A Culture of Charity?

"When Expectations Start Out on the Wrong Foot..."


Dear FF&B,

The 4^th of July is an interesting holiday for me. Half of the time – on the even years (2008, 2010…), I spend it with extended family during our reunions. There are fireworks, talent shows, late-night card games, and all sorts of togetherness. The rest of the time it’s a crapshoot: rooftop parties, camping, or even quite evenings at home.

This past weekend I was down in San Jose with my family, enjoying pools and barbecues and a lot of joking around. But early on the 4^th I woke to reflect back on how last year I missed seeing my immediate and extended family. I was in Zambia and had just returned from a two and a half day jaunt into the field to locate and interview charcoal sellers. I went to the local backpackers’ where not a single American was in sight and I felt slightly sad for some reason.

I say this particular holiday is interesting because instead of getting super-patriotic, it reminds me of community and what I like about all cultures around the world. (At least it did this past weekend.) In my mind, Christmas and Thanksgiving are about family and either forgiveness or remembering what you appreciate... but this holiday is about what community CAN be. Barbecues and pools with your neighbors and our choices to be willingly close to those around us in the world.

But enough of my random philosophies.

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Rwanda is a small country and there is certain uniformity to it. Even so, nothing can quite approach the cleanliness of Kigali in my mind. I honestly can’t remember a piece of trash on the downtown roads. In comparison, Gisenyi is a more modest town. Some of the roads – particularly those in the upscale lakeside area – are well-maintained and made of asphalt. Meanwhile, the roads near the main market and taxi park (where most of the population seems to reside near) are made of dirt and are congested with traffic. They are fairly tidy, but a little less so than Kigali. And if you are a pedestrian in this area (as Jess and I were), you MUST watch out: the trucks are dodging the ditches, the cars are dodging the trucks, the motorcycles are dodging the cars, the scooters are dodging the motorcycles, the bicycles are dodging the scooters… and (you guessed it), the pedestrians are dodging all of the above. So if you ever are traveling there without transportation… considered yourself forewarned!

Jean Bosco of the Red Cross had arranged for us to meet with the Executive Secretary of the Sector of Rugerero (Emmanuel) upon our arrival. In addition, we had a community meeting set up with the whole village even before we had a chance to meet the cooperative leaders or membership (or even Jean Bosco) in private. We sat at the front of the main assembly room at the Sector Offices, alongside Jean Bosco, the Executive Secretary, and a key District Police Officer (Hubert). I don’t think either Jess or I expected this (at least I didn’t), and it felt a little weird to be on “public display” before we could get a sense of what was happening in the community, but we did just fine. The important thing was to listen to all the translations of what any community leaders said to the general public (such as Jean Bosco, Emmanuel, or Hubert) and try to figure out what expectations (if any) were being magnified. This way, we could be conscientious and forthright in our future communications.

However, there was one thing which this process helped highlight to both of us: so many benefactors had donated things to Rugerero that you could feel the unspoken expectations that our research would result in similar benefaction.

Now, don’t get me wrong: I don’t think this was conscious by any means. Who would get upset if you were in the area asking for small-to-modest amounts of time to understand their process in return for some valuable recommendations? But so much money or equipment had been donated in the past that their only recent experience was that foreigners provide direct financial/physical resources (such as solar panels, sun flower oil presses, or thousands in money capital). Or at least that’s the only conclusion I could draw because 3 times in our first few meetings we were told that what the cooperative really needed was a briquetting machine. Never mind that we were students whose grant barely covered our travel costs, nor had we yet studied their process to determine their costs or most dire issues.

Throughout the rest of the trip, our dealings in the Rugerero Sector required us to constantly combat these unspoken expectations, both directly and indirectly. Persuasion, simple declarations that we could not offer money or equipment, forthright refusal to train under the uneconomic circumstances (but with diplomatic explanations), and extreme patience in trying to collect valid data were our weapons. It seemed easy for us to make clear both our financial constraints and our intent to focus on knowledge transfer. Even so, we combated these expectations at every turn. We were told twice (once by Emmanuel and once by a translator) to treat our financial data with a grain of salt because the cooperative (perhaps unintentionally) might inflate their stated costs in expectation that we would still give money (despite our direct declarations), and were only figuring out how much to give. But as any good interviewer who has been in the field knows, we can only hope that our patience and willingness to ask for the same question several different ways helped us triangulate the best data available…

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Our original intent in Gisenyi was to view COTRAPAE’s operations and perhaps do technical/process training – preferably to a new region that could use COTRAPAE as experienced partners for learning purposes. While it was true that COTRAPAE likely needed some refreshers, we hypothesized that it would be best for COTRAPAE to train others, as there was little in the way of follow-up that would be available in the near future. Therefore, helping “train the trainers” would reinforce good techniques and maybe help develop a new dissemination model for this type of charcoal production. The only thing we wanted to do first was determine whether the economics made it at least feasible for profit-making (otherwise, the cooperative was better off using its money and people in other endeavors).

