This is an update of the Kilitech projects for the month of May in the sub location of Majengo in Kyomu village, Kahe East Ward, Moshi rural District in the Region of Kilimanjaro. Laurel was with us for the month and we worked non-stop getting things done so please read about all we have done!!
Meet our new truck, Watson! The truck is a tremendous asset in the village, one of the few vehicles in the area, and two men and two women are taking driving lessons! The truck will deliver supplies and materials and even help connect Majengo Kahe with Majengo Soko for future projects!
The projects update includes the vocation training for the women, Nota Njema
(sewing and tailoring) , Maua group (decorating and catering) and Mwadu group (beekeeping and workshop) for the men.
Maya group (decorating and catering)
For the months of April, May and June the training has been more practical and women are working closely with Mr. Sadoti who is their decorating teacher. To improve their decorating skills women have be fortunate to secure four jobs for decorating in the village, one in the month of May and three more in the month of June. More jobs are expecting in during the festive season of December but due to the good job they did on the 28th of May they are now well known across and beyond the village of Kyomu. In these four jobs the women are working with their decorating teacher Mr. Sadoti under a special agreement. Mr. Sadoti is teaching them while they are also doing their actual jobs and this will bring the required skills and knowledge for the upcoming jobs.
Success
The women have been able to secured catering and decorating jobs for their groups, this shows great promise that finally they are able to stand on their feet.
With an initial 10,000 TzS deposit by KiliTech (the equivalent of about $5 USD) They have managed to open a bank account with the NMB bank the branch of Himo, making sure that the money that they earn is well managed and secured.
The ward counselor, Kamili Mbando (pictured on right below)
has organized a financial training in financial management which we hope will help the villagers in managing the money they get from their activities.
Importantly on the 28th of May 2016 the group was able to decorate for a wedding reception which had over 400 guests! The guests left very content with a job well done making the group to be well spoken and known across the village and beyond! This as a result they were able to get another job in the nearby village. This job gave them an income of 250,000 Tanzanian shillings and a profit of 150,000 Tanzanian shillings. More updates will come as each event is completed.
Challenges
There is still a challenge in the management of finances which has left the group still dependent on KiliTech for items such as chairs, carpet and tents to mention a few. We are working to help them prepare an operation manual that will help them in soliciting and managing future activities.
The group is still young and is yet to acquire experience this has caused to take small jobs and we hope with time it will be able to secure bigger jobs with more income for the group members to enjoy.
The group still lacks essential items such the bride and groom reception chairs and their maids, a cake (both meat and floor) stand/s, tents and a red carpet but with time and more jobs they will be able to secure these items. They need special lessons in making and decorating cakes for the weddings and other special events along with that they also need a kitchen. They still do not have a business registration but we hope one week from now as I am writing this report they will have business registration.
Nyota Njema
Nyota njema have come a long way and still going strong, the group is currently working on perfecting their tailoring skills they covered most of their training and they are working on perfecting their skills.
Success
The group has been able to learn how to sew basic/simple clothes such as school uniforms and mending clothes. With more practice we hope they will be able to design and make their clothing designs.
The group has also managed to open a bank account and they now have a safe place for keeping their funds.
Challenges
They face a challenge in arranging and getting a market for their products which they still have to make. They also do not have a business plan, this makes them operate blindly they therefore need a business plan for their operations. We are working on this to see that they have well designed business plan.
They also do not have a business registration but it is filed and we are waiting.
Mwadu Group
This group is still in training under Mr. Simon, and they will soon have their own workshop where they will be working and training at the same time. More will be determined as time goes on. We are currently in the funding and planning stages of the workshop so stay tuned!
Majengo maize mill
Background of this project
The operating of Majengo Maize mill commenced in May 2016 and since then it is now serving about 3,000 people around the village, plus around 5,000 more from the surrounding villages .For the month of May the mill could not run continuously as we didn’t have manager/supervisor and a miller.
So far the maize mill has proven to be a profitable business. On average, 80-100kg of maize is milled everyday for different families as the staple food around the area is maize.
