Use Enhanced DVDs in the Classroom

[Nairobi, Kenya]
EUREKA! WHAT a great idea. This is going to be huge. What is it? Well, it appears that documentary and movie producers are about to come out with educational versions of specific movies with class lessons, and other great teaching material in order to finally get the kids interested in learning. After all, parents do pay taxes, and they expect their kids to actually learn something at school. Right? I don't know about you, but I sense that the art of learning & teaching has gone downhill over the years...out the window. Students just aren't interested in learning anything. Heck, how do you expect them to "concentrate" in school with all that senseless garbage (er programming) on the idiot box (oops, I mean TV!), which prefers viewers with non-critical minds? :-) And teachers? Well, they seem more pre-occupied with their salaries, benefits, vaction time and what not.Enhanced learning
So, what's an enhanced DVD? Well, I really can't explain the damn thing any better than this:

When indie producer Hart Sharp Video released Morgan Spurlock's Oscar-nominated fast-food documentary "Super Size Me" three years ago, two versions came to market: a regular edition for consumers, and an educationally enhanced edition for teachers, with 24 lessons and various game-like assessments and quizzes.

The enhanced edition, which allowed Hart Sharp to break into the lucrative institutional market and sell thousands of additional copies of the film to schools, was produced by Scope Seven, a Los Angeles production company...

...The documentary chronicles former "Inside Edition" correspondent Rick Kirkham's destructive drug addiction. The enhanced DVD, which is being marketed to schools, includes a wealth of educational features the company hopes teachers will use in the classroom, including lesson plans in health, life skills and language arts; on-screen prompts to guide student viewing, spark discussion and lead to classroom activities; and curriculum connections linking the film to the standards-aligned Anti-Drug Education Program from the New York Times. The DVD also comes with an instructor's manual and printable teacher guides and student handouts.

"Films have long been used in the classroom to educate students, but learning doesn't always happen in a linear fashion," said Bob Hively, chairman and CEO of Scope Seven. "Through educationally enhanced DVDs like 'TV Junkie,' youth are able to explore the issues presented in the film as they arise, rather than waiting to discuss them at the end of the movie." {source}

Now, isn't that amazing? I see big opportunities for savvy documentary producers all over the world who jump on to this potential gravy train of cash. And that includes Africa too. Heck, why didn't I think of this idea? Just think of how many schools there are around the world. And don't forget the additional income to be had from producing said topics in other languages. Anyhow, I've got a ton of enhanced DVD topics running through my mind right now. :-)

So, you think this concept is gonna catch on fast?

"This resulted in an educationally enhanced DVD that is fully aligned to teaching standards, which further legitimizes its use by educators in the classroom," he said. "From the very beginning of the film, it was clear that this story had the power to help others battling addiction."

In a related development, 20th Century Fox and MGM are adding optional tracks of bright, bold "Kids Captioning" to popular family films in an effort to build reading skills. The first wave of enhanced "Follow Along" DVDs arrives in stores July 10 and includes "Robots," "The Sandlot," "Ice Age," "Garfield: The Movie," "Anastasia," "Ferngully: The Last Rainforest," "Stellaluna," "Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Kids," "Good Boy!" and "Thumbelina." {source}

Business Opportunities in Africa 2

[Nairobi, Kenya]
THE TIME is now to get the show on the road here at Go Africa go! By now, you know that Africa is the place to be since business is booming. Right? Well, what's holding you back? It's time for you, fellow citizen, to pull your socks up and get that business you've been talking about started. Now! What, you have no ideas on what to start?

Okay, then try this idea out - courtesy of Yahoo's amazing small business portal. Heck, there's more information here than you can shake a stick at. Go Yahoo go!

Do My Stuff and Get Paid
By Sarah Pierce - Entrepreneur.com

Who: Darren Berkovitz, 23; Omri Cohen, 24; Stacy Stubblefield, 25; David Gonen, 26
What: DoMyStuff.com, an online marketplace that outsources chores, errands, projects and other tasks to local help
Where: Beverly Hills, California

Like most people, Darren Berkovitz and his partners were experiencing a common dilemma: too much to do and not enough time to do it. They did, however, find the time to create a solution. The result is DoMyStuff.com, an online community where busy people can quickly find assistants to handle their errands and tasks. "Outsourcing is a huge buzzword right now," says Berkovitz, who owns an internet incubating company with Omri Cohen, Stacy Stubblefield and David Gonen that outsources projects to other businesses. "We thought, we outsource so many things, why not outsource our daily tasks?" {source}

Well, have you decided what business you're gonna start in order to take advantage of the booming economy right in your back yard? No more procrastinating. Okay? :-)

Your thoughts?
Please don't hesitate to leave a comment here. I'm curious to know what you're thinking with regards to starting a business here in Africa. Who knows? Maybe I'll be able to provide you with some quick tips or advise.

