All posts tagged: Highlights

Brochure on SMART Hygiene Solutions during COVID-19

*A wash bucket in Zambia, produced by welders trained by Jacana SMART Centre*

As many people know by now, water and hygiene are two essential factors in preventing the spread of COVID-19. In most African countries, the virus has just started spreading, which is why it’s important to act now.

Sharing knowledge

The SMART Centre Group has gathered various affordable hygiene solutions and made a brochure. This way we hope to spread information on these solutions and share our knowledge with anyone who is looking for a simple solution aiming to slow down the spreading of the coronavirus.

SMART Hygiene Solutions

Do you want to know how to make African soap, access information on good hand washing practices or see other examples of hygiene solutions? Please click the button below to download the SMART Hygiene Solutions Brochure.

Download PDF

Applied in the field

If you’d like to see how some of these solutions are being applied, read the blog the Jacana SMART Centre in Zambia wrote here.

For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

At the SMART Centre we value business skills as much as practical skills. As we aim for sustainability, we want our entrepreneurs to have a company they can manage on their own. Someone who is able to drill a borehole but doesn’t know how to make a quotation, will most definitely struggle with entrepreneurship. To refresh everyone’s knowledge, it was about time to organize another Business Training at the Centre.

Don’t fear, Lexah is here!

What do you do when trained entrepreneurs mention they lack the ability to manage their funds? When they are unsure of how much they are worth, and struggle with managing their profits in a sustainable way? You could lend them money, or provide them with equipment. But you could also invite Mrs. Lexah and organize a training with her.

Business Training

We have organized similar trainings in the past, and had very good experiences with Mrs. Lexah. She knows her stuff, and has an interactive way of teaching entrepreneurs how to manage their business. We invited her to the Centre in Luwinga and had 12 of our entrepreneurs attend the training. Besides various financial courses, she covered topics such as bookkeeping, market research and customer care.

*The participants brainstorming business ideas.*

Sustainability

These ten days of full-time training have provided the trainees with extensive knowledge on how to handle their business. This contributed greatly towards our aim for sustainability.

An eye opener

I am really appreciative of the training, as it was an eye-opener to improve the way I am doing my business. I am now interested in a drilling training, I have a market for that and I want to become SMART Centre’s first female driller.
Shelli Huma, trained and certified civil worker who attended the training.

The CCAP SMART Centre Malawi, in collaboration with the SMART Centre Group, is organizing a short course on low-cost Water and Sanitation Technologies with a focus on Self-supply.

The course

The training will be given by specialists with 5 to 30 years of experience in rural water supply including Mr. Mzumala, who has drilled over 300 wells and Henk Holtslag, senior advisor of the SMART Centre Group. The training will include the demonstration of technologies like the SHIPO, Mzuzu and EMAS drilling, a range of 8 different hand and solar pumps, household water filters, latrines and the production of various parts.

For who?

The training is for WASH advisors of NGOs, Government Officials and those with general interest in learning more about technologies and approaches that can help to reach SDG 6 and other water related SDGs like poverty, food security & employment. The focus will be on solutions for households, farmers and small communities. Please note that the number of trainees is limited to 15.

The objectives

Create awareness on SMARTechs.
Simple, Market-based, Affordable, Repairable Technologies for Water and Sanitation.
Create awareness on the existence and experiences of innovative approaches like supported Self-supply, Well Clubs and Faith & Water that can help in rural development.
Discuss ideas on how to scale supply chains of low-cost water technologies, which are applicable for families, small scale irrigation and communal supply in remote rural communities.

When: Monday 8 June – Friday 12 June 2020

Where: SMART Centre Malawi, Luwinga, Mzuzu

Want to know more?

Click below for more information, such as the training fees and the modules.

Download PDF

Please note the Short Course on Self-supply Technologies has been postponed until further notice, due to the spreading of COVID-19. Thank you for understanding. If you’re interested in the course and would like to stay up-to-date on when the course will be held, please contact us. We will then message you in the future when further information is available.

Spreading awareness by training rural Malawi the importance of WASH.

