Three Cakes

Today's blog contributed by Russell Myers, VP of Development for Cheetah


The village of Ilambilole in Tanzania Africa was waiting for the arrival of the visitors. The singers and children were in their places ready to greet them and lead them to the first of three meeting places.

The visitors arrived a couple of hours late but that does not matter to the villagers. They will wait until you come. I later find out that it is not unusual to wait for someone to show up but my DNA says do not be late for an appointment. We could not have arrived earlier because of the travel delays. I was hoping that the village would not be disappointed with our tardiness and depart. And no, they did not leave. They were waiting patiently for the arrival.

The vehicles turn onto the main road of the village and the people start the dancing and singing and as the vehicles get closer you can hear the welcoming song. The vehicles stop and the people step out in front and lead them to the first meeting place. Slowly we proceed behind the group singing and dancing down the street.

We arrive at the location a few minutes later as the crowd surrounds the vehicles singing and dancing. The visitors get out of the vehicles and some of us are overcome to the point of tears by the welcome and the feeling of being unworthy of such a welcome. We had just come to attend some meetings and see the village – not anything special in our own eyes. We did not know the culture or the importance of the moment for the village.

The visitors enter into the home of the local pastor and wait for the arrival of some of the village leaders. The singing continues outside for around a half-hour they started resting for what was next to come. A few of the leaders find their way to the home and we are off to the town center meeting.

The walk to the town center is about two of our city blocks in length but before we start the adults and children line up in two rows single file in front of the visitors and leaders. The villagers start the procession singing and walking in a slow rhythm to the city center. I asked myself why are they doing this? – not knowing the importance of this occasion. I am going along and very impressed but still have no idea the importance but I am soon to find out.

When we arrive at the town center it looks like the whole village has arrived. Several hundred people are there waiting to hear from the leader of the visitors group – a man that has been in the village many times and is the reason this is such an important meeting time today. Almost all of the villagers are singing and many are dancing as we prepare for the meeting. Chairs are lined up for the leaders of the village and the seats of honor are for the visitors. The singing and dancing slowly subsides as the meeting is about to start.

The community leader, the pastor, starts the introductions. All of the leaders of the village and surrounding area are introduced and then the visitors have their opportunity to introduce themselves. Our leader, Ray Menard, stands to introduce the visitors. There are two doctors, an elder from a church in the USA and me a business man. Each of us has an opportunity to share and express our gratitude for the warm welcome of the village. The meeting continues for a couple of hours and then it is time to separate from the villagers and meet with just the leaders at the church.

The village meeting has ended and we are headed to the church for the leaders meeting. The singing starts again and the children run to the visitors to escort them to the church. There is a child on each hand and other holding their hand stretching across the road all singing along the way. We arrive at the church and the children instantly fill half of the room. The children gather for the next meeting. But they are not the leaders so they will have to go. But before they go they perform a song for us all and then they are escorted out. The singing outside the church continues as we start the meeting. There is not much day time left and this village has no electricity. So it is going to be a short meeting so everyone can get home before dark, I thought. That was a bad assumption because there was a small fluorescent light on a battery that hung over the table at the center of the room where Ray, an interpreter and the pastor sat. The remaining the visitors were in seats of honor up front. The meeting went on for a couple of hours and it is dark inside and out except for the small light that is shining on the center table of the three men.

The meeting ends and we go to the home of the pastor which has been built with some extra rooms for visitors to come and stay. We arrive at the home for our dinner and bed after all of the hand-shaking and visiting but there is more to come unbeknown to us.

The ladies had been cooking for several hours to prepare the meal and it was delicious. A couple of the visitors thought it was time to go to bed but there was another event that was about to take place. The ceremony of the Three Cakes. The living room area was cleared of dishes after the meal and people gathered around the room. The room is about 12 x 15 with some big furniture and a coffee table. There are about 20 villagers attending this ceremony. This Mzungu (White Man) did not know what was about to take place.

Cake is not a regular item on the menu in fact it is only made on very special occasions. This was one of those occasions designated by the village. The Three Cakes were made to demonstrate the unity between the village and a person or group on a very special occasion. The leader of the visitors, Ray, the heart of our organization is the person being honored with the ceremony because of the respect and love that the villagers have developed for him.

Each cake is about a 10” round yellow wheat flour cake. Wheat flour is one ingredient that is not readily available. The ceremony starts as the ladies’ leader comes into the room carrying all three cakes. She slowly makes her way to the coffee table as she moves to the singing of the villagers. She slowly bends at the knees and sets the platter of cakes on the table and the singing gets softer and softer until it stops. The three cakes are now on the end of the coffee table in front of Ray. The lady explains about the procedures for the three cake ceremony. Cake number one is for Ray to break into pieces and give every villager that is attending a piece. This is to show the willingness to join with the village in all endeavors. The second cake is taken by the pastor and divided among the visitors to show the unity between the village and the visitors. Ray and the pastor take the third cake together each breaking off a piece and feed it to the other person, similar to our wedding ceremony; this demonstrates the unity in thought between the leaders of both groups. The ceremony ends with singing, laughing, and lots of hugging and tears of joy.

The whole day was quite an experience and one that will not be forgotten and as we say in America “that takes the cake.”

Bomalang'ombe an Anomaly

Today’s Blog Contributed by Russ Myers, VP of Development for Cheetah


There are about nine thousand villages throughout Tanzania. The village of Bomalangonbe (Boma) sits in the mountains in the south central part of the country. There are about 13,000 people that reside in this area and all but one is a farmer.

They farm potatoes on the sides of the mountains where many seemed to be too steep to walk down but there are terraced rows of crops that are being worked. There is a road, if you want to call it that, connecting Boma to the town of Iringa. Iringa is a city of about 120,000 people, the largest in this area of the country.

The road between Boma and Iringa is a difficult road to drive. It passes through some beautiful country and a variety of climates as you try to maintain your sanity over the bumps of the road. There are some 38 separate climates in the world and there are 34 different climates represented in Tanzania. You pass through several on the way to Boma. There are eucalyptus trees that are a hundred feet tall and then there are pine trees and when you turn back you are in desert conditions and have cactus next to the road.

