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Gaining Traction
Greetings!

This month I'm sharing recent Project stories, all initiated by people who contacted us because they were already familiar with our work and wanted to engage.

Here is a photo of Dr. Bilal and his wife pictured here with me at Cypress Hill. Read about their visit below and view a video on how Project women work with settlement-wide electrification.
Whether it's about our work with stoves, women's empowerment, or evolving agricultural practices in the face of climate change, the word spreads.

And it's because of you, and your support, that we are here to address the growing opportunities. Thank you!

With appreciation,

Twende!

August, 2018
Gaining Traction
Getting on board with our new tractor

A good friend of the Project ran into what is, sadly, a common situation in Tanzania. He started a business, didn’t succeed, and had to get rid of his business resources. He contacted us about his tractor, which he sold to us.
  
Although the circumstances were not happy ones, we are glad to have the tractor and we're putting it to good use. The tractor, trailer, and bailer allow us to gather and distribute farming waste which we then turn into good food for cows. And we use the drive shafts to power our fodder production machines at the Manyara feedlot.
 
Manufactured in Belarus, the spare tractor parts that our local mechanics can use for maintenance are available nearby in Nairobi.
 
In addition, rental fees generate income. The harvest season has just passed and farmers rented the tractor to move their crops. This has already made a good dent in the costs.

As I look over our work with livestock. I see significant growth in impact and potential. Resources now include our experienced staff; the breeding herd of special cattle; a feedlot that we use when grass is scarce (for our herd, and those of others); and machines for processing cow fodder.

Thank you for supporting the Project's efforts to take on continuing opportunities to make a difference.
Members of the Project staff who manufacture stoves and manage livestock, enjoying a bonus visit to Lake Manyara National Park .

A visit from Dr. Bilal
View a two-minute video of how Maasai Stoves & Solar Project organizes a solar grid installation.
Several years ago, Dr. Mohammed Bilal visited the Project when he was Vice President of Tanzania, inspiring us all. Read portions of his speech.

His last visit was at night because he wanted to see the full impact of our micro-grid electrification work in the bomas. He toured a boma during a rainy night up in Enguicki which we now call “Bilal’s boma." This afforded a first-hand view of the powerful impact that comes from bringing light to these remote rural areas.

Dr. Bilal, who received his doctorate in physics from U.C. Berkeley, is the Chancellor of the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology. He recently called us from Arusha and asked to come for another visit.
 
 We had wanted to take Dr. Bilal and his wife to see one of our water chlorination systems in Mbuyuni, but although his term as Vice President is ended, his movements are still somewhat limited by the security demands of his position. But as a fellow physicist, I was very happy that we were able to bring him and his wife to our Cypress Hill Institute . Here we have established our laboratory to explore the optimal conditions for removing lignin from corn cobs, an agricultural waste product. This makes them a more digestible ingredient for high-quality cow food.

We aim to upgrade our fodder production methods to maximize environmental and economic sustainability. Once we have optimized this process in our laboratory we are planning to build a production plant right on our campus.

Dr. Bilal hopes to return this fall to see the next stage of our enterprise development process.
Be a part of it
Your continuing interest and support make a difference every day.


Stoves to Amboselli in Kenya
Kenyan Maasai style house
With your help, word about our work is spreading. We’re happy to report that two organizations working with Kenyan Maasai recently approached us about stoves and other technologies. The groups wish to strengthen their work through collaboration with us.
 
The Oldule Maasai community lives near the Kimana Gate of the Amboselli National Park in Southern Kenya. Steve Horrex from Amor Ministries of San Diego California and Jessica Censotti of My Chosen Vessels of Kenya contacted us to explore introducing our Model Four stove there.
 
Our new Kenyan collaborators decided to install a four-stove pilot project, to demonstrate the many benefits for improved health and conservation. They also wished to show the efficiency of the new stoves, and how reducing the amount of firewood needed frees the women from so many hours of wood gathering, while reducing the impact on the environment.
The first demonstration Project meeting in Amboselli
A Project team traveled to the Oldule community to install the four stoves. It was a pleasure to arrange a trip with Julius and Kone, two of our most experienced staff members. They joined two expert Model Four installers, Nemburis Ng’amobli from Baraka, and Neeko Nesereti from Mongere . The Project women love to travel and see new places, meet new people, and earn stipends for their work.
 
Maasai from Monduli are always surprised to see the types of houses their fellow Maasai build in southern Kenya. They are smaller, smokier, and much less comfortable then the ones they build for themselves.
 
The team made the journey to Kenya in the Project's Land Cruiser. They stayed for three days. The work is likely to require a second trip to ensure the local women have developed the expertise to provide perfect installations. We envision shipping the Model Four fireboxes across the Kenyan border to the new installers and look forward to successful, long-term collaborations.