Be the Change Network

by George Grady Grossman

Takeo Province, Cambodia. On May 5th we awoke early with 44 bags of “Smart Choice Fuel” briquettes weighing 50 kilograms each - that’s 2200kg or 4850lbs. We hired Odom and his 2-ton “super truck” to transport us and the briquettes to Takeo Province.

It would be so much easier and profitable to sell our briquettes locally but when the forest is close and free it’s hard to convince someone to try cooking with a bagel shaped briquette at 500 Riel (13 cents) per kilo. The extremely poor always have more time then money. Every day I see people doing the darnedest things that take an incredible amount time so as not to spend a precious Riel.

We drive to Takeo province because that is where the trees are already gone. Here the rural poor often cook with cow dung or rice straw or woodsticks that arrive in vans from the mountains. Our briquettes are welcomed by our core customers. We arrive at our first village about 3:00pm, hop out, set up a stove and build a cooking fire. I watch. Curiosity brings people over; Yoen and Savin start telling the “Smart Choice Fuel” story: where they come from, how to light them, why to use them. We get questions, we get skeptics and we pass out brochures. Then we get sales.

First someone wants one bag. Then another. Yoen runs across the street to a client who bought a bag last trip. She would like one more as well. However, we have some customer service issues. One woman complains that the briquettes crumbled. We knew an early batch didn’t have enough binder (scrap paper) to hold the briquettes together. We offer her a credit and she buys another bag. I work at teaching Yoen and Savin the importance of customer service. Everyone must be happy. The customer is always right. Villages are small, people talk , our briquettes can’t afford a bad reputation.

Our next stop on Highway #3 is a large market area. The results are different. People are indifferent; more cook with gas. We only sell 2 bags.

We visit existing customers in the next village. One very poor family only uses them for special occasions, using cow dung for everyday needs. Some customers have only used a few briquettes. We review the lighting procedures. Some people bought a bag but missed the part on how to light them. Many complain about the smoke. I remind our crew to explain that lighting a briquette is like lighting wood sticks and charcoal or any other fire. It smokes before the flames kick in.

Just before dark we demonstrate to a man who has a lumber mill and sells charcoal. I figure this will be a tough sell. Most of our customers are women. Women do all the cooking and typically control the family money. Usually men just ask questions and then leave. Some bring back a wife who makes the decision. Part of our manager’s plan is for women from the production facility to travel and sell the briquettes. To my surprise, the man is impressed and buys a bag. I ask Yoen to make sure he follow up with him for feedback on the next trip.

The next morning we arise early again, going from village to village and stopping at the markets. I hear similar stories to the day before. I juggle briquettes to entertain the kids, silently thanking my Dad for this great skill. Often customers want me to deliver a bag to their house, others want a picture. It’s fun but hard work. A man who bought 7 bags on a previous trip now wants a refund. Yoen is perplexed. The man also sells charcoal. I start asking questions: Do you use the briquettes yourself? How to you demonstrate? Where are the briquettes now?

He complains the profit margin is not good. He makes 100Riel profit on charcoal. I ask how much charcoal costs? 700Riel. If we wholesale briquettes to him from 500 and he retails them for 600, the profit is the same. The problem is that the price is not much better than charcoal; people know how to use charcoal.

This is what I came to analyze, briquette sales points on both price a margin. How do we give this man incentive to sell our briquettes? Leaving out the environmental factors, the incentive must be financial. We spend a lot of time with this man and in the end he agrees to try harder. We agree to wholesale only to him as our exclusive vendor, and to make demonstrations to support his retail outlet. Learning the difference between training a vendor and selling to a customer is valuable experience for Yoen and Savin.

As the sun begins to set, we roll into a village where we have never sold before. We have 17 bags left and begin the demonstration. We sell one bag, then another, one women takes two. I count the bags, 12 left, 8 left. Then the yelling starts. A women claims she paid but Yoen doesn’t have her written into the sales log. I sense this could ruin everything. She yells more. Yoen talks faster. She claims she paid. I know enough about Cambodians to understand that this is a no win situation. Realizing Yoen may not be able to solve this, I finally step into the ruckus. He will need to save face and so will she. The selling has stopped.

Interestingly, at first this woman had been interested in becoming a vendor and had exchanged contact information. I told her we can only do business with people we trust, if you cheat us you will not be a vendor. Yoen translates and she begins yelling again. I interrupt and tell her I will give her a bag. This calms her down a little. I repeat my offer again. Finally she is silent. I tell her when we return to the office, we will compare our sales report with our inventory and our money and we will know if she is telling the truth or not. If she is right we will call her to apolgize. If we have proof she cheated us, she will not be a vendor. She stomps off and her bag sits on the ground. We sell another bag and finally we are sold out except for her bag sitting on the ground. It had been a selling frenzy. We are ecstatic and exhausted.