On this day there are eight of us traveling to Boma from Iringa: the driver, five visitors, the district pastor and a pastor for interpreting. The five visitors include Ray Menard, Russ Myers, Dr. Mark Ereth, Dr. Chris Marrs and Randy Haglund. We are traveling in an eight passenger Toyota Land-Cruiser which is really for five people comfortably. They claim a back seat for three but don’t believe a word of it. Today I am riding in the back seat with two other men. Your feet are at your bottom and your knees are against the seat in front of you. You feel every rock in the road for a while until your rear end is numb. You hold on to the hand rail to keep yourself from hitting the roof of the vehicle on every bump. Soon the small bumps don’t matter and you stop complaining because you know the trip is only two and one half hours long.

When you arrive you realize it was worth the trip. The first thing you notice is street lights. That’s right street lights in a village. For that matter there are few street lights in the largest city of Dar es Salaam. There is electricity to run the lights and electricity for the village. There is a cell phone tower next to the church. Cell phone coverage in within Tanzania is incredible with the latest technology of bandwidth available. The calls coming into the country are something else all together but in country you have better coverage than Verizon claims. Sorry, back to the electricity: so why does Boma have this electricity when other villages and towns struggle without it?

There is this six kilometer road off of the main road that I described earlier. This road takes meaning of rough to a new level. Once you get to the end of the road that winds around mountains and then takes many hair-pen switchbacks you arrive at the anomaly. There is a hydro-electric plant on a dammed up mountain stream. This small lake sits several hundred feet above the generating plant. The views of the lake are incredibly beautiful. The stream of water that is flowing out of the overflow of the lake as it comes down past the plant is breath-taking. The stream runs down where two mountains meet so the vistas of both make one realize that only God can make things this beautiful.

The Boma village is an anomaly sitting on top of the mountains in south central Tanzania with street lights and electricity enough for all of the residents.

Oh yes, the trip back was three and one-half hours with the side trip to the hydro-electric plant. I am okay and the blood has returned to circulating in my bottom.





(Pictured: Russ looking happy as he gets out of a bumpy airplane ride...everything seems to be a bit bumpy!)

Wow---You Gotta Go to Tanzania!

(Today's blog by Dr. Mark Ereth of the Mayo Clinic, a Board Member and friend of Cheetah Development.)

Nine days, 9 time zones, 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and 9,000 miles…

That's the distance between where I am today, and where I was a short time ago. Those are the degrees of separation between Minnesota and the villages of Ilambilole, Bomalang'ombe, and the city of Iringa, all in South Central Tanzania. It’s the distance between a malaria free zone, and an endemic malaria zone. It’s the distance between excessive caloric intake and malnourishment.  It’s the distance between so much and so little….

Crossing these distances was one of the most rewarding trips I ever experienced. What I experienced were some of the most joyous, welcoming, and Christian people I’ve ever met….some of the most ingenious and hardworking…some of the most deserving.

Each day the economic disparity between these worlds is increasing.  Disparity in investment, in small business, and in mentored entrepreneurs. Disparity in the value chain from production to consumption. Disparity in transportation, markets, and the businesses of agriculture, manufacturing, and trade.

Cheetah Development is working to bridge these economic development disparities.

Bridging this gap is Ray Menard, the visionary, the founder, the mover, the shaker (you should see him dance with the villagers)…

Bridging the gap is Russ Meyers.....our volunteer Director of Development…who has enthusiastically joined Ray for three weeks…gathering the data and stories to share with our benefactors and investors.

Bridging this gap is Randy Haglund...our volunteer Director of Photography who captured the digital images of so very much to share with all of us…of these villages that do so very much…with so very little…

Bridging the gap is Dr. Chris Marrs…who has worked in the third world for much of the past decade…who is bringing his skill, compassion, energy, and incredible dedication to join with us at Cheetah…in these villages for two months in early 2010 to help build up anti-malarial and anti-HIV-AIDS efforts.

Check out Dr. Chris at www.vitalconsultants.us http://www.vitalconsultants.us>

Cheetah Development is delivering a new model of support, not handouts, but we are investing time and money in people who can grow their own small businesses…who can employ others…who can create markets… and empower whole villages.

In a very short time Cheetah has done an incredible job, crossing cultures, building trust, and delivering on every front.  As such, I encourage you to lend extraordinary support to this extraordinary mission.  Please schedule a trip, grab your checkbook, and get your family and friends to do the same.  It’s all about leverage…a little here delivers a big impact there.

Choosing a Second Village – Part 2

After the survey work was complete and we met with the leaders of each village and we heard their passionate speeches – then we had to make a decision. It was harder than I expected. First, we wanted to help them all. Second, they were all deserving. Third, how do you say, 'no'?

We shared this decision with leaders from the University of Tumaini. We need them to work with us. We couldn't commit for them. Rev. Dr. Lubawa (the Deputy Provost and one of the people I respect most in this world) and the Dean of the Business School and other leaders joined to decide. It took a week of discussion.

One of the four villages has a reputation as hard workers but they are known as laborers, not farmers. Their agricultural output is limited mostly to their own use. Therefore it's hard to invest in a for profit business when there is nothing being sold. A second specialized in tomatoes and that has more complexity and more competition so we considered it risky. That left Ihemi and Bomalang'ombe. They both made the bulk of their profits on potatoes and so that took us away from the cash crops of Ilambilole. Although we were looking for a different climate, we weren't necessarily looking for diversity in crops at this stage. But this was an interesting revelation. Areas with more rainfall took advantage of that to produce higher value products than corn. Consider, bags of potatoes are selling for twice as much or more than corn and they are growing up to 10 times the amount per acre. That's 20X the profit or more. So, the decision to move to a new climate naturally meant different crops.

I didn't want to go back to Boma' because the terrible road left me in pain. Now Ihemi, that's right on a tarred road. Seemed obvious right?

University leadership said, 'but wait'. It will be more difficult to control corruption (farmers that bypass their coop agreement and sell direct) because they are right on the paved road. Also, Ihemi is climactically and geographically closer to Ilambilole so there is a higher risk of simultaneous drought. Not only that, there is another organization working to support potato farming in the Boma' area. If we worked with Ihemi, we would be their market competitor. If we chose Boma' we could partner and strengthen the overall results.

Boma' became the choice. Ouch!

But it is so beautiful!