One of our longest running projects is our Faith and Water training. It fits perfectly within our organization, as it is focused on rural Malawi and consist of giving training to local people. First piloted in 2017, our staff members are getting better at making these trainings a success. That’s why, when funding became available to the Centre for training purposes, the choice to continue with Faith and Water sessions was quickly made. This time we went to four regions, visiting two communities in each.

Focussing on WASH

The Faith and Water trainings are focused on clean and safe water, sanitation, and hygiene; WASH in short. The benefits are explained to local church in their local language. With help of games, visual aspects and case studies, it is for example explained how bacteria spreads, or how a water filter can prevent diseases. For instance: to give them a better perspective on contaminated water, we show two bottles filled with water. To one, salt is added. Both look identical, but after a taste test the difference between the two are made clear. This goes to show contaminated water can look as clear as any water, but may still be filled with bacteria.

Linking WASH to Bible verses

We emphasize the training is not a lecture, but a dialogue. As this training is provided to church leaders and their congregations, we link safe and clean water and sanitation to verses from the Bible. In many verses, God teaches the benefits that come with taking proper care of yourself. This way, we try to get the people following the training involved and enthusiastic about sharing their knowledge to their communities after the training is finished. After some time, we do a follow-up visit to see how things are going and whether the techniques they learned during our training are still being used, and whether knowledge has been shared with community members.

A team effort

Our staff members were excited to help, and put a lot of effort into the trainings. Medass Mhone is our office assistant, and visited the communities to help spread awareness:

Due to my educational background I’m interested in communities. I studied about community health. If community members are not happy and healthy, communities cannot develop. The same goes for a healthy community.

Especially in Malawi, our economics come mostly from farming. If someone is sick, this person is unable to work in the field and therefore cannot provide for the community or their family. I want to help create awareness about good sanitation in order to help preventing diseases. A nice addition about this training is that I’m able to learn about different cultures and the way of lives in rural communities

The only way to provide water for all, to a growing population in developing countries, is to capacitate the same people to solve that problem. EMAS and SMART Centres have been training and guiding small-scale entrepreneurs in developing countries for many years. Trained entrepreneurs now supply affordable water technologies to communities and households in over 20 countries serving more than 2 million people.

Mutual goals

EMAS and SMARTechnologies are complimentary and the organisations share the same philosophy towards sustainable development. Our mutual goal is to establish supply chains of Market-based, Affordable and Replicable technologies that are also fit for households (Self-supply). By joining forces SMART Centres and EMAS will increase the number of small water enterprises, make them more robust and offer a larger variety of technologies and services to their customers.

We believe that investing in capacity building creates the conditions for sustainable and rural water supply.

Interested?

Feel free to contact SMART Centre Group or EMAS International, or visit their websites for more information: www.smartcentregroup.com, www.emas-international.de.

World Water Week 2019, Tele2 Arena – Photo by Mikael Ullén

At the 2019 Stockholm SIWI World Water Week, where the SMART Centre Group had its own booth and several presentations, a proposal was launched called ‘Marshall Plan for Water in Africa’. The proposal is focussed on clean water and safe sanitation in Africa by 2030. This initiative includes the need for vocational training, as done by the SMART Centres.

Clean water and Safe sanitation in 2030

On August 28th, the proposal for a ‘Marshall Plan for Water in Africa’ was presented. African water ministers and several non-governmental organisations presented the plan, focussed on guaranteeing all Africans clean water and safe sanitation by 2030. Proposers strongly believe water is key to a prosperous future for Africa. The plan includes a proposal for funding, which can be used to finance more opportunities in WASH. It is believed the plan holds a potential for many new jobs. Read the full press release here.

World Water Week

World Water Week is the biggest annual focal point for global water issues. This year it was held in Stockholm, in the last week of August. The SMART Centre Group was represented with its own booth, and provided presentations at several sessions.

A broader plan

The proposal builds on a much broader proposal, presented last year by German minister Gerd Müller: ‘Migration, Sustainability and a Marshall Plan with Africa’. This plan was created to boost Africa’s economy, create jobs, peace and gender equality, and reduce poverty, migration risks, healthcare costs and risks from climate change.

