Name Change

During the process of registering KCIS as a Kenyan NGO, we were "asked" to change our name to Kenyan Community Support Initiative [KCSI], which we have done although the logos and other image banners etc. will have to wait a while.

So are we now the Kenyan CSI?

Trees, Charcoal and Rain

Once again I read that Africa is suffering because people are cutting trees for fuel and to produce charcoal. Generally, the charcoal production is illegal, but this can be sorted out with a back-hander - no change there then.
From what I have seen and heard on my trips to Kenya, the solar cooker, which can be made for pennies, are very efficient, but do not fit in with the East African psyche, they take too long to cook a meal. From my observations, it seems that Kenyans like to prepare and eat with little or no gap in between. So they need an instant heat source to cook on, wood, charcoal, kerosene or, if they are modern (and can afford it) butane gas.
So, trees will continue to be decimated until an alternative instant fuel is found, that is acceptable to those who have to use it.
You can read an article on the BBC website here

I have been working on methane collector design for a while now and have come up with a version that is easy and cheap to construct, and easy to use.
My contention is that if butane is acceptable, then so is methane. The difference is that methane occurs naturally, and to collect it is a simple matter. It is FREE!
Looking at its use ecologically, burning methane forms water and CO2, which is a good thing. Why? Because methane is 20 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than CO2, so it is far more acceptable to have CO2 floating around rather than methane, isn't it?
But most people living in rural East Africa are not interested in that, they are too busy surviving.
So, what about the charcoal makers? They will not be happy seeing their livlihood disappearing as people convert to methane for cooking.
So, show them how to make methane collectors, install them and maintain them. Yes, they need maintaining. A 45 gallon methane collector will produce gas for about six months before it needs refurbishing. But, the by-product is fertiliser, just what is needed on a shamba.
So, to recap:

• Methane is free
• Using methane saves trees
• A methane collector produces fertiliser
• Using methane helps to eliminate a potent greenhouse gas that would normally escape to atmosphere.
• Methane is a clean fuel, so there are no particulates to irritate and inflame eyes and lungs.
• Charcoal producers can be easily trained to make, install and maintain methane collectors, so they will not lose their income. In fact, with a little persuasion, maybe they will even promote the use of methane.

Methane can also be used as an alternative to petrol, so it will run a generator or water pump.

What is the next step?
KCIS has produced a working model. We can produce free methane. We are willing to spread the word.
We have contacted various charities and NGOs who are supposed to be interested in saving trees and protecting the water catchment areas. What is their response?
NOTHING!
If you are interested in saving trees in Kenya, contact us. We will work with anyone who is serious about making people's lives better in Kenya, or even East Africa.
Also published at Baba Mzungu’s blog

Ready to Roll ...

We are ready to put some of our design concepts into practice - at last!

We have a small plot in Kisii with a hut on it and a river on the border, perfect for an experimental shamba.

Apart from actually growing food for the kids at the Twiga Home, we will be harvesting methane to be used for cooking and running a small generator. We will also be purifying water straight from the river, producing pure clean drinking water using a system designed to be built from scrap and cheap materials.

If we can get the raw materials, we will also be producing bio-diesel and a hydrogen production system for petrol cars (it doesn't replace petrol, but cuts consumption by up to 50%).

We are in the fund-searching phase of the operation. Anyone with ideas as to who we could approach, please let us know.

NGOs - What are they for?

In September 2007, I went to the Children's Home in Kisii to meet the people responsible for distributing insecticide treated mosquito nets (ITNs) to children. The home had not received any nets and we wanted to know why.

The meeting with the NGO, Merlin, was very successful and we were promised that the nets would be delivered as soon as possible.

When I returned to Kisii in March 2008, the ITNs still has no been delivered.

What are these people doing?

During the political crisis after the elections in December 2007, Kisii received 3,000 refugees. I was receiving daily reports from Vincent in Kisii and I was told that no aid was being sent to the town.

I contacted all the major charities and aid agencies, but no one even had the courtesy to reply, apart from Oxfam, who sent an email telling me that my email as being forwarded to the appropriate office.

The refugees have now gone, but while they were there, not one crumb of food aid was delivered to them. They relied upon the good will of the people of Kisii.

I know that ACIS is a small agency, but we do have people on the ground, people who can see what is going on. I passed this information on to the people who were supposed to be carrying out the aid programme, but it fell on deaf ears.

Who do these people think they are?