I went to Kenya last week to learn a little bit about a water project from a group called Running Water International. Their office is based in a polytechnic in Nakuru, which is a kind of technical college where students learn vocational skills such as masonry, welding or carpentry. Isaac showed me around and told me about all their work and introduced me to the technician, Mr. Kamau.
After I learned about the work that they do there, Mr. Kamau asked me about the machine that I was carrying with me. I pulled out the maize sheller and asked if he wanted to see how it worked, and he emphatically said yes.
We set to work on attaching the sheller to the bicycle that they had at the workshop. The bike was pretty rusty, but we didn’t have any problems. As we worked, more and more students started to gather around and watch us working. They were asking lots of questions and seemed pretty impressed with the machine. There was no maize in the area, so they couldn’t get a sense of the machine’s speed, but they admired the simplicity of it.
Kamau tried to convince me to leave the machine with him, but I regrettably had to take it back because I needed it for another demonstration. I am definitely excited to go back to Nakuru and I envision a lot of potential there down the line.
Daniel | Kenya
So, these past few weeks have been pretty amazing. We’ve been doing a number of demonstrations and setting up agro-dealers, and it’s been really fascinating. On top of everyone’s excitement, there has been really fun stuff, especially with our adventures to Hai.
We ran into CNFA in the field, set up a village meeting for next week with the village chairman, met with the agricultural extension officer of the area, and sold two machines to two dealers! Essentially, we finished our stash!
And then, for microfinance at its best, let me tell you what scheme this man from Njiro set up himself. He walked into the office the other day and gave me 10,000 TZS. I asked, “Are you paying your installment?”, and he said “No. I haven’t gotten my machine yet. I am paying by the week.” This is my second payment. I was truly impressed. Essentially, he was just showing that if he didn’t bring the money, he wouldn’t be able to afford it. But, at a small installment each week, then our machines are extremely affordable.
We’ll be working hard to establish dealers for the weeks to come. Busy as ever, but updates to come each month.
Jodie – Tanzania
On Sunday, we went to the Kilimanjaro Marathon, and the event was enormous! Thousands of people were in the stands, and it was a blast. When we arrived, we were sad to learn that we were in the back of the stadium, but we set up nonetheless. Much to my amazement, people suddenly started flocking to us. It was phenomenal, and before we knew it, two sacks of maize were shelled and 1000 brochures were given out.
It was a great day to say the least, as people asked where we’re located, and we told them, “Arusha”. “But we’re in Moshi. How can we get it?” Or when glowing faces enthusiastically reported “Mashine ni nzuri sana!” [The machine is very good]. One professor said, “Why haven’t you advertised this in Moshi? Let me buy this now because I know the price will go up later.” And he did just that. He bought the machine off of us.
The people there were from all over Tanzania. To give you a feel for the event, check it out below!
Jodie handing out brochures to interested customers
Spectators come over to watch Philemon and Jodie attach the sheller to a bicycle
The view on the ground
Jodie – Tanzania
So, the past few weeks have been all about disseminating our chargers, and it has definitely been an adventure. We are currently in our testing phase, and sharing our technology with the people has been enormously rewarding.
The first sign of success came on Wednesday of last week, when Philemon and Bernard went to Kiserian. As they talked with others, they got excited reactions, and the most exciting aspect is that in the one hour in which they mingled with the locals about our company, one man charged his phone from 0% battery to full charge. Everyone couldn’t help but be impressed.
And then this past Tuesday, Bernard went to Nadosoito to disseminate some chargers for testing, and it was apparently an adventure. Though I didn’t go myself, Bernard and Joe (a close friend from Two-Wheeled Foundation who will be doing the Kampala2Capetown Heritage Tour) had a blast.
I could try to describe it, but I feel pictures speak louder than words.
A charger customer showing off his new purchase
Bernard installing his charger on the wheel of a bicycle
Friends spinning the wheel of a bicycle to charge a mobile phone
And if you want the firsthand account, please go to Joe’s blog. More to come later!
Jodie – Tanzania
My other stop in southern Tanzania was in Iringa. I didn’t have any contacts in Iringa or any idea of what I would find. However, Iringa is a very active town, so I was very excited about setting to work there.
The first day, I stopped in for lunch at a cafe and the owner came up to me and started asking about my work. Andy (the owner) took a great interest in the sheller and started talking about all of his work. He runs a cafe and crafts center where he provides employment for deaf and physically disabled people in the area working on all manner of projects. He also knows lots of stakeholders in nearby villages and works with a lot of NGOs, churches and schools in the area. He was so impressed with what GCS does that he decided to set up a demonstration for us the following day.
The following morning, a small crowd gathered outside the cafe and offered bicycles for the demonstration. Throughout the setup, people were asking lots of questions and seemed very interested in the whole process. Sadly, we couldn’t find any maize (it’s still too early in the season) to run through the machine, but everyone developed a good sense of how it works. The most impressive part was that some of our most enthusiastic participants did not have use of one or both legs and couldn’t ride a bicycle, but they eagerly sat down next to it and pedalled with their hands. One woman (she was the first to arrive at the demonstration and the last to leave) was asking us if we could figure out a way that she could mount it on her hand-pedal wheelchair.
After that, I traveled to Riverside Camp, a small campground just outside of town, and met with the owner. She told me that she has lots of missionaries come for orientation at the campsite before traveling to far-flung regions of Tanzania. She was impressed with the sheller and the business model and invited us to come give a big demonstration when the harvest is closer. She also said she would give us some good word-of-mouth publicity.
It looks like the harvest will be in early June in southern Tanzania, so we will return there closer to that time. We will probably have a lot of work down there, but we are also expecting lots of sales.
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Daniel | Tanzania