Business opportunities in Africa 1

[Nairobi, Kenya]
ONE THING that's exciting about being in Africa is that you get a bird's eye view of the plethora of business opportunities that exists right now. It just boggles the mind. Anyhow, I was just reading an interesting article over at the International Herald Tribune, which is one of my favourite news site on the planet. This is probably due to the well-written, objective articles that are published over there.

Retirement homes in Africa?
Why the heck not? If you're into real estate or the health care industry, I would suggest you take a serious look at the lucrative field of retirement nursing homes. Take a peek at this:

Old age in Europe is not what it used to be. Traditionally, Spanish seniors like Feliz had few alternatives. They stayed with their family, or those who were utterly alone would check into hospital-like residences run by nuns. But now, adult children with demanding jobs are less inclined or able to care for parents, even in Mediterranean countries with tight-knit families. Seniors themselves are demanding more independence in the lengthening, post-retirement stage of life.

In Norway, the Netherlands and Denmark only 1 of 25 elderly people lives with their offspring, according to a 2006 report on long-term care by the European Commission and the American Association of Retired Persons.

Meanwhile, demographics are shifting: By 2050, people over 65 are forecast to make up one-third of the EU population, a jump from 16.5 percent today. As the old safety nets erode, European states are searching for formulas to reduce health care and retirement costs in the face of strong demand for services. {source}

Now, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that labour, property (land, construction), and food costs are considerably less in Africa compared to expensive Europe. In addition, retirement homes over there (Spain too) aren't able to offer their customers scenic tours (to see exotic animals, landscapes, mountains, etc.) to some of the best tourist attractions on the planet. Right? In other words, this industry has huge upside potential. Any takers? :-) By the way, my mother works for Central Park Lodges in Ottawa, Canada. Incidentally, they have been aggressively buying out smaller retirement nursing homes over the past 10 years throughout Canada and the USA. She has been with Beacon Hill Lodge since the mid 1970s, but they became a buyout target around 2000 or so.

Happy investing!

Ghana takes a backwards view on hemp

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
WHEN I was in grade 11, I wrote an essay titled Were the Middle Ages a Backward Period in the Development of Western Civilization - as has Traditionally been Thought of & as the Very Name Implies? That was for my Ancient Greek & Roman History class taught by the brilliant Mr. John Patton who kind of looked like Aristotle. :-) Actually, we were given a sheet with about 20 topics or questions to choose from. In said essay, I vividly remember stating that "trade and commerce - the mark of an advanced civilization - was virtually non-existent." This was simply proof to show that the Middle Ages was a backward era. No arguments there.

Et tu Ghana?
Well, it appears that the power brokers in Ghana's government have decided to take a trip to the Twilight Zone of backwardness. Just take a peek at this folks:

For the sake of our indigenous Africans in Ghana and throughout the continent, who haven’t been exposed to countless literature and medical journals that herald the Hemp plant, I will quote a passage that clearly states the truth that your politicians and lawmakers conceal, as to the real reason why so much energy is wasted criminalizing this God-given plant.

“The reason the Weed is outlawed is only ostensibly about health. The truth is the Weed is no more addictive and no more a health risk than cigarettes or alcohol, both of which are protected by the law. Why is it then not allowed? Because if it were grown, half the cotton growers, nylon and rayon manufacturers, and timber products people in the world would go out of business. Hemp happens to be one of the most useful, strongest, toughest, longest lasting materials on the planet. You cannot produce better fiber for clothes, a stronger substance for ropes, an easier-to-grow-and-harvest source for pulp. Instead we cut down hundreds of thousands of trees per year to give ourselves Sunday papers, so that we can read about the decimation of the world’s forest. Hemp could provide us with millions of Sunday papers without cutting down one tree. Indeed, it could substitute for so many resource materials, at one-tenth the cost. And that is the catch. Somebody loses money if this miraculous
plant, which also has extraordinary medicinal properties, incidentally is allowed to be grown. That is why marijuana is illegal in your country.” {source}

