On the first day the lack of laptops proved a challenge as we had to make do with only two machines among 7 people. Language also gave a bit of a barrier as the agents speak Swahili (I typically use English). Fortunately Bahat (Network manager) and Dudley (Agent) were able to jump in once in a while to translate some of the words I used.

I began the training with how to access Salesforce, moving on to putting a deal on the system and checking whether the deal makes a profit or loss. I took questions and gave Bahat the task of picking at least two network managers that he deemed able and willing to put data onto the system. After our late lunch out in the town, I called it a day.

On the second day I put one of the newly recruited Network managers (Chiku Kivambe) on the task of uploading a deal onto the system. I was impressed that for a beginner she did it in under ten minutes and understood every stage. I also gave a similar task to two other agents and, though a bit slow at first, they seem to be catching up as well.

Later in the afternoon, a discussion sparked up on how to explain the transparency of the system to farmers in the case of bonuses, which was very interesting to hear. All in all they were a very captivating lot to train and it was a bitter sweet moment when it came down to saying goodbye. Hope to catch up with them soon.

*Since publishing, MatterLab has recently re branded as Maker Group. You can find all further information about their work through this name, as well as their Facebook page.

I’ve just got back from Uganda where I worked with several network managers to help them with training on the TSS Salesforce platform. In Lira (a long but beautiful five hour bus drive from Kampala) we worked to iron out the kinks of the automated system which logs and processes the agricultural deals. Hosted by Jacinta Namubiru’s (one of our network managers) sister on the final night of my stay in Kampala, I was able to finish the basic training and make sure the network managers were set for their upcoming deals.

Since introducing the system last year, network managers have shared that they are finding the deal form easy to complete and helpful to use, although it can be time consuming to make sure that every stage of the deal is accurately recorded. Keeping records is not always standard practice for agents in East Africa and the TSS system is helping to encourage record keeping which improves organisation and smooth running of the trading process.

While the system itself is fairly straightforward, whether you are using technology in London or Kampala, there are the inevitable bugs that new programs need to work through to run at their most effective. Unfortunately, our managers in Lira have had some trouble with the log in process to the platform, but by talking through the process in person, this is a bug which can be easily fixed. We are also hoping to develop a way to fill in the deal form offline as internet access in the remoter parts of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda can be unreliable.

There is strong signal in Kampala, but, five hours away in Lira, internet access can be rather temperamental and we want to make it as easy as possible for network managers to use the TSS system! One day without electricity and a hotel generator turn off at 10pm make working in Lira difficult but the more we learn about the environment where our programs will be used, the more we will be able to find ways to adapt and improve.

Establishing and selling a successful biotech company during her undergraduate degree, Samantha’s networking and tech skills have come together through her career, particularly during NASA’s Open Innovation Program as a social entrepreneur in residence. She became increasingly involved with the maker community, as it related to 3D printing and working on the NASA Space Apps Challenge, a 48 hour hackathon using the apps medium to create open source solutions for global needs. Through the challenge, her own expertise and those of the people she connected with, the questions of how best to use 3D printing and the opportunities it offers to makers and communities alike led to re:3D and the Gigabot.

Mainstream printers are improving in the quantity and quality of the objects they can produce yet they are all limited by one factor: they are too small to print large scale objects. For example, UWM: 3D printed prosthetics, an entry into the Gigabot Giveaway competition produce prosthetic hands using 3D printers but they need a large dimension printer to be able to produce an entire arm – an essential development for improving and expanding the production of 3D prosthesis. Enter the Gigabot, a 24x24x24 inch printer with 30 times the printer volume in comparison to a regular 3D desktop printer.

re:3D is a .Org company, manufacturing and shipping Gigabots to locations around the world from their bases in Santiago, Chile and Houston, Texas. Co-funded by the team members, in 2012 they were invited to take part in the prestigious Start Up Chile top 10 acceleration program. An inspired Kick-starter campaign which raised a quarter of a million dollars, ensured production began in 2013. From 70 pre-ordered printers in May when the campaign went live, they have subsequently sold more than 100 units around the world. The printers are not cheap, but they do offer a considerable difference in product size in comparison to others on the market. With their business established, production of the machines is going strong, leaving some space to consider what might be their next challenge!

