I-GANDA UGANDA: Mityanna Day 1!

It started off not quite like any other day. The sky was ominous, and the rain came POURING down, and I mean pouring, all morning, lightning everywhere. At first I was wondering if this was suppose to be a sign that going to Mityanna was not a good decision, but I met with Celestine and all faith was restored. We waited some time for the rain to stop and had a nice long conversation over tea. You know, just two colleagues talking business as usual. The rain didn’t stop, but we decided to proceed to the taxi park to retrieve a taxi to Mityanna. The ride was very easy, and it amazingly took almost the same amount of time it takes for me to get to school within Kampala (that says something about the roads here).

Shortly after arriving, we were greeted at the home of the treasurer Gladys, which is where I will be staying this week. We then went on a small venture to a house down the street that energized itself through biogas!!! (aka cow poop). I must say, it was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. The contraption they have built basically resembles a digestive system. They have the first stage, which is where they stuff the cow poop underground where it then goes through a canal to the next stage. Then the poop is held underground forming bacteria which then causes the gas that is then put through a pipe that is connected to the house for burning. Then the poop shoots to the next stage, which is where it settles and is able to be dumped and used as fertilizer! The most sustainable damn thing I have ever seen!!! Then they showed us the inside of their house where the gas is burned. They are able to cook all of their food and light their house through this process. I wish I could give this incredible innovation justice with my explanation, but that was only part of my day, so I must move on.

We then attended a meeting with the ADAM members. At the meeting Celestine introduced me to the group, as well as gave a nice Luganda pep talk, which I had some trouble following as I’m sure you can imagine. The groups making soap also had a chance to brief about what they have begun doing with the production and selling of their soap, and what is going right or wrong. They claimed that the largest problem was participation, and that not everyone is on the same page for investment on the project.

After some discussion we proceeded to the liquid soap training session. Our technical trainer Robert (one of Celestines’ old students, also a jack of all trades) ran the session in Luganda, while I attempted to record all of the steps clearly. After the session, I continued to write out a cost-benefit and break-even analysis of making the liquid soap as opposed to the bar soap, and came to the conclusion that liquid soap would be much more profitable to produce. Celestine then explained the cost-benefit analysis to the group, and the group then debated if they could make both the bar soap and the liquid soap. They decided that they would participate in making both. Of course the day that they learn liquid soap making everyone was so eager to start, but as the weeks roll on I’m sure we will see a decrease in participation, which will disturb their ability to gain their investment back.

So, I think I am starting to figure out my job in this project. My first role is to motivate and encourage their involvement. Luckily, according to Celestine, in order to do this it will not take much. Just by being a muzungu or any outsider coming to monitor will help them realize they need to be working every day. Next, I will make sure they are consistent in their production so that they are able to give the best quality, and in turn able to make the most income for their families. I will also be there as a consultant if they ever have any questions on their business model. And lastly, because I will be traveling between Kampala and the village, I will be the ingredient donkey, transporting the materials necessary to complete their process. But my main hope, is that their reliance on me as motivation in the beginning dies out after a few weeks as they see the benefits that will come out of their participation and commitment.