tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6940863090367389327.post4458116903034690481..comments2024-03-29T04:09:04.347-07:00Comments on SNAP THAT: Chepkurbet Jiko Project Comes to Life - Pt. 2Joyfulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09956413632864588646noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6940863090367389327.post-21361457627902333542010-08-29T23:15:56.890-07:002010-08-29T23:15:56.890-07:00KleinsteMotte, thank you my dear for following me ...KleinsteMotte, thank you my dear for following me and reading along faithfully. You do not know how much I appreciate it and hearing from you too! I'm still following your "nutty" stories, lol. I hope your weekend was a great one!Joyfulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09956413632864588646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6940863090367389327.post-30847022784431162632010-08-29T23:14:25.556-07:002010-08-29T23:14:25.556-07:00Hey Simon,
Thank you so much for trying to post y...Hey Simon,<br /><br />Thank you so much for trying to post your thoughtful and lengthy comment despite the issues. I<br />logged on the other day to find your comment five times. I have to approve comments before they are published as a way of controlling spam so I'm sorry for any confusion caused by that.<br /><br />I admire the work you have been trying to do without money. I have a limited about of funds at my disposal for the efforts needed in Chepkerbet. Even so, I think<br />you may be trying to work with less and I know how challenging that can be. I guess you have the advantage of being there and I am so far away from Kenya for most of the year. It is also hard to monitor anything and get a real sense of how things go when you are not there to see it yourself. However, I do not want things to wait until I am on site as then I would run out of time to do what needs doing and the villagers would have to wait longer to see the things they know are coming.<br /><br />I understand very well what you are saying about money. You and I share the desire to help people help themselves. In my case though, I am a Christian. My faith requires me to assist poor people, especially widows and orphans. That means making sure their physical needs are taken care of to the extent I can. That is really how I came to focus on jiko stoves. At the same time as I am doing "good works", I do think a lot about other projects, including projects that would help the people be self-sufficient. Most of my efforts in this regard haven't gotten very far. It is very difficult for people to be lifted out of abject poverty without a concentrated effort and a coming together of people working on the issues. In order to do any of the entrepreneurial things like raising chickens and selling eggs, selling eggs, selling product or honey, using solar power and other things across numerous households, you really do need money. There is no way around it. So the limited funds people do have are directed to subsistence farming and to school needs. Even these two needs stretch their funds to the breaking point. I know you have seen all this first hand.<br /><br />When I am doing a project in Kenya, I try to get different perspectives on fair price and rely on the locals to get a fair price. As you point out, it is very hard to get a price that is not inflated when you are a foreigner but I trust my friends to do their best. They often tell me if they purchase in the village stalls they can get things much cheaper but sometimes for my own recording keeping, I want receipts and so they have to purchase at a more expensive place. I found your information on wages very helpful and I will keep it in my mind as I go forward.<br /><br />Wishing you all the best in Tanzania. If I get there, I will write you just in case you are free and maybe we could meet up for coffee or a climb up Mt. Kili (not!). LOL<br />Take care.Joyfulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09956413632864588646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6940863090367389327.post-37589839595817354662010-08-29T18:41:37.805-07:002010-08-29T18:41:37.805-07:00You sure are trying very hard for the folks there....You sure are trying very hard for the folks there. I'm glad tobe a follower of one who care so much!Heidrun Khokhar, KleinsteMottehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16174142810114806410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6940863090367389327.post-73914573026152068562010-08-28T00:46:35.202-07:002010-08-28T00:46:35.202-07:00Hi Joyful, good to read your blog, especially abou...Hi Joyful, good to read your blog, especially about the work you've been doing in Kenya. Money is always a problem, for two reasons, one, it's very hard to get hold of and two, it's very hard to monitor.<br /><br />As soon as you get money, there are many people who want to get it from you and they will do anything, pretend anything, say anything, just to get the money. Then they will expect you to continue funding them in some way until they die (or you do).<br /><br />That's why I started to think of ways of doing things that require very little money or even no money at all. I try to persuade people that if they can spend less, they will have more money. They are not very impressed, but I'm going to continue trying, as I don't have any money.<br /><br />You say you can't find jikos for 2 to 5 dollars, it's difficult for someone like you or I to find people who will charge a fair price. As soon as they see a foreigner, many will up the price, often to ridiculous levels.<br /><br />Even if you get someone you trust to ask the price, it will still go up if that person has been seen with foreigners. So it has taken me a long time to find my way around and I know I still get ripped off, everyone does.<br /><br />I have the metal kind of jiko here, it was 2 dollars, and the metal and ceramic kind, which was 1.50. There's only one way to be really sure of prices and that's to go to a big supermarket, like Tuskys, and to compare the prices.<br /><br />You can then tell street traders that Tuskys is cheaper. They may laugh, they may not believe you, but if they don't lower the price, I just refuse to buy from them.<br /><br />As for wages, they are even harder to find out about, especially because NGOs come here and pay people 'sitting fees' and expenses that are far above what they could earn otherwise.<br /><br />People who do manual labor in fields in villages get between 120 and 150 shillings a day. Some NGOs will pay them 200 shillings just for their lunch! You can pay what you want, it's up to you, but wages should usually cost less than other costs, not more.<br /><br />As a rule of thumb, goods and materials, especially when foreign or foreign processed. If the GDP per capita is 350 dollars, people are not getting paid much more than a dollar a day. You may not want to pay so little, but if you end up paying 10 dollars or something like that, you are going to benefit very few people and possibly do a lot of damage.<br /><br />Anyhow, crazy as it sounds, I find if people are not willing to bargain, they will do nothing rather than work for a reasonable amount. And they will sell nothing to a foreigner unless it's for an inflated price.<br /><br />But I admire the work you are doing, I hope you find lots of willing hands, there are certainly lots of deserving people and families.<br /><br />Regards<br />SimonSimonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13522180315970081603noreply@blogger.com