To celebrate the shipping of their 100th machine re:3D recently held a brilliant competition called the Great Big Gigabot Giveaway, where entrants provided short video presentations on how they would make a difference using the Gigabot. Ideas ranged from free 3D printed prosthesis for children with Enable, to E-fishery’s fish feeding tools in Indonesia, and school children designing tools for local children staying in hospitals (Magellan International). A large printer offers a greater range of functional objects that can be created and in developing countries that has the potential to make a big difference. The overall winning idea was the brainchild of the Human Needs Project in Kibera Kenya. Their team applied for the Gigabot to add to their community centre with a cafe, washing machines and other community essentials. Plans to use the printer include an educational component as well as trials to print replacement parts for the vast number of leaking and damaged pipes which currently pose a major health risk to the community in Kibera, one of Kenya’s largest slums. Another possible use for the printer would be to make cheap shoes that could prevent children from having to walk around barefoot in unsanitary conditions. Following the enthusiastic response and great ideas to the competition, re:3D decided to go further, sending a Gigabot to the first runner up 3D-Mulp for prototyping and printing myoelectric prosthesis in Bogota, Colombia.

Moses Gichuru, talks about the main value of the TSS trade transparency model as providing the framework for working out any issues or complaints. By working together, TSS helps to build trust between farmers and buyers, bringing the best outcome for those involved, strengthening relationships and developing good will. Prior to TSS many buyers and sellers never met, instead using middle men which has often led to confusion and accusation. In some cases, encouraging both parties to talk has proved that there are really no areas of trouble at all! Open communications prevent problems from escalating and can also help to save money and improve the deal for both buyers and sellers, as unnecessary middle costs can be worked out on both ends, improving the price paid to the farmers and the quality of the produce purchased by the buyers.

The tablets have also proved extremely useful for demonstrating quality control while deals are in progress, as demonstrated by James Kanyi during an export deal taking mangoes to Kampala from Embu in Kenya. In another video, Ugandan Network Manager Jacinta Namubiru, explains how demand for produce has led to her network expanding from only 30 agents to nearly 300 across in Eastern & Northern Uganda.

What would your dream house look like? 3D printing has many different uses and some of the coolest projects around are developing printers large enough for shelters and houses printed on demand. One design entrepreneur however, has taken a different approach to 3D printing houses. His are small, plastic, and come from the limitless imagination of children who attend the workshops and courses he has been running, created to get children interested in design and 3D printing.

An idea sparked through his studies as a design engineer student at the Royal College of Art, Dejan has been working on Kide since 2009, a learning platform that is still being perfected for commercial use. Continually developing and improving his initial concept, in 2011 Dejan ran an extremely successful workshop at London’s Victoria and Albert museum, bringing imaginative house designs to life to create a Kideville city designed and printed right in front of children’s eyes. He has brought workshops to cities around the world from London to Belgrade and San Francisco, following a simple process to create – sketch, model in Plasticine, design on CAD then print in plastic.

The finished design is printed in miniature from a 3D printer and placed on the Kideville board. Added to the city as one collaborative project, the children have produced their own ideas to be brought together to create a unique city. The kids have been really enjoying the experience, proving to themselves that 3D technology can be used by anyone with enthusiasm and that it can be the perfect tool with which to bring their ideas to life.

Unfortunately, recent cuts to education funding do make producing a high technology product difficult to market, however a number of schools have already begun acquiring printers for children to use and an innovative, interactive and fun teaching program is just what is needed to ensure that the printers are being used regularly for many years to come. Dejan wants to encourage use of the printers as an integral tool in education particularly for ages 7-12.

As a masters student Dejan has used his own learning to build an innovative program that brings together two of his guiding interests – design for children and new technologies (rapid prototyping at present). While creating the retail version of Kideville and expanding on his design portfolio, he is continually looking for ways to use the innovation and beauty which design brings to help those in difficulty. During the recent disastrous flooding in the Balkans he produced an SOS app to ensure that homeowners would have access to vital information as quickly as possible. Aside from cutting edge technology, he has designed a manual for the sack chair (Kitigunia) he created to ensure children in Uganda have access to a child friendly, easy to assemble chair, something that is much harder to find than you might think! Created using string and sacking, the design is simple and the charity distributes instructions for how to put the chair together, rather than the chair itself, ensuring that the creation is easily accessible and useable by all.

“At Haiti Communitere a generator produces electricity that is fairly consistent. Power outages and really intense power surges are common in Haiti and this is no exception – we’ve brought down 2 UPS’s (uninterruptible power supply) to help protect the equipment. The internet is surprisingly reliable but it can get slow or it goes out when the power goes out. Electrical surges are the biggest risk to technology there that we’ve seen.

