1 % event

Last Friday I attended the 1 % event in Amsterdam. Fighting poverty is the 1 % club's main goal. Simultaniously 2 small events were held in Cameroon and Kenia. With both groups was a lifestream contact. Wow!
It was my first time, and I really enjoyed being there. 2 Inspiring stories of what can be done. Open sessions to work on cases and get input, brilliant failures to learn from, even an award, speed dating with world connectors, co-creation on specific cases and jus getting acquainted with people. I initiated an open space session about 'setting up small business for women in remote rural Malawi'. That is the area that I know quite well. So much to be done there. It was good to get confronting questions, facts to think about and a good laugh. The whole event was cheerful anyway, and that was a good energy. More to come!

Agriculture conference in Addis Abeba

In the film below we see and hear Gerda Verburg, our government minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Security. She's showing all good plans; let's hope this conference will add to solving major problems, mainly in Sub Sahara Africa and South East Asia. Most images in this small film look like they are of well fertilised crops in European glasshouses. But especially African arable land looks much poorer. For making these plots more fertile and producing higher yields we need smart, sustainable solutions. Also to improve people's daily lives as small farmers. Good examples are the biogas cookers in Rwanda, solar cookers, organic manure and irrigation.
Also in Malawi we are working on these matters, in coöperation with Izaak Kazinga, a local specialist.To be continued!