-July 23rd.
Dear FF&B,
The other weekend as I waited for my Canadian friend, Jordan, I thought about the differences between visiting a place and truly living in it long enough to appreciate the subtle nuances. I am not speaking of how the prostitutes outside my gate have stopped asking to follow me when I go out at night because they’ve seen me enough to know I am not the typical tourist mzungu (white person). And you don’t have to be here long to appreciate the open, kind nature or most Zambians.
Instead, I marvel at the inquisitiveness about my own country – politics, academics, daily life… How life in Lusaka may seem the same as any other major city – hopes and dreams, career competitiveness, love and hopelessness all wrapped up into any random person.
I think of the deep religious culture that permeates everything. In the capital city, church may last only an hour… but in the rural provinces, you attend service for 3 hours, 6 hours, a whole day. Sunday is ONLY structured around church (and the market for tourists). Sermon in the morning to afternoon. Perhaps teaching choir practice at night.
I appreciate the hustle of the working class to stay a single step ahead of poverty. How taxi drivers, bus owners, street vendors struggle to make ends meet but never ask for a handout.
I feel the sense of morals and fortitude. The community’s willingness to speak out when they see a local mistreat another person, to address theft or unkindness.
Then there are the small things you only learn after having been somewhere for a while – things that aren’t even important but when you figure them out you smile a subtle smile of enlightenment to yourself. Instead of grabbing for the fork, I eat nshima with my hands. But to tentatively pull the cornmeal with your three fingertips only leads to a crumbling balled mess. Instead, grab a small fistful and bunch it up in the ball of your hand – like you’re snatching the last loaf of bread and making it part of you. Presto! One large ball to soak up the meat and sauce…
Well, in theory if the cornmeal didn’t stick to my hands!
Read more!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The Heinz Factor
"Good things come to those who wait... and you WILL wait!"
Dear FF&B (Family, Friends, and Blog-heads!),
It's funny how every 4-8 days turns into a full month. But like Teen Wolf (or more accurately - Late-20s Wolf), I seem to deliver on the full moon. Many developments have happened over these past four weeks, but the biggest is the dreaded "scope creep" of working at a non-profit. (Note: "scope creep" is much like an old bottle of Heinz ketchup, annoying slow and thick!)
My original project: put together a pilot distribution of fuel-efficient cookstoves in the Eastern Province of Zambia (should include components of sourcing, distribution, demonstrations, efficiency testing, education, marketing, and research into financing for a scaled-up project). Pretty large scope as it is, right?
My revised project: figure out how to stop charcoal producers along the road to the Eastern Province by providing a feasible business mechanism for alternative income-generating activities. (Oh yeah! And distribute cookstoves on the side....)
OK. Perhaps an over-exaggeration. It's actually fascinating to be working on the supply side in addition to the demand for fuel. The truly exciting part is that about a week and a half ago I got to go out into the field to talk to these producers to learn about their business. We thought that there would be some extremely large producers we could work with directly. But in reality, all across the countryside are individual families that will spend 3-8 months to make just 12-40 bags of charcoal. Then they can either sell it to roadside retailers, or to these wholesalers that show up at dark to buy the whole load and transport it back to sell in Lusaka. And that one mound's worth of charcoal can sustain them for half a year or more. (Or at least, they make it last that long.)
The good thing is that COMACO (my NGO) already works with providing rural communities with alternative sustainable income-generating activities. So we have hope that we can help the current producers find other ways to make money and either reduce their production or give it up altogether. The bad news is that these wholesalers will just find different folks to make their charcoal for them. They are really hard to locate to - they have no specified place of business and transport by dark because most of the charcoal business is illegal. At the very least, though, we hope to make it harder for them and to teach the producers how to use better practices such as selective cutting (instead of clear-cutting or slash-and-burn techniques that devastate the soil past recovery).
Perhaps that's enough on the project for now... but I will leave you with a nerdy supply chain diagram:
Well, perhaps I can filch some pictures from my colleague of the widespread devastation or folks we met on our field research.... but any additional ruminations, celebrations, or general malarkey will have to wait until next time!
Safe Journeys,
-Stan
Dear FF&B (Family, Friends, and Blog-heads!),
It's funny how every 4-8 days turns into a full month. But like Teen Wolf (or more accurately - Late-20s Wolf), I seem to deliver on the full moon. Many developments have happened over these past four weeks, but the biggest is the dreaded "scope creep" of working at a non-profit. (Note: "scope creep" is much like an old bottle of Heinz ketchup, annoying slow and thick!)