An internet connection is not required, but is of course a valuable resource to our team. Willio, Johnson, and Franky have been learning 3D modelling skills so that they have the ability to generate models themselves, and not have to rely solely on what is available online. They upload the 3d models to memory cards that are put into the 3D printer. However, we’ve worked with them to develop the skills to leverage the internet. For example, troubleshooting the machines, or tapping into the incredible body of knowledge, expertise, and free resources available on the internet (e.g. GrabCAD and Thingiverse) can save a lot of time, and connections with existing communities and networks are all going to be essential for the sustainability of the iLab (and in general for today’s success).

How do you source filament for the machines, are you looking into producing your own in the future?

“Yes, this is an issue that we’re very interested in. We’ve been doing research into creating a closed-loop system for the material. The ABS that they are using was all donated and brought down by volunteers – it’s worked, but it’s far from a sustainable system. We’ve reached out to Filabot and MakiBox to try to get one of their systems down there to test out – they’ve expressed interest in getting involved. Recycling the printed ABS is interesting to us, but what would be even more exciting is if we can collect and recycle existing plastic down there.

There is no infrastructure for waste removal, so garbage is dumped in the streets (there are rivers of trash) or burned. Plastic soda bottles are common, as are water saches that most people get their potable water from in the city (they’re sort of like ziploc bags – we’re having materials experts test them currently to see whether they could be converted into spools). We’re focusing on plastic for now, but we’d love to get equipment down there that can print other materials. Sourcing the raw material is one of the major pieces to the puzzle: since a big part of the impetus for this project is to sidestep Haiti’s weak and often corrupt shipping infrastructure, importing materials would be self-defeating. There are not a lot of raw materials available – unless you can harvest something from the garbage.”

What practical help do you need to make your vision a reality?

“Funding is huge – the iLab // Haiti team is going to need about $15k USD to get this business going right (it takes $5k-$10k USD to legally register a business in Haiti). We have seen – and feel very strongly – that at this point, the best way we can help when they need something is to either teach them, point them in the direction of tools or resources, or help them strategize a different way of doing it. To that end, the most important thing they need right now is paid work opportunities to do what they do: to design, 3D model, 3D print, or teach others. This is how they will improve their skills and establish themselves as a business.

Partnership with a tech company – whether 3D printer, laptop, both, or other – would be great for them, especially if the company is interested in testing applications in the developing world (most of these tools were not designed to withstand these conditions: power surges, crazy heat and humidity, and the unavailability of (non-3D printable) replacement parts. Connection to a global network would also be incredibly helpful and inspiring for them.

KIDmob, on the other hand, is actively looking for funding/sponsorship. iLab // Haiti would not have gotten to where it is without generous in-kind donations of 3D printers and ABS spools from Makerbot, tablets from Microsoft, and grassroots fundraising to cover our basic costs to travel to Haiti (all of the time that has gone into developing the project has been donated). With funding or sponsorship, KIDmob would be able to spread the learning-by-doing approach within Haiti, bring the iLab model to other developing countries, or reach more schools in the US to transform education.

We have three Haitian team members that we’ve been training: Willio, Johnson, and Franky at Haiti Communitere,where the iLab is based. They’ve printed simpler items that they’ve 3D modelled: consumer products like key chains, logos, and iPhone covers as well as scale models for architects and engineers, such as a bio digester for an engineering firm. They’ve even printed and assembled a Robohand and are currently in the market research phase, investigating how 3D printing and modelling can benefit local businesses and schools.

Our main focus is design thinking for creative problem solving. When you apply design thinking to the unexpected scenario of 3D printers in Haiti, there are a number of compelling avenues to explore: global knowledge/skills, product creation for a local or global market, disrupting the supply/distribution chain, re imagining manufacturing…  It’s going to require them to keep building their skills, be open to opportunity and test a lot of ideas out. To see what works and then make it even better. That’s design.

One of the areas we’re excited about is the potential for Haitians to connect directly to a global economy. In this case, design and 3D modelling become a lot more important than 3D printing. In this scenario, where local economies are incredibly weak, tapping into a strong global economy could have a lot more potential to generate revenue than selling locally. Conversely, there is the potential for design challenges in Haiti to be crowd sourced to the rest of the world – solutions could be implemented using the 3D printers.”

What are your plans for training the iLab team and others who are interested in 3D printing? Has this changed as your work has extended?

This is actually the heart of the iLab and our motivation for the project. We’ve done all of the curriculum development in-house. We’ve invested a lot in teaching 3 young Haitian men. They know how to use, troubleshoot, and maintain the Makerbots, they use Makerware, AutoCAD, and we’ve been working a lot on 3D modelling in Rhino. For KIDmob, learning the technical skills and how to use the tools is as important as learning how to think about the tools. We believe that the design process is an incredible tool for critical thinking and creative problem solving. Many Haitians – whether culturally or out of necessity – are great at creative problem solving: there is a remarkable cultural phenomenon called “rabodé” which means “make it work.” It’s about resourcefulness and using what you have to get done what you need to. Our lofty vision for the project is to get the rabodé thinking beyond the quick-fix of a truck. What happens when the rabodé starts solving at a community scale?