Choosing a Second Village

The work we are beginning in villages is incredibly exciting. Modest investments show the potential to change thousands of lives. And we are addressing the problems of hunger and poverty at its root. We are interested in value chain development and agricultural investment. But what makes our program really unique is that we ask people what they want to do. We don't tell them. Most of my time on this trip has been related to this effort.

We have already chosen the village of Ilambilole to work with. This was where our church had been engaging for more than a decade. After a review with local people, there was strong agreement that it was a great place to start. It was hard working, highly productive, and has a pastor that has stood up to corruption.


(Pictured, corn fields near Ilambilole)

There is a risk in starting with only one village. For example, a drought could delay or cause a failure in the project. Local leaders argued that we should start with three villages to assure the ability to demonstrate success. But there is risk in being too aggressive, as well. The first time you do anything is the hardest. We have things to learn. So we compromised on two.

We needed to choose a second village.

It would be handy if it was near the first one, but then it could suffer drought at the same time. So it needed to be geographically at some distance. As we talked about it, we thought we should find a different climactic area altogether.

(Pictured, a typical meeting with village leaders)

Tanzania is quite remarkable this way. There are numerous micro-climates. At times you find yourself in a new climate every 20 miles. (Because of the poor roads you might be going only 20 miles an hour, too.) We decided to go to a really different climate. Ilambilole is flat and tends to be very dry half of the year. We decided to find a wet region that was also in the same district. We consulted with local and American agricultural experts. Then we talked to local people that could talk about the 'character' of villages. There were about 75 to choose from. Finally, we narrowed it down to four.

Then we spent a half day in each village meeting with leaders and surveying the local outputs. It was a wonderful experience. We posted the results at our website, including the original survey of Ilambilole. They are really interesting:

http://www.cheetahdevelopment.org/cheetah/docs/iringa_district_village_survey.pdf

Here are some highlights and impressions:

1. Ilambilole is a stand-out and was a great first choice.
   
2. There is a strong distinction between villages that are truly subsistence (they eat all they grow) and those that have begun to sell some of their crops. The latter are thinking about markets, profit, and quality.
   
3. The terrain is amazing and beautiful.
   
4. The people were all passionate and hard working. Every meeting ended with speeches by local people. They carefully made their case for why they were the best village to work with.
   
5. I was amazed to see that farmer cooperatives are nearly inevitable. If you ask people how they will solve their problems, they already know that they need to work together. Please realize that in Tanzania farmer cooperatives have been models for stealing from the poor for about 40 years so this is not an answer that I expected.
   
6. People don't want handouts, they want opportunity. They are looking for a way to succeed with dignity.
   
7. I wanted to choose every village I was in.
   

Well, except for Bomalang'ombe. The road was so bad. The springs on the truck were cracked and so there was no rear suspension (a later failure was coming). Three hours later I literally arrived in pain. I thought to myself, 'I never want to come back here again.'

I felt the Spirit move in my heart as I thought this…'You might be surprised.'

(Pictured: the fields around Bomalang'ombe - CLICK ON THIS ONE!)

Tanzania 2009 #20

I've landed in London & checked into hotel. Looking forward to a little dinner, hot shower, and sleep.
This has been an amazing trip for all the reasons listed in previous entries and more.
I spent a lot of the flight today sorting images and trying to begin to organize them; lots to do. The flight seemed pretty surreal as it did last year. As I look out the window today I saw places again that I've read about and/or seen in photos; the Sahara Desert, north coast of Africa, Sicily, the boot of Italy, the Alps, the English Channel.
Pause:
It is currently 4:00AM local time here in London and 7:00AM local time in Tanzania. I can tell I am going to be struggling w/ major jetlag this time. My mind is already gearing up for all that awaits me upon my return. I passed out about 8:30 London time and slept soundly til about 1:45. I just finally got up and will try to get some work done before breakfast. Besides, I just discovered a coffee pot and some Walker's Butter Shortbread in the closet. That's all the excuse I need for some coffee, even decaf.
Pray for me that I would not lose the impact from this trip to the busyness of my routine as I return. Each time I have returned the idea of "Spiritual Tourism" bothers me more and more. I want, I need it to be more than that or it would be a waste of resources for me. There has to be an impact in my life and those I have opportunity to influence. If not it would be better to stay home and invest the money in the areas directly.
I can't wait to get home and begin to share my experiences. I do need to be careful though to pace all of us, especially myself, so I don't lose sight of keeping balance for me and my family.
Thank you all again for sharing this with me in this way.
I look forward to continuing to share images and specifics stories/needs in the weeks to come.
Blessings on you all.
Because of Him,
Randy

(Sent from my Verizon Wireless CrackBerry)

Tanzania 2009 #19

As I got up this morning I felt inclined to share reading from a devotional I read. It is from "My Utmost For His Highest." July 28.
After Obedience -- What?
"And straightway He constrained His disciples to get into the ship, and go to the other side..." Mark 6:45
We are apt to imagine that if Jesus Christ constrains us, and we obey Him, He will lead us to great success. We must never put our dreams of success as God's purpose for us. His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have an idea that God is leading us to a particular end, a desired goal; He is not. The question of getting to a particular end is a mere incident.
What is my dream of God's purpose? His purpose is that I depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay in the middle of the turmoil calm & unperplexed, that is the end of the purpose of God. God is not working toward a particular finish; His end is the process--that I see Him walking on the waves, no shore in sight, no success, no goal, just the absolute certainty that all is right because I see Him walking on the sea. It is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God.
God's training is for now, not presently. His purpose is for this minute, not for something in the future. We have nothing to do with the afterwards of obedience; we get wrong when we think of the afterwards. What men call training and preparation, God calls the end.
God's end is to enable me to see that He can walk on the chaos of my life just now. If we have a further end in view, we do not pay sufficient attention to the immediate present: if we realize that obedience is the end, then each moment as it comes is Precious.

My new brother, Ray, from Cheetah asked me to post this on the Blog. It has been a reminder to me again this trip that I need to be more open to what God wants to so in me than what I think He wants me to do For Him.
Blessings on you all.

