almost there

Whew, there's a lot to share.

On June 21st, we hosted a moringa conference in Mbabane. Representatives
from our partner organizations all came for a full day of discussion
about the future of moringa in Swaziland. We introduced our
organization, moringa technical information, market, and discussed
expectations and responsibilities from all parties. Attached are some
pictures. It was held on a Saturday and one of the reps (I won't say
who) complained about having to work on a weekend. If I didn't know the
organization well, I would have been hesitant to continue that investment.

These same reps didn't like the lunch we served. We hired one of the
local braai (bbq) guys from our neighborhood to serve grilled chicken,
salad, and mealie (corn meal). This guy is named Rim and we've been
trying to encourage him to start a braai catering service.

Other than that, the conference went smoothly. Everybody was well
interested and looking forward to beginning.

Here's the big news... we've got the permit for importing moringa! What
does that mean? That means we have the government's permission to import
and promote the non-indigenous moringa in Swaziland. After all the
negotiations and maneuverings since April, we've got it. Many of our
colleagues are surprised that we have been able to get it in such a
short time. Most of them told us that it would take no less than a year;
we would never be able to get the permits this summer.

We've officially opened the door for moringa utilization in Swaziland.

That was Monday. We just got back from up north doing site surveys and
building a demonstration leaf drying structure. This is a solar drying
structure that should be able to dry (moringa) leaves in a shorter time;
we're testing it out right now. The dark dry room takes about 7 days;
we're testing it now and shooting for 3-4 days. Attached are a few
pictures from construction and end product. There's a video we recorded
explaining how it works but its way too large to upload at this internet
speed. Such a drying structure would be able to really help folks
producing large amounts of powder. This is especially the case for an
organization like Cabrini Mission. They provide food supplements and
wants to include moringa powder into that supplement package.

We were hoping to go to Maputo this weekend, but we are just all
exhausted from working pretty much 12 hour days the last week. Between
traveling and working, we haven't had much of a break at all. We just
got back to our house in Mbabane to get our first baths in a week of sweat.

On a more personal note, I have been disappointed in that I haven't been
able to spend more time learning about the healthcare system. Thats
really my special interest; healthcare delivery, not nutrition.
Nutrition is important to be sure, but direct healthcare is really what
I want to work in professionally. Fortunately, next week I am headed out
for a field trip with a Baylor doctor doing some ARV/TB outreach program.