In addition to technical and design skills, we’ve also worked on business strategies, and tools for getting things done. We’ve been training the team as facilitators to teach other Haitians, for which they have a strong interest and excitement about getting started. Our belief has been in creating a very solid foundation: investing a lot in a few folks. The guys that we’ve been working with are responsible for spreading this education. As a separate initiative from iLab // Haiti, KIDmob does have an interest in working with Haiti’s formal educational system. It comes from French pedagogy, relying heavily on rote memorization and repetition. The skills it teaches and reinforces are detached from and irrelevant to life in Haiti today. KIDmob is interested in bringing relevant, 21st century skills.”

Through your experience, do the people you have worked with in Haiti view 3D printing as a priority, a novelty or something that can have a genuine impact in their lives?

“It’s been fascinating. There is definitely a novelty and curiosity aspect to it, but my impression is that the interest runs a lot deeper than that. Some have expressed to us that it is a symbol of hope, and of pride that, this new technology can be a bridge between Haiti and the rest of the world. We were really touched by the article that Haiti Libre published about the project.

For us, we’ve tried to strike a balance between pursuing that optimism and energy – we do want to test the limits of what these machines can do – and introducing other tools and technology so the focus is not 100% on the 3D printers. In our view, we see it as a tool, not the tool, and we recognize its strengths and limitations.

Do you have any plans to extend the iLab // Haiti model?

“For now we’re focused on establishing a sustainable model. One of our goals has been to teach our Haitian team enough for them to create a sustainable business to support themselves and we’ve worked with them to establish a business plan and strategy. We want them to take the reins and establish the business that they want to run. We’re transitioning to a role where we’re supporting to help them build the skills that they need for success.

From the beginning, we’ve made no claims to knowing what Haiti needs. We have powerful tools and a powerful way of thinking, which are both of global value. We’re working with the team to explore possibilities for how the 3D printers can be used, but ultimately they’re the experts on Haiti – not us.

Once iLab // Haiti is established and running, we might bring on another team to look at expanding to formal education, or try to replicate this model elsewhere (we’ve heard there’s a big need for it in the Philippines…)”

The scope of the programme includes the provision of a number of collection centres for Networks to aggregate produce for TSS deals. The first Collection centre to be built was actually funded by Rapp Group and is just outside Magunguli. Here produce can be collected, checked, bagged, and held securely until trucks can transport it to the buyers. The RAPP building as it is now known, has been built under Bahat’s supervision and is close to completion. Although it will start purely as a collection centre, there are plans and space for various small businesses to use the facility and to make it a focal point for the farmers of the four neighbouring villages.

Ueli and Clive worked with Bahat on his network plans on three value chains: potatoes, beans and sunflower oil. These involve a delivery service to kiosk owners, chip sellers and small restaurants along the road to Dar. After this, Southern Highlands Biashara Mapema will open its own kiosk in the market in Mbeya to demonstrate the delivery service to other BOP outlets in the surrounding area and then extend these kiosks to the road to Dodoma and Dar. Value addition, with chipped potatoes and Fairtrade branded crisps, is also planned.

Bahat’s office is under a tree a few hundred metres from his home. Here he can get the best 3G signal to his modem. But the Internet reception is slow and erratic and sometimes it rains! Staying in Magunguli gave us a reality check, allowing us to see how difficult it can be to register and manage deals in a remote area. Cherryl had come with us to train Bahat and some of his TSS agents on using Salesforce and the TSS App. After many attempts she was able to train them, but the slow Internet connection made it extremely difficult. Bahat thinks that until there is a better connection it would be better to register his upcoming deals through sms messages.

T4T gave us a tablet for Bahat to use for convenient access to Salesforce and as a tool to record his network activities in a video diary. Declan worked with Bahat who started by filming his TSS agent at Makambako market, Lucy Kyando. Bahat picked up the filming quickly and intends to enter his diary for the COBsters; the competition is hotting up.