Savin introduces me to a man he says is in the military; the man understands why we are doing this and wants to know more. I tie the school, rural sustainable development and the environment together as best I can. He thanks me and hopes I will continue to help the people of Cambodia and the environment. He explains that in Takeo all the trees are gone….it used to be covered in forest.

Our conversation is interrupted by the horn from our driver, time to go.

The women who claims she paid arrives. Without a word she motions for the bag. Silently we hoist it onto her moto and she races off. I wish she had heard the conversation with the military man. Timing is everything.

by George Grady Grossman

Chrauk Tiek, Cambodia. Everything that happens at the Grady Grossman School seems to be a drama. Teacher Sa Tum has not returned to school after Khmer New Year - rumor has it he is off proposing marriage - what should be the consequence to his monthly bonus? Long discussions over cooking equipment for the workers at the briquette production facility. Everything is about money. In the mean time, I meet with Production Manager Bun Vanna to figure out how to dry briquettes in the rainy season while reviewing the entire business model. We discuss future income-generation and sustainable projects such as dry rice farming and cultivating chilies on the land behind the school.

Sometimes I just have to walk away from all the drama and discussion, and visit the classrooms, just too keep myself focused an why I am here. My favorite is first grade because they are learning the Khmer alphabet.

When I arrived with our Country Director, Yoen Soek, Training Coordinator, Savin Oeun and our guest Alexandra Daniels from Arizona, we were greeted by the new music class. It was drizzling so we crowded into the unfinished “Peter Pisay” Library for two traditional songs and dancing. I’m happy to find Riat, the blind boy, on the drum and the girls dressed in their fancy costumes. The dance was basic compared to what I have seen performed by the Cambodian community in the United States but it’s a start.

Unfortunately since our last visit our master musician and teacher, Em Lout, was forced to quit because of failing health. The three new music teacher came to work for us after we heard them play at teacher Bonna Lida’s wedding in January. After the music and introductions, the leader Mr. Lim requested more instruments. The class is expanding and more students want to learn to play. Another set of traditional instruments costs about $600 and the teachers are eager to turn this little band into an income-generating business for the school, hiring out for local weddings. There is significant local demand for this service.

Our production facility has 18 energetic workers who can produce about 400 kilos of briquettes a day in the dry season but rainy season productivity is hampered by lack of a drying facility. Since we are selling all we can produce, increasing production is a priority. The rainy season in Cambodia means it’s hot and rainy almost every afternoon or evening. Sometimes it rains all night. Drying briquettes is really a dance of the tarps. They come off in the morning, then on again, then off again, all day long as the rain threatens.

Our workers are almost all women and many are widowed or divorced. The rest are girls who are not married and at some point dropped out of school. Several couple walk about 3 kilometers to work everyday. Since it’s so far for many, they don’t go home for lunch and cook together as a group. Chanu, the informal leader of the workers, always comes up to me and starts speaking in Khmer. She seems to think if she just talks slower I’ll somehow understand. Once Savin translates I hear that the group would like some proper cooking equipment. They estimate it will cost about $90 and I suggest they make a written request. Well feed workers make happy workers but we also want to build a partnership so I ask them, “what will you contribute?” First I watch a look of horror on their faces as Savin translates, then there is much discussion. I keep hearing “bprum roy” over and over - 500 Riel. They decide everyone will pitch in 500 Riel, workers and managers alike, and I agree to contribute the rest. Sok Sarith, our assistant manager, signs the request and I hand over the cash thinking they will go buy it in the morning. Much to my surprise within an hour, as the suns sets and we are dragging tarps over briquettes for the night, all the new kitchen equipment arrives. The next day they invited me for lunch.

I met with Bun Vanna, the Smart Choice Fuel production manager, to discuss the long term feasibility of manufacturing briquettes. One of my goals is to shift more ownership of the project from us to the village. Eventually our involvement will simply oversee how profit-sharing supports education projects at the school. Ultimately we hope to create a model whereby all income generating projects at the school will support literacy and life skills education. More local support equals better teachers, better teachers equals a better education for more students. Our goal is for all students to complete a primary education. Some may go on to secondary school. Bun Vanna, without my prompting, proposes such a plan and I am delighted. The plan is…. he is coming to Phnom Penh to discuss it on May 8. So stay tuned.