By the way, we'll have to assume Ghana's politicians have viable alternatives to creating wealth for its poor farmers that would rival hemp's unlimited possibilities. Right? I doubt it. Now why do I get this sneaking suspicion that some powerful outside institutions have the hands of this government tied behind closed doors. After all, doesn't Ghana depend on aid and favourable trade benefits from some Western governments in order to progress? Hmm...I wonder who sold out. [Read more]

South African government speech on hemp

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
GOD bless South Africa. Now there's a country with leaders who are forward-thinking when it comes to legalizing industrial hemp. It's obvious that they see billions (in dollar$) of reasons to grow said plant. I urge you to take a peek at this amazing speech. Here's a teaser to whet your appetite:

Tonight, we are here to celebrate the first retail and marketing outlet to be established by Hooked on Hemp SA, a black owned small business which acts as convenors of the Human Resource Development programme in the National Hemp Initiative. Ultimately, it is hoped to roll House of Hemp out to the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, the three provinces where hemp grows the best in South Africa.

The products you will see this evening at the House of Hemp will surprise you in their diversity, ranging as they do from men's and ladies' fashion wear through to home d飯r, stationery, building materials and beauty and health products. All manufactured from hemp, they are produced for House of Hemp by small scale entrepreneurs from previously disadvantaged communities, with the assistance and support of the CSIR. {source}

Go South Africa go! [Read more]

Legal hemp for Malawi?

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
THIS is an old article but it's still relevant today as many African governments grapple with the issue of permitting hemp to be grown for it's many industrial uses. I think this is part of the problem:

Only S. Africa and a couple of other more independent African nations have any type of hemp production. The main reason for this is the policy of the United States
which demands, along with many other strings and conditions, a total ban on hemp
production before giving 'aid', massive bribes to officials, or millions of dollars worth of military equipment to brutally put down popular uprisings.

Quite frankly, the choice of raking in billion$ of dollar$ in legitimate foreign exchange is a no brainer to me. What about you? [Read more]

Tanzania pursues aggressive tourism plans

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
ONCE you visit Tanzania, you really don't feel like leaving so soon. This country just grows on you. Why? Because there's tons of beautiful places, sites, parks and exotic beaches to visit. For example, when I was staying in Zanzibar, I had the pleasure of hanging out at Cholos (see pic below), which is a popular beach bar known by all the tourists. This place is sooo relaxing due to its beach setting and funky layout among the tall beach trees. And that's not all. I'd say TZ has got to be one of the safest countries in all of Africa. Well, that's the general word on the street from talking to other tourists, business peeps, expat hotel staff members, backpackers, etc.
Less is more
Also, you just don't see those crazy (almost shocking) front page horror stories that you read in most other newspapers or see on the idiot box (er TV) in other parts of Africa. I'm serious folks. To me, that's very refreshing. Yes, life isn't perfect here and crime does exist, but not at "those" levels, and the frequency is considerably less. Perhaps it has something to do with the laid back persona of the typical Tanzanian, which, by the way, is well known outside the country. I also noticed this in their police officers, too, which is a good thing. Any how, if TZ keeps up this track record, there's no doubt that Dar will eventually replace Nairobi as the economic hub of East Africa. Heck, have you seen all the construction going on in this city lately? Something's definitely cooking - economically. :-)

Mo' money
Most importantly, the country will be rewarded handsomely where it matters the most: At the ca$h register as tourists the world over flock here to explore its many treasures. Now, judging from this article below, the government is serious as hell about increasing earnings from tourism to the tune of US $3 billion per year starting in 3 years time. Wow, that's some serious coin. :-) As such, this makes yet another excellent Go Africa go! story because it highlights that tourism is going to be an even bigger income earner in the future, which translates into excellent business opportunities for those who cease the moment.

Article: Dar to increase tourism earnings
Source: Daily News (Tanzania), 22 Feb 2007, Home News, pg 2
By: Charles Kizigha
The government plans to carry out an aggressive tourism promotion campaign to
increase the earnings from 700m US dollars (about 900bn/-) to 3bn US dollars (about 4tr/-) accrued from the sector a year in the next three years. The campaign will involve advertising the country's tourism potentials on the America TV channels CNN and CNBC and also making sure there are direct flights to Tanzania from the US and Europe.

