As a disclaimer: I do not currently know for whom I will vote in November and I am not necessarily advocating for Romney. Generally, politics disgust me. I try to stay out of the fray. Sometimes, however, I feel it is important to comment. This is one of those times.

I think there is a fundamental misunderstanding when you begin advocating that efficient capital allocation is a bad thing. Private equity and venture capital investors take enormous risks compared to other capital providers, such as banks. That is why private equity and venture capital investors typically expect higher rates of return — their ‘failure’ rate, or risk level, is comparatively higher.

Thankfully, the United States has a relatively stable government and business climate. We are fortunate that investors continue to believe the United States is a good place to allocate capital, especially growth capital. This allows companies to expand and provide livelihoods for employees and partners.

US tax revenue:               $2.17
Federal budget:                $3.82
New debt:                        $1.65
National debt:                $14.27
Recent budget cut:          $0.038

That’s a beautifully disgusting snapshot of the effect of fiscal irresponsibility over decades. If you want to check those stats, or for more information, visit: http://1.usa.gov/vs6GXl

Now consider how much of a difference that $.038T cut will make. Not much. Especially when you consider the net present value of unfunded future liabilities associated with Medicare: $36.4 trillion, and Social Security: $15.1 trillion. http://1.usa.gov/v34vPY

That’s a total net present value of $51.5 trillion in unfunded future liabilities associated with only social security and medicare, in-case you are counting (presumably everyone except our political leaders). That’s a serious cash flow problem when annual tax revenue is $2.17 trillion.

Paying off these obligations would cost about $440,000 per household. I hope you have an extra $500,000, because Uncle Sam needs it to support his habits.

Recall that GM filed for bankruptcy for similar reasons (i.e., decades of mismanagement which led to assets of $82.2 billion against liabilities of $172 billion which led to chapter 11). http://econ.st/ssWfBK

It may still be possible to turn around USA Inc. http://www.kpcb.com/usainc/ But, fiscal discipline, lean management and unity, all of which seem outside the bounds of polarized US politics, are desperately needed. New Year’s resolution, anyone?

JTV
Raleigh, NC

Good luck!

CHIBUTO, Mozambique – Moringa[1] filled the health fair last Saturday in Chibuto. In addition to the normal booths focused on such things as blood donation, blood pressure reading, and HIV and malaria testing, there was, for the first time, a moringa booth. Workers from a Millennium Village located on the outskirts of Chibuto organized the moringa booth to introduce this highly nutritious plant to their fellow citizens in Chibuto.

Mozambicans strode curiously up to the table to learn how to incorporate moringa into their daily lives. Moringa soup and salad was made on-site, and the Millennium Village[2] workers convinced fellow citizens of the nutritional value of adding moringa to their diet. The Millennium Village workers sold small moringa trees for roughly $1 USD and encouraged community members to buy, plant, and spread the word about moringa. Marketers sold bags of ground moringa leaves, and showed community members how to mix this powder into their tea or almost any meal to increase nutrition. Finally, they demonstrated how the seeds could be used to purify water. Many Chibuto citizens left the health fair with moringa plants, powder, and important new knowledge to increase their health.

In addition to the work the Millennium Village has done in extolling the virtues of moringa, numerous community-based and non-governmental organizations have, over the past two years, began to focus on the health and nutrition benefits of moringa.

Gracey Uffman

Peace Corps Volunteer, Health Sector (2008-2010)
Chibuto, Mozambique
September 21, 2010

[2] Millennium Villages are designed to introduce innovated technologies and techniques to improve community health in rural areas of the developing world, in hopes of achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. For more information on Millennium Villages, please visit: http://www.millenniumvillages.org/aboutmv/index.htm. For more information on the Millennium Development Goals, please visit: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/.

Two and a half weeks ago, I was at a wedding rehearsal dinner for my longtime friend, Daniel. I ended-up at a table at which I knew no one. As it happens, it was not long before the lady to my right began to inquire as to how I knew Daniel, my profession, where I lived, and on and on. After telling her that Daniel and I grew up best friends, and just as I mentioned I had recently returned from two years of work in Ethiopia, she blurted something to the effect of, ‘Ethiopia! I thought there was nothing there except starvation.’

She was a nice lady, and I am sure she did not intend to offend. This, unfortunately, has not been the first such comment of this nature since my return. Many people automatically assume the only work I could possibly have been doing in Ethiopia was missionary work or food aid relief. It blows their mind when I tell them that, among other things, I worked with an Ethiopian owned start-up focused on manufacturing appropriate technology, and small-scale renewable energy devices.

Most of this distorted view, I believe, stems from less than thorough journalism, which fails to connect the majority of Westerners with anything other than a superficial knowledge of developing world economies, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Two recent examples highlight my point – one from the Lens blog of the NY Times, and one from National Geographic.

