David Kandie wrote:
>Enterprise Dynamo has created youth growth centers and identified
>specific Enterprise Dynamo Future Equipments which are locally
>available and can be used to create quality goods.
Where do you have your existing youth growth centers ?
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Lower Kabete in Nairobi Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
>I will be pleased if you second your youth in one of our centers for training
>and we will possibly have a mini exchange programme.
>Enterprise Dynamo is located in rural Baringo District (350 KM ) from Nairobi
>and 149KM away from Nakuru Town. At the moment I would say activites
>are low owing from the post election violence
CVVC has partners in Nakuru and Eldoret and I anticipate that ex-probationers (15-16 year olds) will come to CVVC for 1 or 2 years for job skills training.
Do you have any center in Nairobi ?
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
I am sorry I did not post my contact details at the change makers site. My Kickstart Email is david.kandie@kickstart.org, The Private one is kipkanists@gmailc.com, david.kandie@aquadopt.com
I know it is not easy to speed up things as I fast as I said, but I am really banking on the newly elected Member of Parliament in my constituency who before and now has been a close friend and supports my community development initiatives. The other opponent who lost the elections had also co-opted me as one of his strategists in an NGO he registered by the name - Forum for Indigenous Women In Development ( Still in Formation )
When I explain what is given out in loan - A clear example is where we have trained the group of youth (5) and they have identified a niche market say like a school for the case of Confectionary or a Candle making machine - They are required to still operate from the center while we monitor what the produce ( all these are kept in records & Diaries).
By the time they are given the equipment we will have estimated the dialy income and the expenses so'd the get a stipend at the end of the day while retaining the profits as repayment for the equipment. These profits are what make the revolving fund. A new group that is formed will benefit from the funds retained from a fully paid equipment. (that is Enterprise Dyanmo definition of a Loan). The youth here are cushioned from the risk since they run the business from a designated center ussually paid for by us.
We currently operate from Baring o and have not expanded outside the distict since we have no cushion on venturing out (collateral, Capital and over heads.)
I will be pleased if we started talks and plans of replicating the same model in Kabete and other of your centres.
For the Kickstart Action Pack, Someone will get in touch with you shortly.
>I will be pleased if we started talks and plans of replicating the
>same model in Kabete and other of your centres.
if one of us can get the Changemakers award (5000 US$), it will help us make a quick start to get the needed equipment e.g. for candle making. CVVC can gain access facilities for making liquid detergents at a partner rehabilitation school in Lower Kabete.
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
The facilities for making liquid detergents interests me, a $ 5000 grant will be a real boost to us.
Where else do you advice on areas of funding and need for resources? My center now needs a PC (even a P3) will be ok for us. And more importantly you knowledge on international development will be of great help. Thanks
David Kandie
I would go for local and/or via international organizations that have offices in Nairobi.
Changemakers.net is unique because of the e-forum facility that enables others to interact with authors of all the competition entries. The level and depth of discussion activity in each entry can provide the judges with many useful indicators that can help them make the short list for the final 3 awards. Through the discussions, you can easily identify the serious ones from the less.
I also find the other themes for new competitions useful since they bring together people of common interests and innovative projects.
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
I am now in the process of applying for one like the change makers, where a winner gets $ 25000 in technical support. You can check this at the Seed Initiative 2008 Awards. www.seedinit.org. The deadline is Mid March.
I want to work on it this night and post it possibly by Friday.
Have a good day. My day has come to an end. See you tommorow.
Thanks
DK
>They are required to still operate from the center while we monitor
>what the produce ........estimated the dialy income and the expenses
that's a good approach.
>....they get a stipend at the end of the day while retaining the profits
>as repayment for the equipment. These profits are what make
>the revolving fund. A new group that is formed will benefit from
>the funds retained from a fully paid equipment.
>(that is Enterprise Dyanmo definition of a Loan).
CVVC financing system is similar in the sense that the initial operation is done at CVVC but different from yours in :
(i) after basic training, a youth group starts with a micro-loan for materials. They produce and market their products, CVVC helps the group in business/account management. Income is used to pay back micro-loan and interest. CVVC youths have no expenses and dont need a stipend since they are cared for either in probation hostels or in half-way houses (under the Kenyan Ministry of Home Affairs). CVVC helps in providing vocational training, job skills and management.
