2025 In Africa đ
From missed flights and lost luggage to life-giving connections and tangible impact, this yearâs Africa trip was the most challengingâand rewardingâyet.
đŤ Departed April 20 â Returned May 8 đŹ
Personal Note: My flight the last 3 trips has been: red eye SFO to Chicago, then and overnight flight to Ethiopia and then and AM leg on to whichever country we start from. This trip the flight out of Chicago was delayed 5 hrs (= 10hr layover) and that meant I missed my flight from Ethiopia to Nairobi. So I had an 11 hr layover to catch a flight leaving Ethiopia @1 AM. When I arrived in Nairobi I discovered my bags were lost. Finally I got to my hotel at 4 AM and had to be ready for a 9 AM meeting! Even the best case, US west coast to east Africa is 20hrs of flight time and after 6 trips this one was by far my worst, thankfully I was by myself.
The Trip đşď¸
For my 6th annual Africa trip it was 3 weeks long and visited 3 East African countries (Kenya, Zambia & Ethiopia) but it was different in several ways. I had different people with me for different visits, did Ethiopia on my own and only met with two groups for the first time.
đ Nairobi, Kenya. 5 days of meeting!
In case you wondered what they store, cow heads!
The purpose of this visit was to connect with vendors, educators and service providers in the âOff Grid Cold Storageâ industry. It has been documented that 75% of post-harvest food is lost to spoilage in the rural areas of developing countries. Additionally only 25% of Africaâs arable land is used for agriculture. With that said, as you drive through east Africa you see countless side by side produce stands selling the same products, all fresh, all sitting in the sun and a lonely person hoping you buy from them instead one of the other 30 vendors in the row.
Cold storage is not the complete answer, but if produce can be stored, these farmers can have an increased opportunity to sell more of what they grow over a longer period of time.
Additionally since the system is off grid the cost to store will be less than conventional cold storage.
For our visit Kyle Gaiser an engineer/system designer/partner from the SF East Bay and Hadijah Nantambi, Founder of EcoLife Uganda. https://www.ecolifefoods.org/ led and I kind of followed along! Kyle and Hadijah have been working on various prototype systems in Uganda. Having Hadijah with us was a treat and kind of rounded out our team. We had a wonderful time and found our âjust the 3 of usâ time was productive and fun.
With Baridi at the Burma Meat Market in Nairobi
Additionally We Met With:
đ Container World Africa (CWA)
Kyle and Hadijahâs first. Seeing how CWA has adapted/modified containers for a variety of uses was an eye opener. EcoLife has experimented with different types of structures, insulation and cooling systems. We agreed that a modified insulated container had advantages that made it a top choice, not the least of which is portability, cost and structure strength. CWA uses insulated sandwich panels that provide impressive insulation and have a durable interior surface.
đ Frozen Isle
I met the owner/founder Florence several years ago, she is connected with our friends at Kua Ventures (see below) in Nairobi. Her company employs about 40 people who process, cook and freeze vegetables for a large number of stores in Nairobi. Florence is a force! About 400 smaller famers deliver produce to her processing facility. Currently she has one 20ft Freezer and is buying a second unit, after that she will be adding a cooler to store incoming produce. We talked about cold storage and the challenges they face in the supply chain, produce storage and distribution to the retail stores.
đ CLASP
This NGO has a mission to globally improve the energy efficiency of appliances including cold storage units. They currently have a request for proposal for an off grid cold store demonstration installation. We reviewed this with them and discussed issues surrounding systems that EcoLife has been testing and using.
đToolKit Skills and Innovation Lab
https://www.toolkitiskills.com/
They teach welding, solar install, organic farming and business management skills. The spacious campus is always an amazing visit. We met with staff and students and toured the school. While we there, one of their students showed us a handwashing station that she designed and built.
đ ď¸ Designed and Built by the students!
With a small solar panel that supplied power to a sensor and switch.
Another treat was see the 2 20ft container we purchased for ToolKit last year, they have been outfitted and are being used!
đStrathmore University Energy Research Center
https://serc.strathmore.edu/
The University has a department just devoted to energy efficiency. We met for almost 2 hours and the group included representatives from 4 other campus programs. After the meeting we visited their energy lab, where they have a solar powered walk-in cooler! Great meeting and connections that will benefit our objective! Also in discussion, we offered to sponsor a summit/conference on Off-Grid Cold Storage and we plan to purse this.
đ Kua Ventures
The executive director, Peter Fry is a good friend and the board chair of this organization is a friend here in California. Small, emerging business across Africa are held back by the cost of capital. Banks generally charge interest rates of 18% or more for business loans and require collateral. One of the fundamentals of business fiancĂŠ is to never pay a higher interest rate for capital than the rate of return from your operation. Micro-Finance, groups provide small, short-term loans for companies in developing areas. Focused on fast growing mid-sized companies, Kuaâs model is to become a financial partner with shared values to take them to a thriving enterprise with a strategic future.
Super close to the Nairobi we did a game drive in the National Park
At the end of this week Hadijah headed back to Uganda, Kyle and I did a little site seeing and on Saturday night we delivered him to the airport and picked up my daughter Natalie! The following day we went to church and lunch with Peter Fry, (Kua Ventues) and that evening had a private cooking class, where we experienced and learned how to cook the traditional Kenya wedding feast.
The next day a tour of the National Park, Elephant Nursey and Giraffe Center. Friend and mentor John Gilpin joined us that evening for dinner and the next morning we caught a flight to Zambia
Fun with Jason, John, Metrinah and Natalie in Livingston with a couple of locals!