Because of Him,
Randy

(Sent from my Verizon Wireless CrackBerry)

Tanzania 2009 #18

As my last day in country winds down I want to humbly thank those of you that have followed these rambling thoughts and shared this experience with me. Your prayers have been huge and more meaningful than you will ever know.
The hostel we have stayed in the last two nights has wi-fi so I have been able to download Picasa on the netbook and begin to edit my photos.
Ray and Russ, two of my traveling companions; two new brothers, are taking a nap and I put on my headphones and turned on the I-pod. The song that came on has become the theme song for me for this trip. Hillsong's "One Desire" expresses my heart's desire as I have traveled this incredible country these last 18 days. To be where He is and where He wants me is the desire of my heart, wherever that is each and every day, from Monroe to Mwanza, from Iringa to Ilambilole and Bomalang'ombe.
As I think of beginning my journey home in the morning I am undone at God's blessing on me and my family as we begin this new adventure in His Mansion. I don't begin to understand why I have been given so much and some have so little. Sometimes it all seems relative but it will continue to be a question that will follow me all the days of my life in more intense ways than I will ever begin to understand after this trip.
One thing about being out of one's comfort zone is that we tend to be more in tune with our own inadequacy and finiteness, if you will. I have been way out of mine these last two plus weeks, farther then I had imagined. I did not place a lot of expectations on this trip because of much of my last experience here last year. But, just like God, more and different than I could have ever thought. For those of you that have read through these entries I hope you have seen that.
My desire for you as you have shared this adventure with me is that you would see that no matter what you have been given in this world there are so many with so much less. The over arching desire for Shirley and I at PepperCorn and now at the Mansion has been to always remember that God owns it all and that we are just the mangers. As we strive to be good stewards of what He provides it comes with a responsibility to manage it well. Whether it is money or relationships, we have so many more blessings than most people in the world will ever have. Appreciate what you have, appreciate those that are around you, and tell them. Think beyond the moment to what and who is really important.
I will be posting photos when I get home with image specific info so please keep coming back over the next weeks & months to come. You will also begin to see info related to our teams next trip next summer. Because of Him,
Randy
Because of Him,
Randy

(Sent from my Verizon Wireless CrackBerry)

Tanzania 2009 #17

One correction from last Blog. The freezer at the clinic used propane not Liquid Oxygen.

Last couple days have been very busy. Yesterday we drove the 6-7 hours from Iringa to Dar es Salaam. (250 miles) When we arrived we hit the market for a while to collect a few souvenirs. Then it was off to the CEFA hostel to quickly freshen up as well as we could and it was off to a dinner meeting with the group that will be running the bicycle factory. These are an amazing group of men.
Up early this morning to have a meeting with a young man converting vegetable oil into Bio-Diesel. Then it was off to the airport to pick a bag that was lost and then it was found. Then we visited a textile mill which was a step into the past.
After a busy morning we were entertained at lunch by Dr. Mariam Nchimbi, Director of the University of Dar es Salaam Entrepreneur Centre and Dr. M.D. Baisi, Associate Dean of Postgraduate Studies.
Then it was a cultural tour of the local Shoprite where we found a few local treats. Then it was back to the hostel to relax a little before dinner.

Because of Him,
Randy

(Sent from my Verizon Wireless CrackBerry)

Economic Develoment and Health Care

Ray asked me to blog for him today...
Because of Him,
Randy




Yesterday we drove over 2 hours into the mountains to a village where Cheetah will be involved on project #2. The Village of Bomalang'ombe is a very remote village of about 5000 people. Cheetah will be working again with food value chain issues but with different products and in slightly different ways than in Ilambilole where Project #1 will be taking place. Both are highly productive villages as a whole, as well as very proud villages. This was very evident in the way they took care of themselves, their homes, shops, & village.
There are two Doctors on our team. One is an Anesthesiologist at Mayo Clinic. The other worked with the first for 10 years at Mayo and now operates a consulting business. He also operates a clinic in the remote mountains of SW Kenya west of Nairobi. I have visited two dispensaries in these two villages with the doctors to photograph and record their visit. As we have visited these remote mini-clinic the Doctors have discussed HIV-AIDS education, they have looked at everything from the number if instruments to patient protocol to try and discover how they best assist the clinics. We were amazed at the quality of the first which even had a liquid oxygen cooled freezer that had a very good supply of vaccines.
We were also amazed at the second clinic, but for very different reasons. Being so very remote and difficult to get to makes for its own sets of challenges.
Yesterday as we spoke with the nurse in Bomalang'ombe one doctor asked her how many of the mothers that deliver babies each month are infected with HIV-AIDS. She said of he 15-20 she sees deliver each month, 70-80%! She shared with us that they have discovered that often times the middlemen that come to town to buy products pay for sex and are to cause for much of the spreading of this disease. I later discovered from Ray as we discussed the day that the going rate is in the village is about 500TSH. (Tanzanian Schillings) that works out to about $.35! Yes, that is 35 CENTS. The decimal point is correct. It was very interesting discussion that developed as we began to work through the issues of economic development when the workforce could possibly not be viable within a short period of time.
This expanded into confirmation of why our church is supporting Cheetah in the first place. It is. Not about all the "Benjamins". It is a holistic approach to adding value with what is ready in place from the perspective of the village. It must be a perceived value on the part of the people generated by the ideas of the villagers themselves.
I am being reminded of the intertwined complexity of the issues. Please pray for wisdom for all involved.
This fact alone spoke volumes to me of the fact that this is
Because of Him,
Randy

(Sent from my Verizon Wireless CrackBerry)

The Rich Returns of Investing

The following is an email exchange between three people: a supporter of
Cheetah named Mark, a friend of his named Larry (name changed since I am
printing without permission) and myself, Ray. I thought the questions that
Larry raised were important and valid and so I wanted to make sure that
everyone had a chance to think about them.