On the Lens blog of NY Times online I discovered, ‘Unsung Allies Battle Starvation in Africa,’ submitted by Karly Domb Sadof. The cliché title was enough to persuade me to click on the link.

Ms. Sadof used the space to highlight, ‘Frustration,’ a photojournalism piece by Marcus Bleasdale, which documents the work of Médicins Sans Frontièrs and others treating malnutrition in Djibouti. Frustration is part of a larger work by Médicins Sans Frontièrs and VII Photography to bring attention to the 195 million people globally suffering from malnutrition (http://www.starvedforattention.org/about.php).

Certainly, the photos were jarring, intriguing, heart-breaking. There is little doubt Médicins Sans Frontièrs is a highly dedicated, professional organization, which has, for a long time, provided high quality medical care to those in need.

Mr. Bleasdale, the photographer, was quoted, ‘I don’t take pictures because I like pretty pictures. I take pictures because I am concerned about what is happening in the world and I want people to understand it.’

I do not question Mr. Bleasdale’s motives, nor his talent. Neither do I question the work of Médicins Sans Frontièrs. Simply, I would challenge Mr. Bleasdale to likewise consider how he might portray the economic opportunities presenting themselves in sub-Saharan Africa. For people to understand, they need to see the entire picture.

And there is more to the picture. The Wall Street Journal, in Bulls Eye on Africa: Carlyle Chief Sees Upside, reported on July 2, ‘Speaking at a conference on emerging markets in Geneva on Wednesday (June 30), David Rubinstein, co-founder and managing director of Carlyle Group, said Africa stood alone in terms of growth potential.’

This past March, I grabbed a copy of National Geographic in a European airport. Opening the magazine as I settled in for the old trans-Atlantic hop, I delved into, ‘Africa’s Last Frontier,’ written by Neil Shea and photographed by Randy Olson (http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/03/omo-river/shea-text). Mr. Shea and Mr. Olson sought to highlight the plight of the indigenous tribes of the Omo Valley.

Again there was no lack of quality in the photography – the photographs were stunning, vivid, alluring. They depicted a wild, vast frontier, in which people kept traditional dress and customs, waged war with neighboring tribes, celebrated bravery and victory in battle, and ornamented one another (men and women alike) with scarring marks. The reporting provided snippets of life in the Omo Valley which, even having lived and worked throughout southern Ethiopia (though not explicitly in the Omo Valley – I missed my chance to travel there for well surveying last December), I was not entirely aware of.

Unfortunately, once again, I would imagine far more people read this romantic piece in National Geographic, which reinforced stereotypes of Africa – indigenous people, traditional dress (or lack thereof), constant tribal warfare, persistently surviving on the margin – than saw the slim, dull column in the Wall Street Journal highlighting the perceived opportunities abounding in Africa.

Job creation, business development, and foreign investment are every bit as integral to development as providing food aid relief, health care, and quality education. Aid, as we all know, is not sustainable long-term; at some point the private sector must begin to drive growth. This is slowly, but surely, beginning to happen in sub-Saharan Africa.

Journalists, your work is too important to neglect highlighting economic opportunities alongside challenges to development in sub-Saharan Africa. Help individuals, investors, and businesses to understand and see the entire picture. There is more to it than malnutrition, virgin frontiers and tribal conflicts – there is real, private sector growth taking hold.

JTV
Norwood, NC

SABG, Dorcas, and Practica have developed the Fit for Purpose Energy Box to provide rural health clinics a reliable, renewable, and affordable source of electricity. The Fit for Purpose Energy Box provides sufficient steam for sterilizing medical devices, cooking, and laundry, and sufficient energy for refrigeration and lighting. SABG will manufacture, install and maintain the Fit for Purpose Energy Box.

Currently, Dorcas Aid International is offering to cover the expense of drilling a well and installing a pump if an organization decides to purchase the Fit for Purpose Energy Box for a rural health care unit. The cost for the Fit for Purpose Energy Box for a health care unit, plus installation, will be about $10,000 USD. This $10,000 USD investment includes:

Functional specifications HCU

The product will deliver:

• 3 hours of light per 24 hours for 50% of the bulbs.
• Lights for baby deliveries and other medical work.
• Sufficient electricity for a small TV.
• Sufficient cooling for 110 liters of medicine for 48 hours with no sun.
• Steam (solar thermal energy) for 1 time per day sterilization of a 40-liter autoclave, 10kg food to be cooked, 20 liter pasteurized water for drinking, and 50 liter of 100 degrees C water for laundry.
• Easy to use / operate by medical staff or guards.
• Maintenance and repair warranty including twice a year technical check.

