Scam ... ?

A couple of months ago, we were approached by the representative of a Chinese company that wanted to buy Kisii soapstone carvings. We sent a price list and a few photos as examples of the work and they promptly put in an order for 16,500 items.

So far, so good. The order was quickly followed by a contract, written in poor English, but which was just about understandable. I made a few minor adjustments as as to make sure there was no loopholes caused purely by the misuse of English. I have to emphasise that this contract was drawn up by the Chinese with no intervention on our part. In it, they state that they will pay 15% of the total as an advance payment - before we do anything!

We signed it ans sent it back, expecting to receive a signed copy from the Chinese.

This is where things started to go a bit pear-shaped.

Them: "The contract has to be signed by your legal representative".

Us: " OK, this is not a problem. We know a lawyer in Kisii."

Them: "No, the contract has to be notarised by our legal representative in China". WHAT?

Us: "Fine, get the form signed then."

Them: "You have to pay the fee."

Us [smelling a rat]: "How much?"

Ch: "$1780.00"

Us: "We can't. We don't have the money."

CH: "Come to China and discuss it, face to face."

So it goes on. I explain that we do not have the money to pay for the notarisation, nor a trip to China.

We are no closer to a resolution after several weeks of to-ing and fro-ing of emails and letters. I have contacted the Dept. of Commerce near to these potential clients, but i can make little sense of what they said.

If we win this contract (if indeed, it is not a scam), this will set up River Cottage Kenya, the orphanage and other community projects, as well as paying a fair price for the carvings. It would be a win-win situation for a little corner of Kenya.

If we win the contract ...

Can the bubble be repaired?

OK, so the cyber café is going rapidly downhill due to the recent lack of pedestrian traffic in our part of town.

So, what do I do with a well qualified IT guy and six fairly modern PCs?

Then I read a blog (don't we all?) tagged as "A Resource Center for Kenya Entrepreneurs. Get the information, step-by-step guides and essential tools that you need to start and build a successful small business in Kenya."

Hey! That's Us!

In a previous life, I taught IT to adults here in the UK. OK, I'm not a trained teacher, but apparently I was quite good. I ran three courses, basic, intermediate and advanced, and the students kept coming back. The college didn't like me much because I was, er, unconventional, off the wall, a loose cannon. But people kept on paying the tuition fees, learned how to use a computer and they were happy. So I must have been doing something right. And I didn't get fired. I left.

So, why don't we do that again? we have the promises, we have the computers and we have the knowledge.

Oh yes. I am stuck in the UK. I knew there was a drawback. Still, with my IT guy there and me here in the end of an Internet connection, it could work.

It just needs good marketing. Keep it cheap. Bums on seats. And somewhere in all that, mention a mzungu, that usually draws them in.

The Bubble has a leak ...

The best laid plans ... and all that. In my last blog, I was over the Moon about how clever we were in funding our community work by opening a business. A good idea in theory, as long as the tide of luck is running your way.

Ours isn't. We are located in a part of town that the council has decided to "clean up". That must be a good thing, you say. And I agree, as long as it doesn't drive the pedestrian traffic away from your front door, which this clean-up has.

I can't blame the council. I have always found Kisii a fascinating place, chaotic, dusty, shambolic even, but it has its charm. A big, new bus terminal was built, but no one ever used it, until now. The council has decreed that all buses, coaches and matatus must go to the station to disgorge their passengers.

So, at our end of town, which was a traditional if unofficial matatu stand is now virtually deserted, and so is our café.

I am not sure where we go from here.

Funding our work II

This was a wild dream a few months ago, a pipe-dream, a silly idea, total rot!

Not so now though. Things are afoot to actually make a reasonable income that will totally fund at least one project, and once that is started, if it is successful, that will help fund another, and so on.

We could be setting a trend. Whereas, many British charities have shops in the UK to raise money for work overseas, we are opening a business in the country where we are doing the charity work and creating employment at the same time.

I like this idea. I like it a lot. Let's hope it works, and that we can expand it!

Funding our work

We are not very good at getting people to donate funds to us. Yes, OK, when we have a specific need, like buying shoes for all the kids at the Mercy Gate Home, we managed it by collecting old mobile phones in the UK and selling them in Kenya. It was very successful and surpassed our best expectations.

But, raising funds to build River Cottage Kenya is a different matter. So, assuming that we are not going to get external funding, I have sunk some capital into starting up a business in Kenya, an Internet café to be precise. Vincent, Mercy Gate's director will manage it and draw a weekly or monthly salary. The rest (assuming there is any) will be put in the bank, and I will use it to start the River Cottage project when I next go over, probably in September. The income will also support two of the kids at Mercy Gate, Jojo and Benta, as I have already said that I will pay for their upkeep.

The actual shamba project itself doesn't need a lot of funding. What I really need is a vehicle to cart the materials to the plot, as well as so get between our three main sites, Kisii, Nairobi and Malindi.

We did have a little Toyota which wasn't best suited to our needs, but it was better than nothing. Unfortunately, someone turned it into a bonfire in January and we haven't been able to replace it.

So, the café has got to work, so that I can get our projects off the ground.

I don't know what an old 4x4 would cost, but it is more than I have.

More Mercy Gate Kids

On the last day of my stay in Kisii, I was introduced to a family of five orphans who were temporarily being housed by Pastor Liston.

As we were going to the plot for a party, the four eldest came along too.

The oldest of the five is Dominic, a very serious-looking boy.

He is about 14 and appears to look out for his younger siblings.

Once at the plot, I made him team captain for one of the volleyball teams, which drew him out.


Next in line is Mary.

She seemed to have no problem in mixing with the girls both younger and older.








Osando and Getembe are the next two.

Osando stuck close to Dominic for a lot of the time, until he felt more comfortable and Getembe was honoured - he was the only child that was allowed to touch Jojo's ball!

Last but not least is baby Kemuma, who did not come to the plot as the weather was a little chilly (by Kenyan standards), so she stayed with Pastor Liston.

Oil on Still Waters

I have seen and read about pouring or spraying mineral oil onto standing water to prevent mosquitoes from breeding, or more precisely, suffocating the larvae.

However, treating water holes with mineral oil sounds less than healthy for the cattle and goats that need to drink from these sources.

Has anyone tried using old cooking oil rather than mineral oil? I would think that animals would find it more palatable and less harmful.