As one of the income activity, the stand cost of milling 1 kg is 70tsh (1usd=2180tsh), that means the machine mills an average of 500kg per week and earn 35,000tsh (16usd).
From our personal assessment during the trail of the project, we noted the following
The price for milling 1 kg is usually about US$0.03 for mills running on electricity, the price for hulling is similar to that of milling. Pricing varies between, as well as within communities, depending on the dynamics of competition, the operating cost structure and the potential presence of external subsidies, among other factors. In Majengo we do not have any competition as there is only one milling machine, Tunakua, but we have set a price that will not hurt the people and at the same time it will help run the mill without a loss.
Majengo maize mill contains untapped potential to become an area “Grain Belt,” producing high-yield grain and feed grain, creating jobs (current 2 jobs ready created), increasing incomes, improving livelihoods and ensuring starting and support new projects to other villages like poultry industry.
Targeted engagement in the grain sector is based on the following assumptions:
Grain is an integral part of the economy and culture, with grain mills occupying an important space between business enterprise and community service;
Domestic demand for grain is high; Potential to source National demand and emergency food situations;
Sustaining the poultry industry requires sourcing local maize meal for feed; and
Local government has declared agribusiness development in maize and horticulture as a top priority.
ACCOMPLISHED
Properly setup of the machine activities
Engaged the school committees to help supervision and management while we agreed with those to be employed
Temporary employment of manager.
Temporary employment of miller and watchman (one employed is not able to make the project equal opportunity) (Mr. Jumna Lilingai)
Children can now get porridge with health and safe flours.
Visits of the chief factory from Moshi council for approval and pointed out some safety equipments that are still needed like dust masks, fire extinguishers, overall dresses for workers and a need for a chimney to allow flour dust to get out.
The acquisition of the business license which needs payment (35,000 TSH tax clearances and 80,000 TSH business license for one year) we are on the process of paying for these costs.
We are building the garage for keeping the village truck at the maize mill we have the watchman there so it will be safe.
Future plans
The main plan for the maize mill is to grind the maize, packing and selling it to various communities rather than communities to purchase maize and bring it for grinding. This will make the project to generate profitable income and help other projects in future.
For the time being we have managed to starting designing the maize shelves so as we can start purchasing the maize in bulk. The requirement is to have the packing bags with our logo.
CURRENT MANAGEMENT
1 .MANAGER MR DASTANI KIMATH (retired teacher)
2. TWO YOUNG MAN DOING BOTH MILLING AND SECURITY
3. MAJENGO KIDS SCHOOL COMMITTEE
4. MAJENGO TEACHERS AS THE CLOSE SUPERVISOR.
FINANCIAL REPORT FROM MAY -7TH JUNE *= (ONE MONTH)
NO OF KG MILLED…………………………………….2, 500KG
AMOUNT CHARGED FOR …………………………..175,000/=
MAIZE GRAINED FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN……..200KG 14,000/=
ELECTRICITY PURCHASED 150 UNIT …………..120,000/= TSH
BALANCE UP TO DATE…………………………….50, 000/= TSH
During the meeting with the parents, the school committee requested TAREO and KILITECH to help them pay one of the teachers from the profit that will be generated from the maize mill (each teacher is paid 250,000tsh per month).
Laurel's friend, Karen Ispahani visited us for a week and she was warmly welcome! She has seen all the activities in person and was very impressed! Karen was at the grand opening of the Chikima Foundation School for Porters where KiliTech provided the funding to build the school. On our first day, May 28th, we had seventeen young men attend class!
One of our newer projects is helping a school, Save My Talent, in a larger village called Boma with technology. At the gala we hope to have people support the school by pledging computers and music equipment that Laurel can bring back with her in August when she returns! As you can see we are BUSY AND VERY VERY VERY HAPPY TO HAVE KILITECH SUPPORTING ALL THE PROJECTS IN KILIMANJARO!! BYE-BYE FOR NOW!!