Ray - Larry is good friend - very bright fellow. You'd enjoy meeting him
when you're back in MN.
All the best to you for a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday [a day late but
hope the glow flows over].
Mark
(Larry writes:)
Hi Mark,
Thanks for the introduction to Cheetah! These ideas look creative and valid.
Of course, when we consider investing, rewards must be commensurate with
risks. Being completely clueless as to the risks of doing business in
Tanzania, I did some quick research.
Source: "Doing Business 2009, Comparing Regulation in 181 Economies" The
World Bank
Tanzania
Ease of doing business rank: 127/181 countries (2008 rank was 124/181)
Category rankings:
Starting a business - 109/181
Dealing with construction permits - 172
Employing workers - 140
Registering property - 142
Getting credit - 84
Protecting investors - 88
Paying taxes - 109
Trading across borders - 103
Enforcing contracts - 33
Closing a business - 111
No reforms (positive or negative) in 2007/2008.
Property issues and employment look to be the worst problems. I hope Ray is
prepared to deal with frequent setbacks.
I signed up for the Cheetah newsletter. I'll bet it would be fun to meet Ray
at some point.
Enjoy the weekend!
Larry

(Ray writes:)
Mark and Larry,
Thanks for thinking of us! I will look forward to meeting you in January
when I am in the states.
Today I drove deep into the southern highlands of Tanzania working on our
project with poor tea farmers. I 'suffered the setbacks' of a flat tire and
then broke the leaf springs on the pickup. We found someone to start repair,
trusting them with adequate cash for spare parts and the keys to the truck.
We then hitched a ride another half hour deeper into the countryside with no
return ride arranged.
This is one of the most beautiful places on earth and I literally felt
almost a spiritual ecstasy at times. The emerald green mountains covered
with tea and eucalyptus forests can take your breath away. The people are
likewise beautiful. The area is so fertile that the trees reach 75 or more
feet in 5 only years. They grow so fast that they often lack bark and the
trunks look like giant bamboo.
I met with the tea processor and found a way to securitize our loan for
trucks to the tea cooperative farmers. Mkonge Tea Block Farmers is a coop of
523 families making about $1 per day, among the poorest people on earth.
Net, net, we expect to quadruple their income.
I'm familiar with the indexes you sent and they don't show how hard these
people work - it would take a small book to describe it. The way to change
these indexes will come more from engaging with people than from condemning
their failures.
You're right of course. Reward must be commensurate with risk. And we
provide the opportunity to dramatically change the lives of thousands with a
small investment. That's a high reward to risk ratio, indeed. Even better,
we have a reasonable and justified expectation that we will be repaid.
We give our investors the ability to diversify their portfolio so that part
of it is working to change the lives of the poorest of the poor. The type of
returns we offer are materially modest only to the investor. The net impact
is, well, how do you measure the value of changed lives?
By the way, I returned safely to my room, quite late but in good spirits
with a healthy appetite. If you appreciate tea, I will bring you some when
we meet in January. It's some of the very finest in the world.
Peace,
Ray
Postscript: (Please see the other blog on tea farmers - you can find it by
keyword 'tea' on the left.) Since we last met these farmers, there need has
actually grown more acute. They have worked hard to grow more tea, creating
their own nursery, expanding their fields, weeding carefully, etc. These
people work so hard! But the trucks are so far behind. Now they have been
restricted to having their tea collected only three days a week - so their
production is cut in half. We were there on a day when they were allowed to
pick. Yet we saw that at every collection center, they were waiting for
trucks to arrive. This degrades the quality of the tea and reduces their
income further. We must act to help these people who are working so hard!
And the investment we make is securitized by the tea factory. How could we
not do this?

Kibaigwa Market

Hi everyone,

Although some of these pictures may be less than interesting to you, there is a team of guys working on engineering problems around grain handling. I'm trying to get a couple of them to write a blog, as well. They are great guys. Hey Matt and Bob, how is it going?

If you would want to join the team please send your interest to info@cheetahdevelopment.org

At the bottom is an explanation of what you are seeing here...

A scale for filling bags. See the weights on the right?

The cleaning line that cleans maize, removing dirt, cobs, dust and rocks.

Filling the cleaning machine from the top.

The French maker of the cleaning machine.

A closer view of the cleaning machine. It cleans the corn and then drops into the trough. From the trough it is lifted and dropped into the bag scale on the right. The long pipe going left to right carries the debris out of the building.

An actual page from the day's maize sales.

Lot's of debris in the corn! See all the pieces of cobs? That because the remove the kernels by beating the cobs with a stick.

The equipment distributor. - The other side of Africa!

If the corn is not dry enough, it is spread out here in the sun.

The inside of the market with the really heavy bags (200-250 pounds).

The chalkboard with the previous day's prices.

The maker of the scales.

The loading dock for buyers. Notice these are not bulk trucks!

On November 15th I visited the Kibaigwa market. It's famous across the country for setting up a real commodities market. It serves maize (and a few other grains) farmers in a region near Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania.

When farmers and buyers enter they see a blackboard with the previous day's prices. Then there is a small negotiation room where farmers and buyers can meet. Buyers look at the product and bid prices. There is security for the money exchange - all cash. Then farmers unload, optionally it is cleaned (only 30% opt to clean thinking they are somehow paid for debris but buyers pay less for uncleaned maize), then it is bagged and loaded on trucks. There is a weigh bridge to track inputs and outputs. Current price for maize is
for 377 shillings per kg. (1330 shillings per US$) A typical farmer in Tanzania may only sell a few bags as income for the whole year. By coming to this market they get about twice the going rate because there is no
middleman. On this day it was about 45,000 shillings per day. But that's less than US $35. Some of the better small village farmers might have 15 bags to sell. That's still less than $1 per day income.

Notice that grain is not handled in bulk. Everything is bagged. The bags are so heavy - over 200 pounds - that it takes three really muscular guys to lift one and then one guy carries it on his neck! I wanted to take a picture but that often offends people here.

This is great to see developing in Tanzania because it is connecting farmers to markets.

Catching Up

Hello Everyone!

My apologies for not posting blogs for a while... We have been incredibly busy. So much is happening and Cheetah Development is no longer a newborn kitten.

Here’s a quick update catching you up until the current trip to Tanzania. In one page we will cover three months…

First of all our agricultural strategies are developing sophistication. This is the heart of our work in Tanzania and it needs to be: over 70% of people are subsistence farmers. Perhaps close to 80% of the country is involved in agriculture in one way or another. President Kikwete has introduced a development plan called “Kilimo Kwanza” or Agriculture First. This approach has been well supported by the Prime Minister Pinda, as well. Cheetah’s work is aligned with the national development approach and therefore we are not swimming upstream. Better, it appears we will have some local help, including: red tape reduction, supportive policies, incentives, and some financing.

In previous blogs we have written at some length about farming and food management. That writing was continued and is posted in a single document on our website at the following link: (will post soon!) Please take a look at it. We would appreciate any comments you have.

There is a much shorter read that in two pages describes the essence or our strategy. That is at this link: www.cheetahdevelopment.org/cheetah/docs/agricultural_investment_strategy.pdf You won’t get any of the local Tanzanian color but it summarizes our approach.