After multiple positive experiences we’re excited to announce the SMART Centre opened their doors once again for a YEP-delegate to join the team. We’d like to introduce you to James Mhango, our local Young Expert.

Training in the Netherlands

James will be part of the 18^th batch of Young Experts, and fly to the Netherlands in November to follow a three-week training programme. The training will cover a wide range of topics in the Water and Agrofood sectors. In the first week, a visit at our coordinators office MetaMeta is planned. An exciting opportunity to learn, make connections and kick-start two years of the programme. During the remaining part of the two years, he will receive intensive coaching and attend training sessions and master classes in order to develop various skills.

James Mhango

James Mhango is a passionate advocate of our low-cost WASH technologies, and is eager to spread awareness. At 23 years old he started at the University of Mzuzu, where he later obtained his bachelor degree in Water Resources Management and Development. It was at the Mzuzu University where he met Reinier Veldman, previous manager of the SMART Centre.

After providing James and his fellow student Andrew Kamanga with an internship for two months at the SMART Centre, they proposed to do research on Rope Pumps. You can read their findings in the published research by clicking here. Both James and Andrew stayed with the Centre after finishing their research and now specialize in monitoring and evaluation.

I see the YEP role as an opportunity to take a step forward to develop and improve my career. I am excited to meet fellow peers from over the world to share our experiences, and I hope to share knowledge on different policies with other water professionals from other countries. Their approach might be different, I want to learn from them.
I have recently changed paths and am becoming more of an entrepreneur. I currently hold pigs at home and am growing different types of crops. In five to ten years I am hoping to have a big piece of land and upscale the business. Of course, my main priority now lies with the SMART Centre. I would be happy if I can contribute towards the adoption of the Rope Pump technology in Malawi. At the moment this technology isn’t widely accepted by stakeholders yet as a water supply option.* But I also look forward to build stronger relationships with my colleagues and to use the knowledge from the training to improve the Centre.
James Mhango, August 2019

Young Expert Programme

The Young Expert Programme is jointly carried out by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP) and the Food & Business Knowledge Platform. Their aim is to rejuvenate the Agrofood and Water sectors, by training Dutch and local professionals and giving them the opportunity to kick-start their careers in an intercultural environment. If you’d like to know more, have a look on their website.

*James Mhango, together with A. Kamanga and R. Veldman, wrote a paper on accessibility of the Rope Pump technology based on a study they performed. You can read the paper here.

Entrepreneurs practicing with the Business Model Canvas.

At the SMART Centre we strive for a profit-based sustainability, and encourage self-supply. In most cases, ownership results in responsibility and proper maintenance. Upon receiving funding from a generous donor, we have been thinking about ways to apply our visions while spending this fund on expanding WASH-solutions here in Malawi. How do we choose who receives a partly subsidized pump, well or latrine?

Helping hand

We came up with an approach that involves our entrepreneurs, as they are our eyes and ears in the field. We created a list of criteria, and asked our entrepreneurs if they are willing to help us find suitable customers based on these criteria. Some examples of these criteria are that the well, pump or latrine is privately owned and that these owners have no working connection to a water supply. However, the most important criteria is that we are asking potential customers to hand in a business plan.

Business Model Canvas

This business plan can be as simple as a plan to sell tomatoes, where having a pump supplies the owner with water for the tomatoes. It is also possible to work out a plan to expand an already existing business. We introduced the Business Model Canvas to our entrepreneurs, and did a practice round asking them to fill in the canvas with a fictional business. After a day of practice, we gave them the go-ahead and sent them on their way to find customers.

Stay tuned

The results have been very positive so far. Our entrepreneurs have been bringing in potential customers daily, which shows us there is still a big demand for pumps, wells and latrines in the Mzuzu area. Currently, the SMART Centre is evaluating all potential customers, and checking who meets the criteria. We have started giving some of our entrepreneurs permission to start drilling, welding and building. We’ll keep you informed, so stay tuned!