"Zabaleen" is the Arabic term for those visionary and enterprising people whose culture revolves around recycling. The Zabaleen are experts at "transforming one man's garbage into another man's gold" and aspire toward a net zero-waste economy. Applied and supported this could lead to true energy independence, not only by radically reducing our demand for "raw materials" and hard to extract natural resources but by recycling other less obvious phenomena and materials that are now wasted.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Blackstone Ranch/National Geographic EE Innovations Grant
2010 has blessed us with the realization of the first phase of our Innovations Grant. We have been building biodigesters of various types on three continents and are working hard on many new designs and ideas, letting local circumstances, native genius and collective intelligence (with the indispensable help of God) guide us.
April 19: Arrived in Kigali, Rwanda, after two and a half days travel. Now in search of Dereck Joubert, if he is here somewhere! Otherwise will meet with NGOs and set up relationships for biogas/solar project for Gorilla forest conservation and local economic opportunity. (boat from Kigoma Tanzania past Gombe to border of Burundi, 7 hrs, overnight at border village w/o electric or water,, motorcycle to Nyanza, Burundi w/ police escort 1 hour to get 20 dollar transit visa, minivan to Bujumbura 4 hrs, minivan to Kyanza 4 hrs, motorcycle to Rwandan border 45 minutes (with breakdown), overnight border w/o water or electricity, van to Butare 30 min., bus to Kigali 2.5 hrs -- in case you want to make same trip.)
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