Second, we selected the projects we will support first and they are really exciting. (Check them out here: www.cheetahdevelopment.org/cheetah/docs/projects/project_cutsheets.pdf ) Our estimate of their impact is that a $25 FEEDS A CHILD FOR LIFE! Want to know how? Read our description here: www.cheetahdevelopment.org/cheetah/docs/white_paper_the_orphanage_dilemma.pdf In the coming weeks we will provide more information about each of these projects through our newsletter. Don’t subscribe? Sign up here: http://www.cheetahdevelopment.org/

Third, we have been in the USA for a few months. We have been focused on raising support, finding technical help, and getting our investment papers developed. It’s amazing: you can diversify your investments or saving to put part of it into helping the poorest of the poor! Some of your money can work for you and some can work to help others. This is a great opportunity; don’t miss it. Please go to our investor section here: www.cheetahdevelopment.org/cheetah/pages/invest.shtml

Now we are back in Tanzania working. Already many lives have been changed. We are teaching symposiums on business to hundreds of students, consulting with dozens of small businesses and helping them to find ways forward, and meeting with villages and showing them the opportunity in their midst. Much of poverty begins in the mind. As one local pastor said, “You are unlocking minds.” We will write of our time here in coming blogs.

Our deep gratitude to the many people who are faithfully supporting this work!

Peace,

Ray

Guiding the Flock: Pastoring through Chickens

(Summary: the link between work, faith and community is explored.)

Today my friend Steve Snider introduced me to a chicken operation in northern Mozambique near the city of Nampula. The entrepreneur, Andrew Cunningham, was a pastor in Zambia. He had a long illness that left him weak for a few years and gave him a lot of time to think a pray. Strangely, he felt that God was calling him to go to Northern Mozambique and farm chickens. This is at the very least a strange call on a pastor’s life. Andrew knew nothing about chicken farming. He couldn’t speak the language and he didn’t know the place.

At the same time, God was working. My friend Steve was assigned a project to grow the chicken industry in Mozambique and so his job was to find farmers he could help. You’ll never guess but they ended up together. Strange, huh?

Meanwhile, a wealthy chicken farmer from Iowa was visiting Mozambique looking for ways to make a difference. He found a couple of worthy causes to donate to but nothing really captured his imagination and heart. He stopped in South Africa on the way back to the US for a little relaxation. By chance he ran into Andrew’s wife and daughter at a hotel and after a little conversation invited them to dinner. They never talked about chickens and everyone went home.

A little while later, Steve is wandering the USA looking for someone who knows something about chickens. He gets connected to the guy from Iowa. They are sitting talking and Steve tells him about this farmer in Mozambique named Andrew Cunningham. “Wait, did you say his last name is Cunningham?” Sure enough it’s the same family he met in South Africa.

A few weeks later Iowa meets Mozambique and the Pastor now Chicken farmer has an investor. Strange, huh?

But why would God call a pastor to go and raise chickens in a foreign land?

(A picture of Andrew Cunningham and his wonderful family.)

Andrew said to me, “What’s amazing to me is that the impact I am having as a chicken farmer is greater than anything I was able to achieve as a pastor in my own country. These people never had jobs in their life nor has anyone in their family. They are the first generation to work. We have to teach them everything related to successfully holding a job. While we are at it we teach about a good family life, raising kids, and of course living a Christian life. We are building a real community here. The message of Christ really resonates because it spoken in the midst of a loving community that cares for their body, mind and soul.”

We were walking from Andrew’s office to his home just down the hill. It was the end of the work day and there was a cluster of young men sitting on their motorcycles in the shade of a tree. Andrew stopped to talk to them and then returned to us.

“See that young man there? Frankly, he didn’t like getting up and having to report to work every day. The work experience was all new to him. His assignment was to go into the villages and help local farmers that are raising chickens for us. He is to provide technical assistance and training, answer questions, and be our representative. He did his work but without any enthusiasm. It was hard to get him out of his office into the field.

“All of a sudden, he got ‘turned on’. He saw the impact that his work was having on people’s lives. Their income was rising, their families getting healthy, wells being dug. Now he rushes to work and he is hardly ever in the office.

“God has always worked. That’s how creation began. We become fulfilled when we work. As Jesus said, ‘My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.’ When we work we experience God in a new way. It is vital to Christian life. Getting turned on to work and turned on to Jesus is somehow linked.”

Here is the vision and mission statements of Andrew’s chicken operation:

NEW HORIZONS MOZAMBIQUE
VISION: We are God’s raving fans as we do business and farming His way
MISSION: We link with rural farmers in our community to produce THE lowest cost chicken in the world.
VALUES: We do everything:
· With Excellence
· On Time
· Without Waste
· With Joy

These are not idle statements. While I was there I met a farmer who raised 1.5 kilogram chickens in 28 days with a 1.97 food to meat conversion ratio. This is world class production.

Now that’s tending the flock!

Moving On: Mozambique

(Pictured above: view from the hotel room in Nampula.)

Today I left Tanzania and my many good friends and headed to Mozambique. My friend Kamala sent me a text message saying that he ‘had lost a leg’ to express the loss of my departure. It is a feeling I felt towards many. It was hard to say goodbye and move on.

Steve Snider joined me in Tanzania and off we went to Mozambique, directly to the south.

(Pictured below: panorama of the countryside near Nampula, Mozambique.)

Friday Find: Miami Bar

(Summary: story of eating out one night in Tanzania.)

Kamala is my favorite driver and a very good friend.

One night in Iringa we were in meetings until late. Then Kamala and I went to dinner. Since it was late, none of the regular restaurants were open so we walked from the hostel to the Miami Bar. Spoken in Kiswahili you wouldn’t recognize it as named for the glamorous city of Miami Vice. Sorry that I don’t have any pictures of the place, I didn’t think to bring my camera.

Although Miami Bar is the hopping place in Iringa you won’t find any South Florida art deco or shiny chrome here. There were four rooms and the center one was a kitchen with billowing smoke filling the room from a charcoal fire. Typically, you manage the food and the drinks separately in local restaurants so you need to meet with the cooks. The food gets much discussion. I understood only a little of Kamala’s negotiation with the chefs. We ordered the house specialty – a pile of goat meat char broiled.