Minister for Natural Resources & Tourism, Prof. Jumanne Maghembe, said this yesterday before flying to the US for a ten-day official visit, where he would hold talks with CNN, CNBC, and Delta Airlines top officials and eventually sign contracts. He is leading a six-man delegation. He said that the government intends to spend 500m/- in the first six months to advertise on CNN and CNBC with an intention of targeting the US and Canada markets.

Prof Maghembe said that Tanzania would display a series of brochures showing the country's tourist attractions at the New York Times exhibition and a presentation will be conducted to selected travel agents and tour operators who feature Tanzania as a tourist destination. He said that the team would hold talks with Delta Airlines officials in Dallas on operating direct flights to Tanzania from the US. The minister said that the
tourism promotion is being carried out simultaneously with hotel expansion programme in order to cope with the anticipated increase of tourists from the current 612,000 a year to one million by 2010.

Bee products buzzing with potential

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
WOW, it's simply amazing the variety and diversity of business opportunities that exist right here in Tanzania; in fact, all of Africa. It truly boggles the mind. Now, according to this short newspaper clipping (see below), Tanzania's bee products possess "unique organic qualities" that rivals the best in the world. Well, I hope some visionary entrepreneurs (local or foreign) take Mr. Pamba's enthusiastic message about said opportunities, and begin to get the wheels of bee commerce in motion. Ya know, this is the kind of story that gives you a "goood buzz" without having to crank open a Kilimanjaro beer. :-) Once again, this is excellent Go Africa go! material. If you have any such stories, please email them to me at MaxTheITpro[at]GMail.com. I assume you know to put an @ in place of [at]. Right? That's to prevent web spiders (robots) from collecting my email address in order to send me junk (er spam), which I don't care to entertain.

Article: Call to exploit the potential of bee products
Source: Daily News (Tanzania), 22 Feb 2007, Home News, pg 2
By: Daily News Reporter
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources & Tourism, Mr. Saleh Pamba, has challenged the country's business community to exploit the export potential of bee products available in Tanzania. Opening a meeting of honey and beeswax stakeholders in Arusha, yesterday, he said that Tanzania's bee products could be the most competitive in the world market due to its unique organic qualities.

Mr. Pamba, however, told the stakeholders that investment is required to improve production technology and marketing. At the moment the production of honey and beeswax in Tanzania is 5,600 and 600 tonnes respectively. This genearates 8.6 million and 1.6 million US dollars. It is estimated that the productive potential of bee products in Tanzania is about 138,000 tonnes of honey and 9,200 tonnes of beeswax per annum.

Mr. Pamba said that many African countries, including Tanzania, have realised that, if made a priority in terms of the allocation of human and financial resources, the beekeeping sector could contribute immensely to poverty eradication and environmental conservation. The meeting was organised under the auspices of ApiTradeAfrica, a business association that will coordinate and stimulate production and marketing of quality honey and other bee products from African countries.

Free business plan toolkit for Tanzanian SMEs

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
THIS is EXCELLENT news...that a Kiswahili business planning toolkit will soon be available for prospective SME owners throughout Tanzania. However, I'm still dismayed that it's so damn hard for women entrepreneurs to get seed money before their businesses can become fully operational. I truly believe that women are BETTER managers of money than MEN simply because they have to manage household finances every day of their lives -- especially in this part of the planet. Are there no NGOs out there that cater specifically to businesswomen on the continent??

To all loans officers at lending institutions throughout Africa: "Come on, YOU can do BETTER than that! Give women the credit they deserve, for crying out loud." (pun intended). Someone should seriously start a bank that caters to women. They'd probably make a killing.
Any how, I feel that this type of news is what Go Africa go! is all about: Highlighting positive business developments on the continent that'll lead to more prosperity. And who can argue with that? Oh, don't forget to take a peek at an earlier post of mine that relates to this topic: Are Online Lending Sites a Threat to Banks?

Article: Business planning toolkit for SMEs in pipeline
By: Beatrice Philemon
Source: The Guardian (Tanzania), 12 Mar 2007, Business & Foreign section, pg ii
The World Bank is funding business plan training tool kit for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Tanzania. A manual on business plan writing skills exists in the English language and was recently used by experts from the US to train women entrepreneurs on export trade skills and procedures. Happiness Mchomvu, Project Coordinator of the Women Entrepreneurship Development Programme said last week that World Bank has agreed to support the manual's translation into Kiswahili language in order to facilitate effective communication.