My last night we had a rousing party of karaoke and beer. Luckily the blasting karaoke is only in Khmer and I don’t have to sing but I danced with everyone. Teachers, musicians, the school director, community leaders, workers, managers and many children all dance and sing and laugh. In Kari’s presentation she always mentions that the “relationship matters as much as the money.” This is that moment.

These are good people who have had a hard go stretching all the way back to the Viet Nam war. Some are former Khmer Rouge, some are Souy hill tribe people, some are from other provinces displaced after the war and came looking for a new home, and some came recently to illegally log in the Aural Wildlife Sanctuary. The problems can be enormous when you are trying to survive. At midnight I dance a wary jig to my room, sneaking away so as not to be pulled back on the dance floor. I’m exhausted and go to sleep. They party for two more hours.

By George Grady Grossman

Phnom Pehn, Cambodia. April 29, 2008 local time.

Cambodia has been a whirlwind of excitement for me on this trip. First it is the rainy season so every afternoon and night it rains as you’ve never seen in the American West. One night the thunder was crashing instantly after the lightning flash. Amazingly the power in Phnom Pehn never failed. Secondly, without Kari here to be my crutch, I’ve been forced to really work on my Khmer language skills and let’s just say I’ve gotten a lot of blank stares.

Today I met with Aurelien Herail, a biomass energy expert from GERES and Tong Chantheang, the General Secretary of the Training Unit of CEDAC. Along with Yoen Soek, our Country Director, and Savin Oeun, our Program Coordinator we discussed each of our organizations missions concerning renewable energy and biomass briquettes and ways to form partnerships. GERES offers us technical skill and research beyond our expertise and is willing to help test the quality our our briquettes. Third party independent testing will be valuable for marketing our “Smart Choice Fuel” as a viable alternative cooking fuel to charcoal and woodsticks. CEDAC has expertise to help us with the development of our training workshop. Although the particulars were not worked out the basis for working together has been established. CEDEC also wants to publish out story in their quarterly review called “Green Fire.” This will be more publicity for our alternative cooking fuel as well as our model of life skills supporting education.

Tomorrow I will be heading to Chrauk Tiek to spend 4 days at the Grady Grossman School. Supposedly the roads have been fixed since our trip in January. But only time will tell.

I am excited to meet the three new music teachers and see if the new “Peter Pisay” Library is complete. And the big question is how do we dry a briquette in the rainy season.

More to come so subscribe and stay tuned.

I have 9 beautiful faces leaning over my shoulder as I write this.   The girl to my right is named Srey Mom.  She is 13 years old and only in the third grade, having studied here for three years.  She started school when she was 10 and old enough to walk the 2 kilometers to this school.   She likes to study computer and English.  Judging by how close the girls are leaning in behind me, I’m guessing that class time behind the computer is quite limited.   At least the new super-capacity batteries I bought last year allow the solar panels on the roof to keep the two computers powered for 6 hours per day. Out of more than 400 students, only 40 are chosen for computer studies; you have to be the top of the class to get behind the keyboard.   We are bulging at the seams here, truly in need of another school building, or at least a library and extracurricular training facility.   The music class keeps their instruments piled in the library room and practices in the afternoon under the shade of the tree.  I love to sit with them and listen.   The music class is just as popular as the computer class.  They practice every day, even on Sunday.   I am contemplating buying the school director’s old house, dismantling it and resembling it on the land behind the school that I bought last year.   It could serve as a temporary home for the music class and library, until we can raise more money for another school building.
 
Before we jump that far ahead, however, we have to stay focused on the task at hand:  pulling together a briquette workshop, so that kids stop skipping school to chop down trees.    When you are working in a community with zero organizational skills, just making the necessary preparations for the workshop feels like it may do us in.
 
Sanu has had us working hard for 3 days to prepare for a community demonstration.  We’ve built a small shelter for our Briquette Workshop Training Facility.  The students have collected piles of dry bamboo leaves, rice husk, rice straw, scrap paper and cardboard.   Sanu 2 has been very busy welding the frames for the briquette presses, as Sanu 1 says that welded metal parts will compress better and last longer.   But we’ve impressed both our Nepalese experts with the strength, weight and cheap price of the local hardwood available and will create one briquette press with it.  That way our participants will know how to manufacture the necessary equipment completely out of locally available materials. We found a standing dead tree in the school yard to use - now if we could just find a working chainsaw.  You’d think those would be plentiful around here.  Every single day and night caravans of oxcarts travel the road with freshly sawn tree trunks – a completely illegal activity that is done with impunity right out in the open.    
 