(ii) If marketing works for the group, the youths can continue to do the same at CVVC (whenever the equipment is available for their use) or they take a micro-loan from CVVC to buy the equipment and start their own business at CVVC until they can stand on their own feet (i.e. find their own business premise and move out).
(iii) CVVC's revolving fund is the micro-loan fund which I am now trying setting up. I am persuading a group of companies to contribute/donate to this micro-loan fund.
The same system is also applicable for starting a rabbit farm. In June/July I will give a training course where a demo farm will be constructed. A group of youths (may be just 2-3 persons) will then manage the facility that will start with a production for 10 rabbits per week (5 kg dressed meat per week). The local community of about 300 will be the immediate consumers. .....
Thanks for your comments on Enterprise Dynamo!. Whereas I work full time for KickStart International, Enterprise Dynamo is my side kick and philanthropic part of me. There are quite a number of machines that we have given out on loan while some other youths are working on the center as an income generation activities. The candle making machine is locally available and I ussually source them from Kariobangi Light Industries then transport it to the center where they will be used for training and some for micro-enterprise (under the loan scheme).
I will be pleased if you second your youth in one of our centers for training and we will possibly have a mini exchange programme.
Enterprise Dynamo is located in rural Baringo District (350 KM ) from Nairobi and 149KM away from Nakuru Town. At the moment I would say activites are low owing from the post election violence but we still manage to produce 300 Rock Buns (Cakes) retailing at Kes. 5.00 each every day.
For the KickStart Money Maker Pumps, we conduct (now as an employee of KickStart) on site spot checks on pumps that have problems. It would be great if you gave me your cell fone number and tell me when you are likely to be around- we will arrange I learn from your center as we see when I will take you to Rift Valley.
I will be spearheading an expansion plan from March this year to have 10 such centers at the end of the year.
Regards
David K Kandie
Enterprise Dynamo
Hi David
thanks very much for your quick response. much appreciated.
(1) >I will be spearheading an expansion plan from March
>this year to have 10 such centers at the end of the year.
CVVC at Lower Kabete could be a location for one of your centers. We have space, youths and budget for materials (since products can be sold). However we often have difficulties in acquring equipment and maintenance. In this sense, we complement each other since you can provide what we lack.
>....quite a number of machines that we have given out on loan
......meaning "borrowed for temporary use" ?
Often this means the loan of the equipment is free of charge. The goodwill part of the recipient is that s/he keeps the equipment in good working condition while using it. Often the purpose of such a loan (for a specific period of time) is for the recipient to see if a business could be developed and then s/he would then buy the equipment. If the attempt fails, then the equipment is returned.
>At the growth centers they are trained in groups, given the
>equipment on loan for them to repay in instalments
my understanding of the first is different from the former "given out on loan".
In the latter, it means selling a product/equipment and payment made in installments.
This would present a risk factor for the youths.
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
I checked http://www.kickstart.org/contact for your location in Nairobi and will give a call to the office when I am in Lower Kabete and Kwangaware in March/April (depending on the post-election situation) to plan and run a vocational training course.
I am interested in candle making and willing to send one of our youths to learn the technicque and to get details about candle making machines and how to get one on loan.
Can you provide some info ?
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
Children's Garden Group (a self-help group and outr partner in Nairobi) had a micro-irrigation pump but did not work (just a trickle of water output) that effectively as your pictures in the brochure show for the your Super MoneyMaker pump MoneyMaker Hip Pump. http://www.kickstart.org/documents/B2Bbrochure.pdf
In the technical specifications, I did not find information on volume of water flow per hr.
Would appreciate info on this.
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
>For the KickStart Money Maker Pumps, we conduct on site spot checks
>on pumps that have problems. It would be great if you gave me your
>cell fone number and tell me when you are likely to be around-
>we will arrange I learn from your center as we see when I will take
>you to Rift Valley.
great.
when I am in Kenya my nr is 0725 077 012
(am now in Sweden).
Cant see your email address in your profile at Changemakers.net
regards
jacky foo
jacky.foo@gmail.com (www.globetree.org)
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
I am also interested in the Action Pack Block Press
page: http://www.kickstart.org/where/build.htm
picture: http://www.kickstart.org/images/san-block.jpg
>Four workers using this heavy duty manual press can produce
>500 rock hard building blocks a day, compacting a soil/cement
>mixture under high mechanical pressure. The press is adjustable
>for use with almost any soil type and just 1 bag of cement
>makes over 100 bricks. Blocks can be sold profitably to build
>walls at half the cost of the concrete block or stone walls.