đ Livingston, Zambia (Victoria Falls).
We were joined by longtime friends Metrinah Mumba and Jason Miller (my regular Africa travel partner). Two nights along the Zambesi river, saw the falls, petted lions and cruised the river, before heading north to Lusaka the capital of Zambia and from there onto Luangwa.
đ Luangwa, Zambia
Is at the eastern edge of Zambia, along the Zambezi river where the Luangwa river flows into the Zambezi River. Mozambique is to the east and Zimbabwe to the south. No bridges, Luangwa is at the end of the road! Add this one to my list of unique places I have been!
Kenny Vines and his family were our reason for enduring the 13 hour drive!
The Vines are Southern Baptist missionaries and left the Texas/Oklahoma area to serve this part of Africa 16 years ago.
Kenny is a former Marine and wife Leslie is a medical doctor. Their 3 kids (ages 10-16) consider Luangwa home. They live in a regular house in a regular neighborhood and attend a small local church just like everybody else, they are part of community. They speak the local language; Zambia has 72 distinct dialects, this (and colonialism) has resulted in English being the easiest way to communicate across Zambia.
In Kennyâs Woodworking/Welding School
Kenny & Leslie with the crew
When we visit people in Africa, I explain that we are there to bless them, but are not sure how. Then we ask for the story of their work/presence and then maybe 3 challenges they currently face. Finally we toss them a few questions. Often the blessing comes just by listening and honoring them in where they are and what they are doing. Other times there might be a need or challenge that we can help them with. For this visit Iâd like to think that us just being there was a big blessing.
Kenny has constructed a 7,000 square foot shop where he teaches woodworking and metalcraft.
This property is currently being expanded and will include housing for village pastors in the region to stay on site and learn skills that will provide income for them as they serve in ministry in their local villages.
Additionally Kenny is a basketball coach at the local high school. His connection with the teams over the years has been a unique for him to connect with families and the community. And of note, he is also the animal control guy who gets called out when a lion, croc or hyena wanders into town!
Leslie lends her medical skills at the local clinic and hospital as needed and home schools the 3 kids. She told a story of being called in to stitch up a toe that was almost chopped off. Halfway through her stitching a dog wandered into the room, just to see what was going on!
We were there for 2 nights and during our visit I learned that there air conditioning system had not worked for more than 10 years. Eastern Africa for the most part is pretty temperate, but this specific area has high temps over 100F often and does not cool off at night. An opportunity to help them! And as things work out the day we left them we went to Lusaka to meet up with Metrinahâs brother, Nelson. Nelson just happens to own and solar/HVAC company and has already made arrangement with the Vine family to replace their system. Another blessing for them!
Jason and I agreed we want to go back and spend more time with the Vines and bring some friends to see this unique family in a unique place doing amazing work.
We did the 5 hour drive back to Lusaka, dropped off Jason so he could fly home, heâd been in Africa already 1 month. And from there drove north to Chitanda we visited a school and clinic, built by
đ Fountain of Life Africa
https://www.fountainoflifeafrica.org/
My first visit to this area was in 2017 and again in 2019. This community is located along the roughly north/south highway that bisects Zambia, moving mined materials south for export, primarily to China. Along this route there is electricity, but 10 miles either side, unless there is a large village, is not electrified.
Fountain of Life Africa, builds schools and clinics to full government spec and once they are up and running hands them over to the local municipal leadership, this work has greatly benefited the area communities.
From Chitanda we continued north to Kabwe, formerly a mining area it has a population of more than 200,000 people. Our friend Metrinah, founded and operates a company called
đ Full Stop Convenience
https://www.fullstopconvenience.com/ .
They find, train and places local people into jobs. Giving someone skills and employment in Africa is huge. So much has been done to provide education, healthcare, disease protection, clean water, safety and shelter, but without gainful employment prosperity cannot happen. Additionally, daughter Natalie is staying in Kabwe with Metrinah for a month assisting in business development. Already in a week, they have set up FaceBook, a website, reworked the contracts and flyers and are now exploring PR initiatives to promote the organization. Good stuff!
John Gilpin and I headed to Lusaka to catch flights, home for him and Ethiopia for me. It was a short 35 hour visit with 2 groups I know and really like.
đ LifeCenter Ethiopia
https://lifecenterethiopia.org/
September 2024 I first met this group, but before had been introduced and met Tamrat Layne, cofounder with his wife Mulu. Tamrat and Mulu have a remarkable story of exile, conversion, faith and reconciliation. I met with their leaders Amare and Hailu in Addis Ababa. We spent some time talking about the work they do primarily with widows and unsupported kids. Wonderful and effective work and a pleasure to just talk with them!
đ AHOPE for Children Ethiopia
https://www.ahopeforchildren.org/
Thanks to the National Portable Storage Association (https://www.npsa.org/) I presented them with a gift of $50,000 toward a new building they are planning and raising funds for! For the container association this is our first fundraiser and much of my time in the first 4 months of this year was spent reaching out to members about this opportunity for generosity. A great experience and we look forward to another worthy cause to support next year! In talking with Sidisse Buli, their Executive Director I learned one of the young girls I had met and remembered from our Septembers 2024 visit had sadly passed away. The AHOPE kids are HIV positive and depend on medication and good health/dietary practice to live, but even still they are fragile.
AHOPE Exec Director Sidesse and a few of the kids. Behind us is where the new building will be built!
