Well, for those looking forward to pictures of the woman's garden, you will have to wait. I did not go today as when we were planning to do so, the sky let go a downpour. We have had rain on and off since I got here, which is great for the Afghans, but not great if you plan to spend the day sitting on the lawn in a park.
So instead, I want to tell you about a project that I think is amazing. It involves leaves, waste paper, and sawdust and can help clean up litter, recycle paper, is better for the air, provide income for even the illiterate or disabled, and will keep people from cutting down trees.
What is it? Well, follow me after the fold.
Our Briquette Project started with a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.
Here is what I am talking about (you have to click on the link, the internet is soooo slow tonight I cannot upload pictures, sorry:
http://www.afghans4tomorrow.com/...
The process is so simple! You collect free leaves, paper, cardboard, and sawdust, all free, and all things that generally just make a mess.
You put the paper, leaves and sawdust into a cement tub in the ground with water, let it sit and mush it up and end up with a pasty like substance.
This is put into a mold, and using a very simple press you end up with these briquettes. Once they dry, they are used for cooking or heating.
http://www.afghans4tomorrow.com/...
They clean up the streets, and are a business even a kid could do. The streets of Kabul are full of what they call 'street children'. These kids are not able to go to school as they are the breadwinner in the family. Most wander the streets selling stuff, offing to shine shoes, or bless you with incense hoping to get a tip. This is very dangerous as you can imagine.
We have trained many, including disabled adults who we pay while we train, then they can make these themselves and provide fuel for the family and a product that they can sell. They also receive literacy training so they learn to read and write along with how to run a small business.
These things are so popular it is mind blowing. This was the crowd at our booth at an agricultural fair last year.
http://www.afghans4tomorrow.com/...
Not only is this going to help individual families, but we believe it should enable our organization (Afghans4Tomorrow) to be self sufficient, so we do not have to rely solely on donations and grants.
Pretty cool huh?
Tomorrow I hope to look at a new location to open up another production/training facility. Wish me luck!