Technical specifications for the HCU

• Solar PV system output 12 V, panel Wp 220, including batteries 2x100Ah.
• If applicable 10 m high windmill generating Ah 0-200 per day.
• Solar dish collector 1.4 m diameter on a frame, automatically adjusted to the sun
• 10 LED lamps 5 Watt (50W traditional) including fitting.
• 10 LED lamps 3.5 Watt for veranda (30W traditional).
• 2 LED lamps 30 Watt (300Watt traditional) for medical work including stands and fittings.
• Electric refrigerator, cool box type 110 litre.
• Small TV.
• Adaptation of electrical installation.
• Connected to adapted autoclave.
• Connected with valves to devices for cooking and laundry.
• Pipes and valves being thermally insulated.
• Cooking device

If you or your organization is interested in providing clean water and electricity to rural health posts and/ or rural health clinic units in Ethiopia, please contact Selam Awassa Business Group at selamabg@ethionet.et. To learn more about Selam Awassa Business Group, please visit www.selamawassa.org.

JTV

[2] UN country profiles, 2006/07 estimate, http://www.unethiopia.org/About_Ethiopia.aspx

[3] Study on the Energy Sector in Ethiopia, September 2008, Embassy of Japan in Ethiopia

As previously mentioned, ‘According to Trees for Life (www.treesforlife.org), gram for gram, dried moringa oleifera leaves contain 10.5X the amount of Vitamin A as carrots, 16.5X the calcium of milk, 15X the potassium of bananas, 8.5X the amount of protein in yogurt, and half as much Vitamin C as an orange.’

Enjoy, and please let me know if you’re interested in purchasing some moringa powder from Ethiopia.

Selam,
JTV
Norwood, NC

I went to the Somali region to scour the landscape for moringa stenopetala trees. Unfortunately, the only place I noticed any moringa stenopetala trees was inside a fenced compound in Filtu. A development worker, who was passing through, told me these trees were planted as forage for the livestock, but I was unable to further verify this claim.

It was encouraging, at least, to see that the trees are capable of growing in the Somali region, which averages about 300mm/ year of rain.  Moringa is a hardy, drought resistant tree, whose leaves are believed to be one of the world’s most nutritious vegetables.

According to Trees for Life (www.treesforlife.org), gram for gram, dried moringa oleifera leaves contain 10.5X the amount of Vitamin A as carrots, 16.5X the calcium of milk, 15X the potassium of bananas, 8.5X the amount of protein in yogurt, and half as much Vitamin C as an orange. Moringa stenopetala, the variety native to southern Ethiopia, has not been as extensively tested as moringa oleifera, but is believed to be quite comparable nutritionally. The leaf powder can be used to boost general nutrition and immune systems, treat malnutrition in infants, and it also increases lactation in nursing mothers.

Furthermore, the leaves and stems provide highly nutritious forage for livestock. When moringa constitutes 45% of forage, studies have shown a 30% increase in weight gain among beef cattle and at least that level of increase in milk production of dairy cattle. [1] [2]

It seems there is potential to experiment with moringa stenopetala seedlings in the Somali region, to be used for both livestock forage and also to treat mal-nutrition during periods of drought or extended dry seasons.

In Konso, a town in the southern part of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, the locals intercrop their fields with moringa stenopetala and eat the leaves on a daily basis. The intercropping increases biodiversity, and the flowers on the moringa stenopetala trees also attract colonies of bees. The Konso people also use these fast growing and hardy trees to terrace their hillsides, thus preventing erosion and preserving the fertility of their fields.

If only more regions throughout Ethiopia, and the world for that matter, would adopt the advanced principles utilized by what some nationals consider the ‘primitive’ people of Konso. I would suggest the people of Konso are highly advanced in their knowledge of land management, nutrition, health and sustainability. These same practices can be put forth throughout Ethiopia in elevations below 1800m, and indeed have potential to positively impact the Somali region.

JTV
Awassa, Ethiopia

A few pictures from this trip will be posted shortly to Lamp Post Photos (link at the right).

[2] ‘The Potential of Moringa Oleifera for Agricultural and Industrial Uses’ by Foidl N., Makar H.P.S, and Becker K. Nicarugua, 2005.

Aaron White of Samaritan’s Purse, Steadman Harrison of the Center for Creative Leadership, and I were in Gambella to conduct a Leadership Essentials for Peace training. A number of NGOs, in conjunction with government officials, are working in the Gambella area to diffuse tribal conflicts and provide relief to internally displaced persons. Staff members from ZOA, Samaritan’s Purse, Pact Ethiopia, the UN, and government officials attended. The workshop was designed by the Center for Creative Leadership as part of their Leadership Beyond Boundaries initiative.

On Friday, day two of the workshop, I was responsible for leading a session on the learning curve and what it means to constantly seek, and master, new challenges and skill sets. I used a quote, which I first heard from Ryan McCoy, to get the idea across – ‘There is no growth in the comfort zone and no comfort in the growth zone.’