I need one block press for CVVC youths who will make blocks to build raised-bed plots for making compost and then using the beds (with improved soils) for vegetable/potato production. They also provide better utilisation of available space. I have looked at a block press at the Prisons product centre (products made by inmates) at Prisons Headquaters in Nairobi. I will need to check yours out and to get formulas for the soil type that is available at Lower Kabete.
Is Kickstart equipment sold/loaned out (for profit) or do you give a discount when such equipment is used in NGO programs that support youths at risk ?
How does your "revolving fund" work and how can CVVC youths benefit from this "revolving fund" ?
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
Hi David, You mention in the origin of the innovation section that you work with an international non-profit that manufactures low cost micro irrigation pumps. I'm really interested in hearing more about this. What is the name of the non-profit? Also, along these lines, I thought you might be interested in another Changemakers competition currently taking place. The Global Water Challenge competition is currently accepting entries and is looking for innovations around water and sanitation. It would be great to see an entry on low-cost irrigation pumps! Please check out the competition page on the website and pass the information along to the international non-profit that you work with. Thanks.
Dana,
I work with KickStart International - www.kickstart.org
KickStart International a US based 501(c) (3) was founded as ApproTEC in Kenya in 1991. Its mission is to promote economic growth and employment creation in developing countries by developing and promoting technologies that can be used by dynamic entrepreneurs to establish and run profitable small-scale enterprises. Over the last 15 years, KickStart has developed and promoted several technologies, the most successful being the MoneyMaker series of manual irrigation pumps. To date over 75000 pumps have been sold to small scale farmers in Sub Saharan Africa. KickStart currently has operations in 3 African countries - Kenya, Tanzania and Mali. I will check out the competition then pass over to my managers here at Kickstart. Our American office is in San Francisco. Check out the website for more information and how we are changing lives through small scale micro irrigation in Africa.
David K Kandie
Stream Resources
President/CEO
That image of the 100 drunken, hopeless youth chanting war songs is frightening and powerful.
And your description of the "The once vibrant market center... inhabited by gamblers who shuttled from drinking dens to the gambling dens" and the youths "engaging in extortion of motorists while smoking bhang openly" sounds similar to the rampant drug trade we see here on the corners of Baltimore. (Any chance you have access to "The Wire" on the HBO tv network?) Congratulations for going to work on the problem.
You mention that you target "more than 500 unemployed youth who mainly comprise secondary school drop outs." In the US far more many boys than girls drop out of school. Is the same true in Kenya? Are your clients mostly boys? Moreover, do you see any difference in the way boys and girls react to being unable to earn a living?
Best regards,
Jack (John R.) Kammer
University of Maryland
Current student, MSW/MBA Dual-Degree Program
Thanks for your comment, to start with, I just captured the situation vividly, one of my classmates who has since got a nickname going by "Power Tab" after a local commercial on TV showed a very strong insect killer crushing mosquitoes akin the WWE style. He is very huge and well built - used by the younger boys to harrass other villagers in the gambling site. THe situation is more horrible, the once very decent youths have almost grown dreadlocks.
Here the trade on bhang is going on big time, and remember my home district is 350Km away from the capital Nairobi. Sometimes I wonder where we can get a panacea to this problem, fortunately I talked to some professionals who reside in the capital and have agreed to do something - but they will be too busy with the busy city life and that will again be swept under.
The project Enterprise Dynamo will be the only solution to wean off the drug abuse and other vices off the youth. I am anticipating things will work well.
I am developing the web content for Enterprise Dynamo and hopefully we will be online soon and may be get some few bucks to drive the concept forward.
Thanks
It would be wonderful if we could find a panacea -- one key idea to solve the whole problem -- but we probably don't have much hope of that. I would, though, like to ask you about one possibly important idea that might help. I believe strongly that it will work in the USA, and I have based my entry in the competition on it, but I don't know whether it would apply to Kenya.