One problem: we found out that COTRAPAE was losing money making charcoal. This was not a matter of efficiency; the purchase of raw materials to make a day’s worth of agri-charcoal cost more than buying a day’s worth of wood charcoal… even before paying someone for their time.

In one way, this was a huge blow to our collective psyche. We had been prepped and eager to help disseminate a good alternative to wood charcoal production. But we weren’t prepared to do it at the expense of someone’s livelihood.

In the end, Jess and I consoled each other with the reminder that this is EXACTLY what we came to find out: under what conditions it was economically feasible to produce agri-charcoal in Rwanda. This country needed to make sure it encouraged SUSTAINABLE activities (environmentally, socially, and financially). The fact was that the people who needed to find income-generating activities the most – the genocide survivors living in the resettlement village of Rugerero – were at a distinct disadvantage because they did not own any land… and therefore did not have cheap access to the raw material needed to make the charcoal. A big briquetting machine would only COMPOUND the problem by making them lose money faster. COTRAPAE would need to determine how to reduce its cost structure if it wanted to continue this business.

And that’s how we came to the conclusion that COTRAPAE didn’t need technical training (though it would help)… what it primarily needed was business training. As “the business expert” I had to buckle down and put together a short business training appropriate for the village level.


To be continued...

Safe and Peaceful Journeys,
-Stan Read more!

The Intro That Became Its Own Blog Entry

"Personal experience with Rwanda peace-keeping efforts..."
Note: Posting written on 6/24/2009

Dear FF&B,

I walked along after breakfast, smiling in the sunshine and eager to share my last few hours in Rwanda as only a bittersweet lover destined to move away "forever" wishes to spend his every last moment with his cherished beloved. Nothing could stop me from savoring the experience through sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and nostalgic memory – a luxury for any wayward traveler should his departure not be scheduled too early.

As I dodged my way through taxi drivers/motorbikes/ buses, I smiled and greeted each citizen upon my trek, becoming an emanation of goodwill on behalf o all global travelers. Despite the courteous but firm declinations of talk-time/newspapers/magazines/paid transport, I felt as if every encounter was positive and understood from this cosmic perspective.

Planted into this was an individual that decided to walk about with me. Speaking part Kinyarwanda and part French, I tried to explain I could not understand him. There was much gesturing and I began to lose my sense of cosmic lightness. Let me be clear: never did I ever wonder for my personal safety, as I was not physically impeded in any way. The only slightly concerning aspect of this encounter was the placement of his hand on my forearm – not alarming for a transaction – but the grip was decidedly firm and demanding. I had experienced many "non-US" elements of interactions during my travels: draped arms around the shoulders, holding hands for an extended minute or five, etc. But this just "felt different." I was beginning to wonder when I should make my apologies and extract myself from his grip.

This whole scene took no more than 30-60 seconds. A short time... but an eternity when considering unwanted personal contact. And just as I thought that this had gone on too long – the man was forcibly separated from me with a sharp yank. A policeman walking the opposite way, who neither of us had noticed because of the interaction, assessed the situation and made a swift move of action.

Until this point, I had noticed the high visibility of policemen in Kigali and other large towns. Some are just in uniform, other even care rifles. But I never had seen up-close their interactions in keeping the peace. Despite the feeling that I could’ve handled the situation, I was thankful for the local sensitivity and concern of travelers’ discomfort.

And as quickly as my sense of cosmic peace was lost... it was restored in full once again.

Safe and Peaceful Journeys,
-Stan Read more!

