he past two weeks, we made good progress. We went shopping the entire day together with the magical Fundi Eddie. We had a long Wishlist of materials we had to collect, mostly big metal parts for the frames of the machines. A little pick-up truck was needed because certain parts were about 4 meters long! Of course there was not enough space in the front of the car for the 3 of us so we had to ride in the back of the truck together with all the materials. It was a funny display for all the locals because they never see white girls riding in the back of a pick up truck. Overall it was a very very useful day and we got to purchase everything we wanted! Femke even bought a little jacket in between the engineering stores.
When the sawing started, it must have looked a little clumsy, because we immediately got a lot of help from the staff. Some of the employees from the woodcutting department helped us with finding and adjusting the vise. Usually they use the vises for gluing palmwood together to make the wooden lids of the jars. After seeing our endeavour in the sawing field, some of the employees soon came to the rescue and together we continued the project. Together we looked at the drawings and explained the purpose of the parts. We worked through as much parts as we could and at the end of the day we had done a great deal of it.
Another activity was the big fundraising event that took place. The event was very importance to Chako because the need for a new workplace is high and funds from other/third parties are essential in order to start with their future plans. The main focus of the future plans is seeking to build a new workshop using sustainable practices such as using shipping containers for workshops, solar energy to supply power, water collection from rain and composting. Furthermore, they want to invest in a vehicle for the company because up until now they had to rent a taxi for everything which is not efficient. For more information about their plans, you can take a look at the brochure we made for this event!
When the guest were arriving, we helped Chako to design their stand. After a while when the guests mingled a bit, local media arrived too and the minister of trade did a speech. He had some warming words ready for Chako and encouraged people -maybe a bit too direct- to donate money. After the intro from Christine, we had to chance to do a little presentation about plastic recycling and convince them why it it so important to invest in plastic recycling. We were thankful that we got this chance because many general managers were present at the event so it was vital for us to reach them. A general manager from Zuri hotel (already a partner from Chako) even approached us afterwards to talk about plastic recycling. She was curious about the method we are using and what we can do with it. Moreover, we discussed some opportunities with her regarding product ideas because she was enthusiastic to work with us in the future and would like to showcase Chako's products in their boutique. Next weekend there will be a staff trip to the Zuri hotel so then we can look what we can make for the hotel and discuss product ideas and styles that would match with the current style of the hotel.