In the US, we have done a good job of giving girls and women new options for their lives. Many young women are thriving in ways never seen before. But boys have not been given similar new options. My belief is that boys are deeply unhappy about being stuck in the old sexist system that requires them to focus almost exclusively on economic activity as their path to self-respect, community acceptance and success. To make matters worse for young men, the entry of young women into formerly male domains has greatly increased the competition and pressure on men to make money. If a woman makes her own money, she might very well expect her man to make at least as much -- if not much more. I believe the solution -- which will take many years and lots of hard work -- is to overcome old-fashioned ideas about boys and what they "should" do with their lives. Certainly we want boys to be economically productive, but if we tells boys that is the only important thing they can do, I fear we are making boys feel they are being treated very unfairly. The result is that they are depressed, angry, resentful -- and much less economically productive than we'd like them to be.
What do you think? Does that resonate at all in Kenya?
Jack (John R.) Kammer
University of Maryland
Current student, MSW/MBA Dual-Degree Program
You guys are doing a good job. At enterprise dynamo, it has been quite a difficult thing getting the girls to run machines e.g welding and stuff, it is still viewed as a man-domain. I have personally talked to them to no avail. Most of these women, 15 - 25 years prefer the path of getting married immidiately they drop out of school or after high school. In my plan I have slotted them to be doing sales and marketing. However there are other machines - like tailoring that women can take up. unfortunately there have been limited funds to expand to such areas. Men have also had a share of problems, they have left the small business wonership to women, like selling groceries and consumables. Im my village - men are found solace in brewing, tilling land and other menial jobs that give them a quick buck.
Jack, the big problem here is funding from either goverment and external donors. I will have a sound sleep when the center stands on it's own. There is also need for a marshal plan for women and girls. This will also reduce the ever increasing poverty, crime and population explosions.
We just came from the general elections and as you might have read in the papers, the presidential elections were disputed, now the whole place is chaotic, with women and children suffering in Internally Displaced Camps. Businesses have come to a stand still and worse still the rulling party won't back down. The former UN Secretary - Annan is in the country to find a solution.
David Kandie wrote:
>Enterprise Dynamo has created youth growth centers and identified
>specific Enterprise Dynamo Future Equipments which are locally
>available and can be used to create quality goods.
Where do you have your existing youth growth centers ?
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Lower Kabete in Nairobi Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
>I will be pleased if you second your youth in one of our centers for training
>and we will possibly have a mini exchange programme.
>Enterprise Dynamo is located in rural Baringo District (350 KM ) from Nairobi
>and 149KM away from Nakuru Town. At the moment I would say activites
>are low owing from the post election violence
CVVC has partners in Nakuru and Eldoret and I anticipate that ex-probationers (15-16 year olds) will come to CVVC for 1 or 2 years for job skills training.
Do you have any center in Nairobi ?
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
I am sorry I did not post my contact details at the change makers site. My Kickstart Email is david.kandie@kickstart.org, The Private one is kipkanists@gmailc.com, david.kandie@aquadopt.com
I know it is not easy to speed up things as I fast as I said, but I am really banking on the newly elected Member of Parliament in my constituency who before and now has been a close friend and supports my community development initiatives. The other opponent who lost the elections had also co-opted me as one of his strategists in an NGO he registered by the name - Forum for Indigenous Women In Development ( Still in Formation )
When I explain what is given out in loan - A clear example is where we have trained the group of youth (5) and they have identified a niche market say like a school for the case of Confectionary or a Candle making machine - They are required to still operate from the center while we monitor what the produce ( all these are kept in records & Diaries).
By the time they are given the equipment we will have estimated the dialy income and the expenses so'd the get a stipend at the end of the day while retaining the profits as repayment for the equipment. These profits are what make the revolving fund. A new group that is formed will benefit from the funds retained from a fully paid equipment. (that is Enterprise Dyanmo definition of a Loan). The youth here are cushioned from the risk since they run the business from a designated center ussually paid for by us.
We currently operate from Baring o and have not expanded outside the distict since we have no cushion on venturing out (collateral, Capital and over heads.)
I will be pleased if we started talks and plans of replicating the same model in Kabete and other of your centres.
For the Kickstart Action Pack, Someone will get in touch with you shortly.
>I will be pleased if we started talks and plans of replicating the
>same model in Kabete and other of your centres.
if one of us can get the Changemakers award (5000 US$), it will help us make a quick start to get the needed equipment e.g. for candle making. CVVC can gain access facilities for making liquid detergents at a partner rehabilitation school in Lower Kabete.