We have a small but passionately committed group of local community members who showed up this morning to learn more about the curious little briquettes.  One man actually showed up two days early and has been volunteering his time to help us prepare the hardware; he has HIV and no job, supporting his family with 30 kilograms of rice donated by the Lutheran World Foundation every month.  Two monks from the forest pagoda came to see us and have committed to bring 4 members of their community to participate.   I was most pleased to see Tau Soka and her 6 month old baby in the group.  She is a twenty-year-old woman with four children who wrote the first letter last year when I asked the community to express themselves concerning their forest destruction problems.  Her brave letter ignited a campaign that sent 170 letters from this community to Voice of America, human rights groups and other media outlets. I learned later that her husband had quit his job as a policeman because together they had decided that they didn’t want to be involved in taking bribes.  Now she calls me “bong srey� for older sister.   A small amount of law enforcement resulted from our letter-writing campaign.  At least now there is some press living in the area.  The reporter from the local Mohoran newspaper spent time with us, going directly to the wood cutters in the forest to invite them to our training.   One wood cutter said he would come, but I didn’t see his face today.   
 
Sanu demonstrated how the piles of raw materials can be transformed into the briquettes which he burned in both the traditional claypot cooker and in the smaller tin stove we brought, specifically designed for the most efficient burn of briquettes.    It is definitely the people who are concerned about the forest who have shown interest in the briquette, but even they are skeptical about this curious new product.  Honestly, they just want a job.  Whoever participates in the workshop is guaranteed the job, either full day production with a salary or a half day with commission for selling briquettes in the afternoon.  But the business model is the least of our worries right now.   Getting the community mobilized, organized and committed to what we are doing is a constantly-evolving process.  Building the equipment, translating the manual and collecting and processing the raw materials will consume the rest of our week, and we have a bigger challenge on the horizon – getting the community to care about creating their own future.  This is a society too used to donor hand-outs.
 
It is easy to gather waste materials for free now, especially sawdust from the many lumber operations, but once local people see us create something of value from it they will want to charge. I am trying to convince Bun Vanna, our briquette workshop manager, to tell people we are performing a service collecting their waste materials to support their school.  The community contributes their waste, we turn it into a marketable product and use the profit to support teachers and strengthen the education opportunities for their children.  Bun Vanna and our school director understand the logic but are skeptical that the community will rally.   Frankly, so am I.  But step-by-step we must try to convince them that recycling their waste to support their school locally will offer a better future to all.   I have no idea if this will work. 
 
Ten people showed up to volunteer this morning, their labor committed in lieu of payment for the workshop.  It’s a start.  We need the local people to feel ownership of the project if it is going to subsist on its own.
Thankfully, we have the beautiful tunes from the music class that seem to quell my fears of the many obstacles we have to overcome.

Our sustainability plans for the Grady Grossman School are quite coincidentally at the cutting edge of international development. Sanu Kaji Shresthra, our alternative cooking fuel expert, has just won the runner up prize in World Challenge 2007, sponsored by BBC World, Newsweek and the Shell Corporation for his work introducing biomass briquettes and solar cookers to urban and rural poor in Nepal.

According to Sandra Wijnvelt, who collected the award for Sanu in The Hague, because of the media coverage, Sanu is now getting requests from all over the world to share his expertise. As luck would have it, we’ve been working with Sanu for months, and the Grady Grossman School is the first place outside Nepal he will bring his expertise. Together, we are the first to introduce this low cost, appropriate technology to Cambodia. Makes me feel like we are on the right track.

“Thanks to the exposure in Newsweek and on BBC World Sanu has already received more than a dozen request from countries in Africa, Asia, South America and even in the Pacific of people and organizations who now want to replicate FoST’s technologies, projects and ideas! This month Sanu Kaji Shrestha is invited to Cambodia to teach his skills and share is knowledge with a school. And this is only the beginning…

For us this is a dream come true, because now Sanu can help the Nepalese rural and urban poor, while protecting the environment, but he can share his work with the rest of the world who are facing the same daily struggles and hardships in life. FoST’s solutions to these global problems are so simple and cheap, but highly effective. This small Nepalese organization is becoming an example to many countries in the world.

- Sandra Wijnveldt, GORP Productions”

To see Sandra’s video of Sanu’s work in Nepal Click here.

To read the article about the 3 World Challenge finalists, find a copy of the Dec. 17th issue of Newsweek. (Unfortunately, the article is not posted on their website - argh!)

To see how we apply this technology in Cambodia. Stay tuned to this blog!

We now have 150 students sponsored for 3 years in our sustainability challenge. Keep the donations coming!