One of the weaknesses that beset SMEs in Tanzania was the inability of its managers to compost bankable business plans. As a result, it becomes difficult for them to access loan from financial institutions. Business plans, she said, help one to visualize goals and introduce basic requirements for credit. It also helps an investor to consider what aspects were needed in order for SME to qualify for a loan. "Business plan shows the bank how well ones own business can survive in future", she said. A business plan begins with a vision, with goals helping an entrepreneur to achieve that vision.

Highlighting on Small Enterprises (SME's), she said SME's have traditionally had a difficult time gaining access to finance. Most small businesses will start with money borrowed or given by family members or with personal savings, and without access to further funds; many businesses are unable to take advantage of opportunities, which can make their business grow. For women entrepreneurs, the challenge is even greater, because in most countries, they are not in full control of the assets they own.

Although it is slowly changing, most women in East Africa will require the signature of their husbands in order to obtain loan, or acquire large assets. These are obstacles to business growth as most commercial banks require collateral as security back up. Furthermore in East Africa, as in other developing countries, women entrepreneurs are usually some of the smallest businesses. For a variety of reasons, only a few of them are able to make their businesses grow.

A 2003 study on women enterprises in Kenya revealed that there were 613,000 women-owned enterprises while in 1999, it was estimated at 1.3 million and in 2002, of those, only some 5 percent or some 65,000 had hired employees. While the informal sector businesses have access to group lending schemes through various NGOs and other specialized institutions, the small women-owned enterprises generally lack support services or access to finance, she noted.

Tanzania to host International Trade Expo

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
AFTER voraciously reading the articles in The Guardian newspaper that I purchased yesterday, I see an enticing advertisement that looks something like this:

East Africa Int'l. Trade Expo

2007 9-12 MARCH, 11 AM - 7 PM

DIAMOND JUBILEE HALL, DAR-ES-SALAAM

Visit the multiple products trade show featuring participants from 24 countries

MED EXPO (Medical & Health)

BUILDING EXPO (Building & Interiors)

ITEL EXPO (IT, Tel & Electronics)

AUTO EXPO (Auto & Spare Parts)

INDCON (Consumer & Industrial)

FOOD EXPO (Food, Kitchen & Hotel)

Info: EXPOGROUP Tel: 0757111552 Email: inq@expogr.com Web: www.expogr.com

Without any hesitation, I quickly called the telephone number above to find out more information. To my pleasant surprise, there were no admission fees whatsoever. This should make it a whole lot easier to convince my friends and their kids to tag along. Most importantly, I decided to attend said event and cover it as a Go Africa go! blogger since this is exactly the type of topical business material that I'm looking for. After all, there'll be excellent business opportunities on display, and I wanted to get the scoop.

Could one involve hemp? :-)

Stay tuned!

Hemp Farming in Africa: A Billion Dollar Industry?

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
ARE you kidding me? A billion dollars? Read for yourself...courtesy of Jack Herer, hemp expert extraordinaire:

February 1938: Popular Mechanics Magazine:

"NEW BILLION-DOLLAR CROP"

February 1928: Mechanical Engineering Magazine:

"THE MOST PROFITABLE & DESIRABLE CROP THAT CAN BE GROWN"

Well, if you've been sleeping in a cave for a good half century, you'd probably never realize that mankind has been blessed with a plant of magnificent (almost magical) proportions. A plant that can do almost everything (food, medicine, skin care, building materials, clothing, industrial composites, natural herbicide/fertilizer, and tons more cool stuff) except fix your kitchen sink and babysit the kids.

In a sense, hemp is like the Chameleon Creature in the The Mighty Hercules cartoon series, which I used to watch religiously during breakfast time before heading off to public school in Ottawa, Canada. Oh alright, I watched it a bit in high school too. Boy, the Chameleon was an amazing foe. He could instantly change into a bird, another person, a snake, a tree, a giant blob monster - anything - in order to evade capture or to battle Hercules. I always dreamt of having such "chameleonic" powers. Oh well, dreams like that only materialize in movies on the idiot box (TV), eh?