My original project: put together a pilot distribution of fuel-efficient cookstoves in the Eastern Province of Zambia (should include components of sourcing, distribution, demonstrations, efficiency testing, education, marketing, and research into financing for a scaled-up project). Pretty large scope as it is, right?
My revised project: figure out how to stop charcoal producers along the road to the Eastern Province by providing a feasible business mechanism for alternative income-generating activities. (Oh yeah! And distribute cookstoves on the side....)
OK. Perhaps an over-exaggeration. It's actually fascinating to be working on the supply side in addition to the demand for fuel. The truly exciting part is that about a week and a half ago I got to go out into the field to talk to these producers to learn about their business. We thought that there would be some extremely large producers we could work with directly. But in reality, all across the countryside are individual families that will spend 3-8 months to make just 12-40 bags of charcoal. Then they can either sell it to roadside retailers, or to these wholesalers that show up at dark to buy the whole load and transport it back to sell in Lusaka. And that one mound's worth of charcoal can sustain them for half a year or more. (Or at least, they make it last that long.)
The good thing is that COMACO (my NGO) already works with providing rural communities with alternative sustainable income-generating activities. So we have hope that we can help the current producers find other ways to make money and either reduce their production or give it up altogether. The bad news is that these wholesalers will just find different folks to make their charcoal for them. They are really hard to locate to - they have no specified place of business and transport by dark because most of the charcoal business is illegal. At the very least, though, we hope to make it harder for them and to teach the producers how to use better practices such as selective cutting (instead of clear-cutting or slash-and-burn techniques that devastate the soil past recovery).
Perhaps that's enough on the project for now... but I will leave you with a nerdy supply chain diagram:
Well, perhaps I can filch some pictures from my colleague of the widespread devastation or folks we met on our field research.... but any additional ruminations, celebrations, or general malarkey will have to wait until next time!
Safe Journeys,
-Stan
P.S. For those who like graphical representations, here is a GPS map my colleague put together of the larger field stops...
It may not look like much... but it could look more like this map I received for another project!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Groundhog Day
"An extra 6 weeks of winter has never seemed so sweet!"
Dear Family and Friends and Blog-Readers,
Yes, it's official: my first formal blog to chronicle my journeys as an intern for the Wildlife Conservation Society across the world in Zambia. I welcome you to join me on a ride that may seem familiar - I have been working on a project for WCS for the past 3 weeks, after all. It has already been a journey of revolving days filled with surveys conducted in remote villages and understanding the cooking/health/financial needs of the destitute locals... not to mention battered sandals, dusty pickup trucks, cold bucket baths, sick bus neighbors, beloved baby wipes, and the quintessential dinner: chicken and nshima.
Therefore, it is only fitting that my fabulous teammates (Kevin, Emma, and Lissa) from Project Groundhog have kept me from seeing my shadow and grant 6-8 more weeks of work in Africa. I have been officially engaged to work on Phase II of providing fuel-efficient cookstoves for the rural population in Zambia - developing a pilot program for next harvest season. In addition, I will provide additional marketing services during my stay.
So without much more time for an introduction, please enjoy the three prior posts of our International Business Development Team for Project Groundhog:
On the Road with Team Cookstoves
Wanna Buy a Cookstove?
Lions and Leopards and Hyenas... Oh My!
... and don't forget to check back here for a new post every 4-8 days!
Safe Journeys,
-Stan Read more!
Dear Family and Friends and Blog-Readers,
Yes, it's official: my first formal blog to chronicle my journeys as an intern for the Wildlife Conservation Society across the world in Zambia. I welcome you to join me on a ride that may seem familiar - I have been working on a project for WCS for the past 3 weeks, after all. It has already been a journey of revolving days filled with surveys conducted in remote villages and understanding the cooking/health/financial needs of the destitute locals... not to mention battered sandals, dusty pickup trucks, cold bucket baths, sick bus neighbors, beloved baby wipes, and the quintessential dinner: chicken and nshima.
Therefore, it is only fitting that my fabulous teammates (Kevin, Emma, and Lissa) from Project Groundhog have kept me from seeing my shadow and grant 6-8 more weeks of work in Africa. I have been officially engaged to work on Phase II of providing fuel-efficient cookstoves for the rural population in Zambia - developing a pilot program for next harvest season. In addition, I will provide additional marketing services during my stay.
So without much more time for an introduction, please enjoy the three prior posts of our International Business Development Team for Project Groundhog:
On the Road with Team Cookstoves
Wanna Buy a Cookstove?
Lions and Leopards and Hyenas... Oh My!
... and don't forget to check back here for a new post every 4-8 days!
Safe Journeys,
-Stan Read more!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