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
The facilities for making liquid detergents interests me, a $ 5000 grant will be a real boost to us.
Where else do you advice on areas of funding and need for resources? My center now needs a PC (even a P3) will be ok for us. And more importantly you knowledge on international development will be of great help. Thanks
David Kandie
DK>Where else do you advice on areas of funding
I would go for local and/or via international organizations that have offices in Nairobi.
Changemakers.net is unique because of the e-forum facility that enables others to interact with authors of all the competition entries. The level and depth of discussion activity in each entry can provide the judges with many useful indicators that can help them make the short list for the final 3 awards. Through the discussions, you can easily identify the serious ones from the less.
I also find the other themes for new competitions useful since they bring together people of common interests and innovative projects.
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
I am now in the process of applying for one like the change makers, where a winner gets $ 25000 in technical support. You can check this at the Seed Initiative 2008 Awards. www.seedinit.org. The deadline is Mid March.
I want to work on it this night and post it possibly by Friday.
Have a good day. My day has come to an end. See you tommorow.
Thanks
DK
>They are required to still operate from the center while we monitor
>what the produce ........estimated the dialy income and the expenses
that's a good approach.
>....they get a stipend at the end of the day while retaining the profits
>as repayment for the equipment. These profits are what make
>the revolving fund. A new group that is formed will benefit from
>the funds retained from a fully paid equipment.
>(that is Enterprise Dyanmo definition of a Loan).
CVVC financing system is similar in the sense that the initial operation is done at CVVC but different from yours in :
(i) after basic training, a youth group starts with a micro-loan for materials. They produce and market their products, CVVC helps the group in business/account management. Income is used to pay back micro-loan and interest. CVVC youths have no expenses and dont need a stipend since they are cared for either in probation hostels or in half-way houses (under the Kenyan Ministry of Home Affairs). CVVC helps in providing vocational training, job skills and management.
(ii) If marketing works for the group, the youths can continue to do the same at CVVC (whenever the equipment is available for their use) or they take a micro-loan from CVVC to buy the equipment and start their own business at CVVC until they can stand on their own feet (i.e. find their own business premise and move out).
(iii) CVVC's revolving fund is the micro-loan fund which I am now trying setting up. I am persuading a group of companies to contribute/donate to this micro-loan fund.
The same system is also applicable for starting a rabbit farm. In June/July I will give a training course where a demo farm will be constructed. A group of youths (may be just 2-3 persons) will then manage the facility that will start with a production for 10 rabbits per week (5 kg dressed meat per week). The local community of about 300 will be the immediate consumers. .....
Thanks for your comments on Enterprise Dynamo!. Whereas I work full time for KickStart International, Enterprise Dynamo is my side kick and philanthropic part of me. There are quite a number of machines that we have given out on loan while some other youths are working on the center as an income generation activities. The candle making machine is locally available and I ussually source them from Kariobangi Light Industries then transport it to the center where they will be used for training and some for micro-enterprise (under the loan scheme).
I will be pleased if you second your youth in one of our centers for training and we will possibly have a mini exchange programme.
Enterprise Dynamo is located in rural Baringo District (350 KM ) from Nairobi and 149KM away from Nakuru Town. At the moment I would say activites are low owing from the post election violence but we still manage to produce 300 Rock Buns (Cakes) retailing at Kes. 5.00 each every day.
For the KickStart Money Maker Pumps, we conduct (now as an employee of KickStart) on site spot checks on pumps that have problems. It would be great if you gave me your cell fone number and tell me when you are likely to be around- we will arrange I learn from your center as we see when I will take you to Rift Valley.
I will be spearheading an expansion plan from March this year to have 10 such centers at the end of the year.
Regards
David K Kandie
Enterprise Dynamo
Hi David
thanks very much for your quick response. much appreciated.
(1) >I will be spearheading an expansion plan from March
>this year to have 10 such centers at the end of the year.
CVVC at Lower Kabete could be a location for one of your centers. We have space, youths and budget for materials (since products can be sold). However we often have difficulties in acquring equipment and maintenance. In this sense, we complement each other since you can provide what we lack.
>....quite a number of machines that we have given out on loan
......meaning "borrowed for temporary use" ?
