Amashishini can do mangalisayo things: A visit to the Xhosa Culture

By Gonzalo • Published on January 5th, 2009 • Leave a Comment

Amashishini (Business) can do mangalisayo (amazing) things: A visit to the Xhosa Culture

I had the opportunity to meet a woman that is making amazing things for her community, promoting the Xhosa culture of South Africa. Xhosa is one of the native groups in South Africa (Nelson Mandela comes from the Xhosa region) and is also one of the eleven official languages in the country. The language uses different clicking sounds and one could identify a Xhosa from the different clicking on their speaking. There are thousands of Xhosa villages in Transkei or the Wild Coast of South Africa. One of these villages is Ngxingxolo, home of Mama Tofu.

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You are most welcome, Mzungu

By glen • Published on December 22nd, 2008 • Leave a Comment

On the ground
It’s official. I’m here, on the ground, in Kampala, and have been for 2 weeks. I’m enjoying the 25 degree heat and humidity– it’s like New Orleans in April all the time, although it (sometimes) cools down at night. A little.
And it’s “real” Africa. This is not South Africa or even Botswana. [...]

Solar: The Gift that Keeps on Giving

By irna • Published on December 22nd, 2008 • Leave a Comment

While visiting the Luhunga Secondary School in the Mufindi District of the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, I came to lucrative an income generating solar operation can be.

While evaluating potential schools for macrosolar installations, I pay attention to whether the school has the management commitment and business acumen to generate income which will maintain the [...]

Non-traditional Distribution Network for Solar Products

By irna • Published on December 22nd, 2008 • Leave a Comment

In the village of Ifakara, not too far from the tempestuous Kilombero River, I had the chance to visit the Ifakara women weavers. The women, part of a cooperative that provides an income source for women in the region, produce the famous Ifakara kikoi, hand-loom weaving worn as a sarong, body wrap, head-cover, or [...]

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Double bed deliveries by wheelbarrow: Felix Mukobeko is an ace at product distribution in rural Zambia

By janelle • Published on December 16th, 2008 • Leave a Comment

Felix Mukobeko is Zambian, 29, single, and a recent participant at our micro-solar production set-up workshop in Mumbwa (a small town which lies 150 km west of the Zambian capital of Lusaka).  His parents and older brothers have passed away, leaving Felix as head of a ten-person household.  Felix is a self-employed carpenter and joiner, [...]

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