He showed us a partially cooked leg and we chose how much to cut off and finish cooking. We watched the bone be hacked apart, the meat get carved, treated with lemon juice and salt and tossed back over the fire. Satisfied, we went to find a seat.

The place was pretty full so the waitress woke a sleeping patron to throw him out and make space for us. He resisted. A second waitress joined the battle and both voiced loudly their displeasure with much shouting. With the commotion a small man appeared, presumably security, and the sleeper suddenly became more alert and found the door without a word. Kamala, my driver explained that in bars it is fully acceptable to go to sleep and leave in the morning as long as there is room. Triumphant, I was given the pleasure of the once restful, now warmed chair cushions. I didn’t want even want to lean back.

The place was about 95% men; a lot of them were wearing business suits. The room we were in was arranged with cushioned chairs around low tables. There were a couple of TVs showing sporting events, and some music in the background. I noticed as the meal progressed that a couple of the women who were sitting with men would get up and leave with one. And then come back and give the index finger “come hither” and another man would get up and go to her and they would leave for a while. You draw your own conclusion. I drank my ‘Ndovu moto’ (warm Elephant Bull brand beer).

After the first beer was finished, the meat arrived by chef special delivery. Another man came with the requisite pot of water to wash our hands. Then we ate the goat meat with a second beer. Goat meat is actually really good. I’d recommend it to anyone. We had a sauce of pili pili (hot peppers) on the side prepared by the chefs with lemon juice, salt and finely sliced peppers. It is a fire hot, burn your lips, tongue, throat and sinuses sauce. Don’t touch your face – especially anywhere near your eyes – after you’ve dipped your meat in this sauce. Actually, this is true until about the third or fourth washing of your hands with soap. I know from experience.

Kamala said that it was a nice place. I like Kamala a lot.

Here's a picture of Kamala (the mechanic) trying to help a boy fix his bicycle. Unfortunately the only tool we could find was a rock:

Food Part 10: Traders

(Note: this is a continuation of a series. To start at the beginning go here: http://cheetahdevelopment.blogspot.com/2009/06/food-part-1-farmers-markets.html

(Summary: the value chain break in the maize food process is identified as being connected to negative incentives for traders.)

We’re on a mission to solve an important puzzle: unlocking the mysteries of hunger in Africa. There’s not a shortage of food but people are hungry. To understand, we’re drilling into one part of the value chain of maize in one region of Tanzania.

So we’ve looked briefly at the maize farmers, traders, and mills. We see that nobody
trusts anybody. That’s very counterproductive to making a value chain work and clearly part of the problem. We also see that the farmers can’t sell their product and the mill can’t buy enough.

(Pictured: the shelling of maize by beating it with a stick on a table of open branches.)


There is enough dysfunction that everyone has some blame in the problem. But notice that the farmers are growing enough and would like to sell more. Also notice that the factories are big enough to buy more and have excess demand. So the farmers and the factories are doing their job at least beyond the capacity of the current system. Therefore, at least for the moment the heaviest part of the blame needs to be placed at the feet of the traders. So let’s take a more careful look at traders.

Traders fill valuable links in value chains in nearly every industry. It’s kind of neat that as a factory you can open your doors and not worry about sourcing your inputs or distributing your products. Hundreds of traders will show up with baskets, bicycles and trucks filled with the inputs you need and ready to distribute your product. The factory doesn’t have to lift a finger and invest in these solutions.

There are thousands of traders and they are often operating in the informal sector of the economy as unregistered businesses not paying any taxes. Many people want to be traders because many traders are wealthy.

Without traders, the economy wouldn’t work at all. They are a vital part of how things get done.

On the other hand, we see that trader model doesn’t work to meet the needs of the value chain, at least in the case of this maize value chain in the Iringa area.

It isn’t that the traders aren’t doing their job, even though I implied that. Actually, they are doing their job very well. They are responding to the incentives that are at work in the system.

It turns out that the trader is maximizing their profit. As good capitalists, they want to buy at the lowest price and sell at the highest possible. Here’s some of their strategy:

#1: Buying Low

The trader can buy at the lowest price if the farmer is also a borrower. As we have discussed elsewhere in this blog, these money lending schemes are common across the developing world. In this maize example, the trader loans to the farmer either the seeds or the capital to purchase seeds. The terms of the loan require the farmer to sell their crop to the trader – at a very low price. The trader wins three ways: they have a pre-negotiated right-to-purchase, they have a lower price, and they make money on interest on the loan.

And they win a fourth way: they keep the borrower poor enough that they never break the cycle and so they are trapped indefinitely.

Clearly the trader benefits substantially from such an arrangement. Why would a farmer ever agree to such an arrangement?

Easy answer: they don’t have a choice.

Life in the developing world is much more precarious than in the developed world. For example, even a small illness can wipe out one’s life savings to buy medicine. One’s saving includes next year’s seeds. And illness and death are not uncommon.


(Pictured: a maize farm in front of the mountains.)


All a trader need do is find someone who has suffered a setback and requires a loan to continue. As you can imagine, needy people are common in the poorest nations on earth.

(This is one of the reasons why microfinance is so needed in the developing world. Microfinance can help to prevent these endless cycles of poverty.)

There are important things to notice about this situation:
· The trader has an added incentive to buy low – extra low. Farmers that are well off are much less likely to be caught in such a cycle of money lending.
· In more helpful value chains, buyers want their sellers to be productive and healthy. This gives them a supply side that they can count on. This is not true in this value chain.
· It is not surprising that there is strong distrust between traders and farmers. Indeed, many farmers hate traders because they have been caught in a money lending cycle or their neighbors have.
· Since the trader is buying at such a low price, the farmer has added incentive NOT to sell. Of course the negotiations are long. Of course the farmer doesn’t like the buyer – doesn’t even want to sell to them. How can there be a successful negotiation when the parties dislike and distrust each other?

#2: Selling High

How does a trader sell at a high price? Another easy answer: supply and demand. If the factories had all (or close to all) the input they needed then the price would fall. Traders keep the factories desperate for input because that keeps the price at its highest. This explains why factories are operating consistently at 20-40% of capacity. This is the line of desperation where the price will be highest. They are still in business and can buy the product. Any lower and they fail (many do). Any higher and they become more independent, more profitable, and the price falls.

There is no need to have a conspiracy to set prices among traders. The numbers will speak for themselves.