$how me the money
So, how good is hemp as a potential income earner for farmers here in Africa? Well, take a peek on Jack's thoughts:

"As you will see in these articles, the newly mechanized cannabis hemp industry was in its infancy, but well on its way to making cannabis America's largest agricultural crop. And in light of subsequent developments (e.g. biomass energy technology, building materials, etc.), we now know that hemp is the world's most important ecological resource and therefore, potentially our planet's single largest industry.

The Popular Mechanics article was the very first time in American history that the term "billion-dollar"* was ever applied to any U.S. agricultural crop!

*Equivalent to $40-$80 billion now.

Experts today conservatively estimate that, once fully restored in America, hemp industries will generate $500 billion to a trillion dollars per year, and will save the planet and civilization from fossil fuels and their derivatives - and from deforestation!

If Harry Anslinger, DuPont, Hearst and their paid-for (know it or not, then as now) politicians had not outlawed hemp - under the pretext of marijuana (see Chapter 4, "Last Days of Legal Cannabis") - and suppressed hemp knowledge from our schools, researchers and even scientists, the glowing predictions in these articles would already have come true by now - and more benefits than anyone could then envision - as new technologies and uses continue to develop." {source}

My Thoughts
Okay, all I want to say is that I sincerely hope government leaders here in Africa are much more sensible (and less corrupt) than their counterparts in the USA who have made hemp illegal to grow for purely political reasons. Heck, they've even passed these ridiculous policies on to other naive nations trying to earn favours (usually access to US markets, or financial aid). This is in order to protect some very big and powerful corporations (Archer Daniels Midland, Dupont, the entire pharmaceutical industry, the toxic cotton industry, among others) as billions of dollars in profits and shareholder equity are at stake. You don't believe me? Well take a peek at this:

"A further crisis for Hemp arose in America during the 1930's due to propaganda created from companies with vested interest from the new petroleum based synthetic textile companies and the large and powerful newspaper / lumber barons who saw Hemp as the biggest threat to their businesses. Traditionally, Hemp was processed by hand which was very labour intensive and costly, not lending itself towards modern commercial production. In 1917 American George W. Schlichten patented a new machine for separating the fibre from the internal woody core ('Hurds') reducing labour costs by a factor of 100 and increasing fibre yield by a factor of 60. Mr Schlichten and his machines disappeared, not surprisingly!" {source}

Well, thank goodness there are countries such as Canada, France, Russia, Norway, Holland, China and many others whose governments are led by individuals with a different political agenda. If you look at that list, you'll also notice that said nations were not "suckered" into sending their troops to Iraq with all of that faulty (and expensive) so-called intelligence. So it appears that there is some sanity in this world after all. :-) But I'll leave it to Uncle Nick to show you how much insanity exists right before our very eyes. Once again, here's further proof of the hypocrisy of the US government when hemp enters the scene:

"During the Second World War the supplies of Hemp from the East were being cut off so American farmers were encouraged to grow Hemp for military use (webbing, canvas etc.) under the banner of "Hemp For Victory". After the war, licences were subsequently revoked, at a similar time to the last Hemp crops being grown in the U.K." {source}

In closing, I suggest that farmers here in Africa should seriously consider the possibility of growing hemp. Period. This would create excellent opportunities to use it domestically while also earning valuable foreign exchange since it has, literally, thousands of industrial uses. You see, the plant is like a damn chameleon. :-)

Oh, I know who hemp reminds me of: Michael Jordan. Besides, his great high-flying offensive basketball skills, MJ will probably go down as the greatest defensive player ever. He used to shut down the best players from the opposing team night in, night out. In addition, he was a great passer, shooter, ball handler and rebounder. He simply did it all - just like hemp. :-)

By the way, don't forget the numerous jobs that would be created to support the hemp industry along with the knowledge that the environment is getting a big friendly boost. One other thing. It's no secret that certain agricultural products (cotton, sugar, etc.) are not bringing in the profit margins for farmers that was guaranteed in the past.

"According to the government's Annual Vulnerability Monitoring Report 2005, cotton prices have fallen steadily over the past few years as a result of international competition and last year's price for cotton was about 33 percent lower than the previous year. A similar fate has befallen the sugar industry. The European Union plans to slash its price to suppliers in African, Caribbean and Pacific Least Developing Countries by 37 percent from the start of 2007 to bring it in line with the global price, causing the profits of Swazi producers to shrink significantly." {source}

Now, according to Lufto Dlamini (Swazi Minister for Enterprise and Employment), "in hemp we have an alternative to cotton, which has let us down badly over the last few years." {source} This is yet more food for thought, and a sign that some government leaders in Africa are starting to see hemp's true potential. Right now, this is probably one of the best win-win business opportunities on the planet and, perhaps, in the history of the world.