Often this means the loan of the equipment is free of charge. The goodwill part of the recipient is that s/he keeps the equipment in good working condition while using it. Often the purpose of such a loan (for a specific period of time) is for the recipient to see if a business could be developed and then s/he would then buy the equipment. If the attempt fails, then the equipment is returned.
>At the growth centers they are trained in groups, given the
>equipment on loan for them to repay in instalments
my understanding of the first is different from the former "given out on loan".
In the latter, it means selling a product/equipment and payment made in installments.
This would present a risk factor for the youths.
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
>I will be spearheading an expansion plan from March
>this year to have 10 such centers at the end of the year.
How do you go about doing this ?
I am doing just one (as things move so slow) and I certainly can learn how to speed things up from you.
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
I checked http://www.kickstart.org/contact for your location in Nairobi and will give a call to the office when I am in Lower Kabete and Kwangaware in March/April (depending on the post-election situation) to plan and run a vocational training course.
I am interested in candle making and willing to send one of our youths to learn the technicque and to get details about candle making machines and how to get one on loan.
Can you provide some info ?
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
Children's Garden Group (a self-help group and outr partner in Nairobi) had a micro-irrigation pump but did not work (just a trickle of water output) that effectively as your pictures in the brochure show for the your Super MoneyMaker pump MoneyMaker Hip Pump. http://www.kickstart.org/documents/B2Bbrochure.pdf
In the technical specifications, I did not find information on volume of water flow per hr.
Would appreciate info on this.
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
>For the KickStart Money Maker Pumps, we conduct on site spot checks
>on pumps that have problems. It would be great if you gave me your
>cell fone number and tell me when you are likely to be around-
>we will arrange I learn from your center as we see when I will take
>you to Rift Valley.
great.
when I am in Kenya my nr is 0725 077 012
(am now in Sweden).
Cant see your email address in your profile at Changemakers.net
regards
jacky foo
jacky.foo@gmail.com (www.globetree.org)
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
I am also interested in the Action Pack Block Press
page: http://www.kickstart.org/where/build.htm
picture: http://www.kickstart.org/images/san-block.jpg
>Four workers using this heavy duty manual press can produce
>500 rock hard building blocks a day, compacting a soil/cement
>mixture under high mechanical pressure. The press is adjustable
>for use with almost any soil type and just 1 bag of cement
>makes over 100 bricks. Blocks can be sold profitably to build
>walls at half the cost of the concrete block or stone walls.
I need one block press for CVVC youths who will make blocks to build raised-bed plots for making compost and then using the beds (with improved soils) for vegetable/potato production. They also provide better utilisation of available space. I have looked at a block press at the Prisons product centre (products made by inmates) at Prisons Headquaters in Nairobi. I will need to check yours out and to get formulas for the soil type that is available at Lower Kabete.
Is Kickstart equipment sold/loaned out (for profit) or do you give a discount when such equipment is used in NGO programs that support youths at risk ?
How does your "revolving fund" work and how can CVVC youths benefit from this "revolving fund" ?
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
Hi David, You mention in the origin of the innovation section that you work with an international non-profit that manufactures low cost micro irrigation pumps. I'm really interested in hearing more about this. What is the name of the non-profit? Also, along these lines, I thought you might be interested in another Changemakers competition currently taking place. The Global Water Challenge competition is currently accepting entries and is looking for innovations around water and sanitation. It would be great to see an entry on low-cost irrigation pumps! Please check out the competition page on the website and pass the information along to the international non-profit that you work with. Thanks.
http://changemakers.net/node/1828/
Dana Frasz
Changemakers
Dana,
I work with KickStart International - www.kickstart.org
KickStart International a US based 501(c) (3) was founded as ApproTEC in Kenya in 1991. Its mission is to promote economic growth and employment creation in developing countries by developing and promoting technologies that can be used by dynamic entrepreneurs to establish and run profitable small-scale enterprises. Over the last 15 years, KickStart has developed and promoted several technologies, the most successful being the MoneyMaker series of manual irrigation pumps. To date over 75000 pumps have been sold to small scale farmers in Sub Saharan Africa. KickStart currently has operations in 3 African countries - Kenya, Tanzania and Mali. I will check out the competition then pass over to my managers here at Kickstart. Our American office is in San Francisco. Check out the website for more information and how we are changing lives through small scale micro irrigation in Africa.