Why are maize mills unable to source their maize from the nearby farmers? Puzzle solved!

This is an example of a broken value chain. It isn’t a lack of food that is causing hunger; it is broken value chains.


Next: The Invisible Hand


To continue this series go here: http://cheetahdevelopment.blogspot.com/2009/07/food-part-11-the-invisible-%20hand.html

Agreement with University of Tumaini

I am delighted to report that today we signed with Tumaini University! This is truly a big deal. Tumaini, which means ‘hope’, is one of the leading universities of Tanzania.

The "micro" part of Cheetah's micro venture captital model depends upon university assistance to help hold costs down and allow for micro sized investments. Because of the high cost of investment management, venture capitalists typically invest $2 million or more. Therefore, Cheetah's model of making $5000 to $500,000 investments is a real breakthrough. It takes strong support from universities to make this happen, including business plan competitions, student interns, and professorial assistance.

When I visited with officials from Tumaini in Iringa a couple of weeks ago, the declined to sign the agreement I presented. They said that they wanted to make their commitments broader and firmer in writing. They are so convinced of the value of the Cheetah programs, the impact they can have, and the link to the University’s mission that they wanted to make their commitments very clear.

Therefore, they assigned a committee to work on the agreement. When it was ready they made the eight hour trek to Dar es Salaam. Here is a picture of the Assistant Provost Rev. Dr. Richard Lubawa (center), and Mr. Thomas Mwanayongo the Dean of the Faculty of Law (left) and myself, Raymond Menard shortly after our signing.

This is really a big deal for Cheetah! Thanks, Tumaini University!

Food Part 9: The Hunger Puzzle

July 7, Tuesday
Food Part 9: The Hunger Puzzle
(Food, Agri-business)

Pictures, Agriculture, 6/18 –Maize mill 2

(Note: this is a continuation of a series. To start at the beginning go here: http://cheetahdevelopment.blogspot.com/2009/06/food-part-1-farmers-markets.html

(Summary: a review of the maize value chain including farmers, traders, and maize mills raises the question of why doesn’t the food value chain work.)

So in our last installment we were talking about broken value chains and how solving them is not only a good business opportunity, it’s also the way to change thousands of lives. We were taking a look at the food value chain in particular because it is the source of many of the problems of hunger and poverty in Africa. The core problem isn’t a lack of food because 40% of the food goes to waste. The core problem is that the value chain doesn’t work.

As an example, we were drilling into one part of the value chain that is broken. Maize is a key staple in many parts of Africa. In the Iringa area, which is one of the largest maize producing areas of Tanzania, the maize mills producing flour struggle to get enough maize to run their operations. This seems strange because Iringa is surrounded by fields of maize in every direction.

Understanding this puzzle helps to unlock part of the mystery of why there is a problem with hunger when there is plenty of production.



(Pictured: maize farms in the village.)

The Maize Value Chain
Each of the maize mills tries to source their maize in the surrounding villages. They either buy from traders or act as their own trader to purchase the maize. A ‘trader’ is a type business person that is common in everywhere in the developing world. The traders are middlemen that buy and sell throughout value chains in nearly every type of industry. Indeed, they are often the only links between many parts of the value chain.

Drilling into this small segment of the maize value chain provides an example of the roles that traders fill. I took the time to meet with traders, too. In Iringa, the maize traders (often trading in a variety of agricultural products) go into the villages and negotiate with villagers to purchase their farm goods. This can be a frustrating experience for a trader. In time honored African tradition, the trader has to go through a negotiation that may last a half hour and result in no purchase. They do this from shamba (farm) to shamba, slowly acquiring the goods they are seeking to trade. I’ve been told that may take a whole week to fill one truck. The traders say that this is a frustrating process and you can’t trust the farmers. Makes you feel bad for the traders, right?

Why does it take so long for traders to fill their truck? Remember that in just one village, Ilambilole, there is 2000 tons of maize production.

So let’s take a look at the farmers. In the negotiation the farmer is likewise frustrated. They find that the trader is trying to buy their crop at about or below cost. If they are selling a crop that might have a little shelf life like maize or rice, the farmer knows that the lowest price is right at harvest when there is abundance and as time passes the price will rise. The farmer has the crop, thus is eating, they are selling their excess and therefore can afford to wait. Why sell your crop if you’re not going to make much on it?

Over the course of the year, the farmer can see an increase in maize prices of about 30%. The food factory will see an increase of about 100%. The trader enjoys the spread. The farmer still loses because without proper storage the maize crop will deteriorate about 30% - or about as fast as the price goes up.

By the way, the farmers say the same thing about the traders: “You can’t trust them.” For some the hatred of traders is intense. We’ll take a look at this in a bit.



(Pictured: a maize mill store front.)

So let’s take a look at the mill owners. They say their number one problem is getting enough input. Clearly, the traders are not delivering enough. The mill owners have a few choices. I have seen all of the following tactics used:
1. The mills can buy from the traders. Some larger mills are dealing with hundreds of traders.
2. The mills can become their own trader and go direct to the farmers. This is a huge project but some undertake it. It doesn’t provide big dividends because they become just one more trader wandering through villages. Anna Temu of Power Foods (featured elsewhere in these blogs) is considered an expert on farmer relations because she is dealing with thousands of them. Even when she tries to create enduring, helpful relationships with farmers, traders may step in take the crops out from under her. Proof that it’s not working: she could double her sales instantly if she could get more input.
3. The mills can go elsewhere and buy from a source that has a large supply. This is why one small mill in Iringa is going 600 killometers to Sangea to get maize.
4. The mills can go overseas for supply. I am told that the large grain elevators in the port city of Dar es Salaam are filled with grain from the USA, Canada and elsewhere. The need to find an aggregated source explains this importation of grain in a country that has an excess.

(There does seem to be inadequate production of soybeans, millet, and wheat. Actually, this failure in the value chain explains that, as well. Farmers that grow these ‘exotic’ crops are even more frustrated, often selling nothing.)

By the way, the mill owners generally don’t trust the farmers or the traders, either. How could they when they can’t keep their factories running?

This value chain puzzle remains unsolved.

I guess you’ll just have to read another installment of this series to find out why the value chain is broken.

To continue this series go here: http://cheetahdevelopment.blogspot.com/2009/07/food-part-10-traders.html