If you are not familiar with the idea of the learning curve, the following example may help. I’ll certainly not forget it.

After going over the idea of the learning curve, I asked if everyone understood me, and if others had examples to share.  Tesfaye, a Samaritan’s Purse employee, stood up and said he thought he understood. His example (recalled from memory, so not an exact quote) was:

When I was young my parents always told me that I would quit school after the 4^th grade to become a farmer. The fourth grade came and I convinced them to allow me to stay in school. By the end of 8^th grade, however, they had had enough. They said if I was going to stay with them, I was going to farm and not go to school. So, I decided to leave because I wanted to stay in school.

For me, at that time, home and family was my comfort zone. I had to make a decision to separate myself from my comfort zone to obtain an education. I did this because I value education highly. I know I wouldn’t be here today if I had stayed in my comfort zone in the 8^th grade.

Wow. What an example. And what guts that must have taken to make such a drastic decision at a young age. Think of what you were doing in the 8^th grade. I sure was not setting out on my own in order to pursue an education, I was fortunate enough not to have to.

Let’s all take a lesson from Tesfaye and continue to challenge ourselves while seeking and mastering new skills, and frontiers. There’s certainly no comfort in the growth zone, but it’s the only place in which we may ever hope to realize our potential.

JTV
Gambella, Ethiopia

For more information on the Center for Creative Leadership’s Leadership Beyond Boundaries initiative visit: www.leadbeyond.org

• Preferable to grind and dry in close proximity to the where the leaves are grown.
• Drying time: 3.5 days (but you could probably settle for 2 or 2.5).
• Yield depends on coarseness of grind. I have 2.9 kg of finely ground leaf powder, and 2 kg of less finely ground leaf powder that together were derived from roughly 40 kg of fresh leaves.
• Different methods of grinding: traditional vs. local mill vs. there’s probably a better way.

After arriving in Awassa with a truckload of fresh moringa stenopetala leaves, it was time to sort and dry the leaves. The optimal method, I believe, would be to sort and process the leaves immediately after picking and in relatively close proximity to the farm or farms from which the leaves were sourced. When you transport moringa, you certainly don’t want to pay the expense of transporting fresh moringa long distances, as it is much heavier than the leaf powder (finished product). Moreover, it is better to process the leaves fresh from the tree, rather than transporting before hand.

Unfortunately, we had to transport the fresh leaves the long 300 km to Awassa. The leaves were picked between approximately 4-7 am on Thursday morning, November 5^th. We did not go directly, were not in a hurry, and arrived back in Awassa the evening of Friday, November 6^th. Saturday was spent sorting the leaves and then laying them out on a large tarp in a warehouse style building to dry. It was excruciatingly slow work picking the leaves from the stems (again, something I believe could be done much faster and easier when picked fresh – possibly you only pick the leaves the first time through, and then go back and cut the green stems back in order to keep your trees at the proper harvesting height).

The leaves dried until Wednesday, November 11^th. On Wednesday we then had a worker grind the leaves with the traditional, large style mortar and pedestal (pics of this process will soon be posted to Lamp Post Photos, link at the right). This yielded about 5.5 kg of ground leaf powder. Desiring a finer powder, I decided to take 3.5 kg to the local mill to see if they could grind it finer.

Yared and I had such severe allergy attacks while in the mill I thought we may both have to leave for lack of air. If it had taken five minutes longer, I am sure I would have had to leave. The air was full of dust, which was actually ground peppers, wheat, flour and anything else you can imagine that is possible to grind.

The owner of the mill, Ato Getu, is quite a gentleman. He wore a top hat and had that gentlemanly look about him, and did not let me down. He took the time to change the filter in one of his old grinders to ensure that we would get the finest quality he could produce. Then, he ground my 3.5 kg for free. Generally, it cost around 5 birr to grind 20-30 kg, depending on the product.

After grinding the 3.5 kg had been reduced to 2.9 kg., but was of a finer consistency. Conducting personal taste tests, I prefer the finer consistency because it is less leaf like to consume – as far as texture is concerned. It is, however, unfortunate, to lose so much of your product in grinding. I am sure you could devise a system that would prevent losing this much product when sieving and grinding.

The next challenge is to research nutritional reports on ground moringa stenopetala leaf powder, and hopefully get the powder we have tested. If anyone has advice on where I may test the nutritional value, and properties of the leaf powder, please let me know. I will be stateside for a month around Christmas, and hope to visit university libraries at that time to see what past research has been produced. I have read some reports claiming that other than vitamin C, very little nutritional value is lost in the drying process. Further, the powder, gram-for-gram, contains much higher levels of nutrients because it is essentially in concentrate form.[1]

Many thanks to Ben Taylor, Yared Sisay, Water is Life International and Selam Awassa Business Group for all of the assistance.

JTV
Awassa, Ethiopia