Dumpster Diving for Information

"Most of the really good stuff can be found in the sewer..."
Note: Posting written on 6/24/2009


Dear FF&B

It's official. Vanilla Restaurant is my favorite. My only wish is we had found this place before Jess left the country (definitely an improvement on atmosphere... same omelet plus a choice of chapatti). It was only by sheer luck I found this place. Jess left yesterday morning at 2AM (she had a 4AM flight). I had a meeting at MINIFRA (the Ministry of Infrastructure) near the embassies. Since they are off in Kacyiru (a place we only had the chance to visit once before), I took a bus back to town that I didn’t usually take. And – you guessed it – the Kacyiru buses stop right in front of Vanilla. Ahh... but don’t expect all my future posts to start with a love letter to Vanilla... this is the 2^nd and last time I'll be here.

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If it wasn't clear from the last post, the first several days in Kigali were eye opening for me. While I cannot speak for Jessica, my experience with government workers in Lusaka last summer was a little more frustrating. To be fair, I did not find contacts until my last days in Lusaka... and everyone was busy getting ready for the 85^th annual agricultural show (a BIG deal). Starting with a few meetings in Kigali was crucial. We got to hear early on what other contacts and efforts were going on in the country. And it was quite a lot!

Most of our early information came from the not-so-obvious domain of waste management. When 450 tons of waste get dumped at the only landfill for Kigali (Nyanza) AND an estimated 70% is organic material... well, there is room for collaboration and profit-making.

This is not a unilateral mental leap on my part. There are already a few cooperatives who perform waste collection services that also engage in compost and/or briquette production activities. The largest waste collection business (it converted to for-profit when tax breaks rand out in 2007/08) does not yet briquette as it is waiting for ongoing studies on briquette recipe performance to pan out, but COPED does produce compost and has instituted a waste separation pilot for its clients (upscale as they are expensive). But at least 2-3 other current cooperatives produce briquettes and another is looking for a new location so it can resume activities.

[IN PROGRESS UPDATE ON VANILLA: Had the same breakfast as yesterday -->TWICE AS GOOD! Maybe it’s because I fell asleep without dinner... but I'd better stop gushing about Vanilla now because I'm starting to blush!]

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Let me back up and explain the briquettes I mention above in comparison to the MIT process. Here, organic waste (chewed sugarcane stalks, banana peels, etc.) are dried in the sun, ground into powder, and mixed with water/binder to make fuel pellets or briquettes. No carbonization needed. As a result, these pellets do smoke a lot like firewood... and a special cookstove with a chimney is encouraged to reduce inhalation.

The MIT process is similar. But after drying the organic matter, it is lit on fire and sealed into a low oxygen environment (i.e., a sealed oil drum). This low oxygen environment keeps the material from burning to ash, instead turning into charcoal. (Similar to the earthen mounds used to make wood charcoal.) Then, the material is ground and mixed into briquettes. The carbonization reduces the smoke found in the kitchen and does not require any special stove to overcome this issue.

Regardless, learning about the cooperative activities plus some other commercial briquetting firms (currently in the planning stages) did give hope to me about the financial viability of our process. In addition, policy developments call for a continued improvement in waste management services (vis-à-vis separation and recycling through COPED and a better-planned landfill), research into fuel alternatives (including briquetting recipes), and other ongoing energy programs (efficiency of using resources, efficiency through stoves, increased energy resources via methane, etc.).

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The list of contacts continued to grow... but we were decidedly lacking on two fronts: agricultural specialists and specific fuel/forestry statistics. The first was important to ensure our selected supply source wasn't needed for compost. While the use of agri-waste was traditionally composted, most officials or contacts also suggested that as long as something wasn't used for another commercial use, it would be good to make into fuel. Charcoal prices are that high. But we worried about long-term soil quality and the implications on subsistence farming. Land is already at a premium (there is little-to-no new clearing for farming because the arable land is mostly taken now).

Also, fuel and forestry statistics at a regional level are not available. We're told that sectors don't report figures to districts nor districts to ministries, at least as they relate to wood cutting permissions or revenues. Only Kigali has had separate feasibility studies performed... as the economics are much bigger (150,000 tons of charcoal per year for the nation is 80-90% Kigali-based).

With our understanding of the situation as good as it would get at that point, we decided to get a move on to Gisenyi in the Rubavu District. From there, we would get to see a case study in COTRAPAE (the cooperative producing charcoal from banana leaves) and try to talk to contacts at the sector or district level.

To be continued...

Safe and Peaceful Journeys,
-Stan Read more!