David K Kandie
Stream Resources
President/CEO
Hello, David.
That image of the 100 drunken, hopeless youth chanting war songs is frightening and powerful.
And your description of the "The once vibrant market center... inhabited by gamblers who shuttled from drinking dens to the gambling dens" and the youths "engaging in extortion of motorists while smoking bhang openly" sounds similar to the rampant drug trade we see here on the corners of Baltimore. (Any chance you have access to "The Wire" on the HBO tv network?) Congratulations for going to work on the problem.
You mention that you target "more than 500 unemployed youth who mainly comprise secondary school drop outs." In the US far more many boys than girls drop out of school. Is the same true in Kenya? Are your clients mostly boys? Moreover, do you see any difference in the way boys and girls react to being unable to earn a living?
Best regards,
Jack (John R.) Kammer
University of Maryland
Current student, MSW/MBA Dual-Degree Program
Thanks for your comment, to start with, I just captured the situation vividly, one of my classmates who has since got a nickname going by "Power Tab" after a local commercial on TV showed a very strong insect killer crushing mosquitoes akin the WWE style. He is very huge and well built - used by the younger boys to harrass other villagers in the gambling site. THe situation is more horrible, the once very decent youths have almost grown dreadlocks.
Here the trade on bhang is going on big time, and remember my home district is 350Km away from the capital Nairobi. Sometimes I wonder where we can get a panacea to this problem, fortunately I talked to some professionals who reside in the capital and have agreed to do something - but they will be too busy with the busy city life and that will again be swept under.
The project Enterprise Dynamo will be the only solution to wean off the drug abuse and other vices off the youth. I am anticipating things will work well.
I am developing the web content for Enterprise Dynamo and hopefully we will be online soon and may be get some few bucks to drive the concept forward.
Thanks
David K Kandie
Enterprise Dynamo.
Hello, David.
It would be wonderful if we could find a panacea -- one key idea to solve the whole problem -- but we probably don't have much hope of that. I would, though, like to ask you about one possibly important idea that might help. I believe strongly that it will work in the USA, and I have based my entry in the competition on it, but I don't know whether it would apply to Kenya.
In the US, we have done a good job of giving girls and women new options for their lives. Many young women are thriving in ways never seen before. But boys have not been given similar new options. My belief is that boys are deeply unhappy about being stuck in the old sexist system that requires them to focus almost exclusively on economic activity as their path to self-respect, community acceptance and success. To make matters worse for young men, the entry of young women into formerly male domains has greatly increased the competition and pressure on men to make money. If a woman makes her own money, she might very well expect her man to make at least as much -- if not much more. I believe the solution -- which will take many years and lots of hard work -- is to overcome old-fashioned ideas about boys and what they "should" do with their lives. Certainly we want boys to be economically productive, but if we tells boys that is the only important thing they can do, I fear we are making boys feel they are being treated very unfairly. The result is that they are depressed, angry, resentful -- and much less economically productive than we'd like them to be.
What do you think? Does that resonate at all in Kenya?
Jack (John R.) Kammer
University of Maryland
Current student, MSW/MBA Dual-Degree Program
You guys are doing a good job. At enterprise dynamo, it has been quite a difficult thing getting the girls to run machines e.g welding and stuff, it is still viewed as a man-domain. I have personally talked to them to no avail. Most of these women, 15 - 25 years prefer the path of getting married immidiately they drop out of school or after high school. In my plan I have slotted them to be doing sales and marketing. However there are other machines - like tailoring that women can take up. unfortunately there have been limited funds to expand to such areas. Men have also had a share of problems, they have left the small business wonership to women, like selling groceries and consumables. Im my village - men are found solace in brewing, tilling land and other menial jobs that give them a quick buck.
Jack, the big problem here is funding from either goverment and external donors. I will have a sound sleep when the center stands on it's own. There is also need for a marshal plan for women and girls. This will also reduce the ever increasing poverty, crime and population explosions.
We just came from the general elections and as you might have read in the papers, the presidential elections were disputed, now the whole place is chaotic, with women and children suffering in Internally Displaced Camps. Businesses have come to a stand still and worse still the rulling party won't back down. The former UN Secretary - Annan is in the country to find a solution.
Regards
David K Kandie