Go hemp go! :-)

-----------------------
Related links:

• A Brief Summary of the Uses of Hemp
• Hempology 101 Textbook (by Ted Smith)
• The History of Hemp (by Derek Bielby)
• The Hemp Report News
• Global Hemp (portal to the Hemp community)
• Canada grows North America's first modern Hemp crop
• Journey to Forever - Biofuels (how to make your own)
• BioDiesel Magazine
• HempCar.org - BioFuels facts
• BioRegional Development Group (an entrepreneurial, independent environmental organisation)
• Hemp Union
• The Hemp Trading Company
• California Hemp Bill (blog discussion on EV World blogs)
• New Internationalist (mentions the benefits of using hemp over cotton)
• Microalgae (another billion dollar industry?)
• Bio-Energy Economy Picking Up Steam

Tanzania Urged to Computerise

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
ONE way for a country to quickly reduce costs and improve the efficiency of government nationwide is simply to look at IT (Information Technology) as a serious tool, and then apply it with zeal where ever it makes sense. That's why the newspaper article below really got my attention - so much in fact that I retyped it below giving due credit where applicable. Well, what are you waiting for? Read away!

Article: Government Urged to Computerise all Services
Author: Felix Andrew
Source: The Guardian (Saturday, March 3, 2007; Business & Foreign, pg. 1)

The deployment of info-tech in all government departments has the potential of increasing transparency and efficiency of service dispensation, an expert has said.
The Chief Executive Officer of Techno Brain (T) Ltd., Manoj Shanker said in Dar es Salaam recently that computerization would also reduce the chances of acts of corruption being committed in public offices.

As an example, he pointed out that with widespread computerization, a person who wants to get a visa form or a passport application form would not be compelled to go physically to the concerned offices, instead, one can easily download the documents from a website. His concern centred further on the fact that although the ICT industry was growing, it was doing so at a slow pace compared to other countries.

"Tanzania is emerging market in ICT industry, so without doing heavy investments we might be left behind." Shanker was announcing the New Horizons twenty fifth anniversary. Techno Brain Ltd. is the master franchisee of New Horizons East Africa and Central Africa. In his opinion, the ICT industry was facing various challenges which need a collaborative support from both the government and private sectors. One of the major challenges is shortage of skills warranting immediate attention.

As part of a strategic approach, Shanker said the government should establish more colleges dealing with ICT and introduce it as part of curriculum in schools in order to narrow the digital divide. "Tanzanians are good in software technology but they should be provided with more exposure", he contended.

For his part, Msafiri Lissu, the company's operations manager, said the ICT awareness among Tanzanians is still low, so more efforts were needed to improve the industry. He said although the government has reduced or totally removed some taxes on computers and software, but still the costs were high. One of the hampering access to ICT is the low income and lack of awareness.

Meanwhile, the Dar es Salaam centre of the New Horizons has won the Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Regional Small Market Centre of the year award during the year 2006. The company was awarded after meeting the criteria laid down which include quality delivery standards, increased growth and customer satisfaction. Having trained more than 50,000 students and 700 corporate customers spread across the continent, Techno Brain Limited is the largest ICT training provider in the region.

As you can see, this is excellent news for companies or individuals who are able to provide a wide range of IT services (system administration, security, networking, web/application development, database analysis & design, programming, document management, encryption, data recovery, open source solutions, CRM, HRM, accounting, ERP, etc.) to the government sector.

What troubles me at times though is that a lot of people jump into the IT field simply for the money, but they have no clue (or passion) about what the heck they're doing. In addition, most of them are unable to see the big picture nor do they really understand the problem when they first meet with the client. This is something my Computer Science professors really stressed when I was an undergrad student.

Finally, it's my sincere desire that IT professionals working on new or upcoming projects here in Africa simply do the job (or task) correctly the first time around. From my own experience - usually as an observer - planning and documenting IT requirements seems to be a big problem over here. Hopefully this will change in due time as more serious professionals enter the market.