Jacinta is the manager of AgriNet’s agro-processing plant, AgriFeeds. She uses the AgriNet farmer networks to source for raw ingredients. AgriFeeds is renting their processing buildings and stores in Tororo but has plans to build their own processing plant. To do this they will need capital, and therefore they are keen to toll process their feeds and flour through TSS. AgriFeeds, with help from an ABiTrust grant, has been scaling up their production of animal feeds and maize flour. The two products are linked; to process the maize flour the de-hulling process leaves maize germ, which is used as one ingredient of the feeds. As well as new milling, mixing and weighing equipment there is now a laboratory equipped with an aflatoxins kit, moisture metre etc. AgriFeeds has applied for UBS certification for both animal feeds and maize flour. This will mean that they will be able to export the feeds and expand their Ugandan market for maize flour.

Since 2010 Moses has built up a regular supply of cassava flour from Kyere to several buyers including Kemwa Foods in Nakuru. Kemwa uses the cassava flour to make Jari, a popular inexpensive porridge with a large demand from the many shops that serve this large “base of the pyramid” market. Moses travelled with us to Soroti to discuss with Engineer Opio (who sources and mills the cassava) how to upscale the supply of cassava flour. To do this the Engineer’s Soroti network needs to organize more TSS agents in Kyere to link with the cassava farmers. These are smallholders who would not normally be able to export their commodity. Therefore bringing the farmers together, adding value to their crop by milling, and then enabling them to export, is a big achievement for TSS. It returns a better price to the farmer, earns a good commission for the network, and the buyers are happy with the product and the service.

Our first visit to Kyere was just after the sun had set. The mill was processing the dried cassava for Moses’ deal but the electricity had failed and the Engineer had to run the mill on a diesel engine. The electricity had been off for most of the day and he was working late because he was only able to operate one mill instead of his usual three. This additional cost of diesel due to power cuts is a major headache for the Engineer. The next day we returned to meet with William Olir, the Chairperson of Kyere Subcounty Farmers’ Produce and Marketing Cooperative Society, to discuss how to source a regular two weekly supply of 10 tons of cassava. The Engineer will be paid through TSS for the milling while William will act as a TSS agent to organize the sourcing, quality control and payment of the farmers.

This season, AgriNet’s agents around Lira, Pader and Gulu have collected 600 tons of white sorghum; paying 700/ UGX per kg cash-on-the-bag to the farmers. We arrived in Lira as 50 tons of sorghum was sent off to Savanna in Kampala for the final cleaning process before going to the buyer, East African Breweries. If you think that sending off 50 tons of sorghum to Kampala is a simple exercise, think again. There are negotiations with loaders, transporters and council officials and the payments for each. There is paperwork, with both the TSS agent and the transporters recording the numbers of sacks and the weight of each one loaded. There are checks on the weights recorded on the sacks and so to cut a long story short, a long and exhausting day was had by all, not least the loaders who carried over 500 bags of 100 kg and more, onto five trucks.

We also visited a large store outside Lira where AgriNet has started its own grain cleaning operation, this grain can then be sent directly to the brewery. It costs AgriNet 300,000/ UGX to clean 10 tons of grain at their store in Lira, whereas when AgriNet supplies un-cleaned grain it pays over 1 million UGX per 10 tons to a third party for the cleaning process. AgriNet has bought a grain-cleaning machine for this, but they will quickly be able to recover this cost through the savings made from the value addition.

Back in Kampala we visited the mango wholesale market where AgriNet has linked James K to Noah Masheta. James has made two deliveries and is learning the ropes for this tricky cross-border trade. Careful packing, in open trucks covered with matting, has been a major learning point. This will avoid damage and overheating of these delicate fruit. But James’ video clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdlkJHBmb5E) has clearly shown another challenge, the mango fruit fly. For this the Embu mango growers will need help from the SHOMAP agronomists.

It is good to see that James has started off his video diary so effectively. This week Jacinta and Tonny also received their tablets from T4T and started filming with Declan, while Moses filmed the value addition of the cassava in Kyere. Declan’s partner Sue Price has set up Youtube pages for all the video diarists; they will be able to personalise and brand these with company details and photos. So over the weeks the diarists can post their experiences and we will be able to get a good idea of the challenges that people are facing to show other networks and mentors the insider view.

In Kampala Cherryl has worked on using Salesforce and the TSS app on the tablet. As with any new app there are some glitches that will have to be sorted out. With his new tablet Tonny will be able to get online more easily, and we are looking forward to hearing and seeing much more from his network.

Finally we visited Jakana, a processing factory producing various fruit juices from local produce and with a market for more orange juice. Jakana would like to source their fruit through TSS, with help from the COB financing. Engineer Opio is a member of TESO Tropical Fruit Cooperative Union in Soroti and introduced us to the marketing coordinator Benjamin Omoding, who is keen to link his farmers to Jakana through TSS. Training for the orange farmers on the TSS process and research into the middle costs and buyer price is underway.