Learning all around

There are many things we are learning on our trip. With gratefulness below are a couple simple insights.

Engineering: We are still working on completing drawing for the machinist and picking up supplies. Supply chain management in Malawi is quite challenging. We have learned to be exact in out specification of parts creating multiple SolidWorks drawing. We have created detailed Bill on Materials (BOM) that seem to change daily. We have driven all over Blantyre looking for the parts we need only to find the particular dimension isn’t available so we must revise designs and drawing. We are currently at the mercy of the machinist (who is so very nice), but our time line is shortening each day.

So many Malawian businessmen have helped to move forward. Paulo at Non-Ferrous Industries and Jabar at Central African Distributor have been endlessly patient with us as we have so many questions and requests.

Jojo and Anthony spend hours creating and recreating drawings.

The Kumponda Community: The degree to which the community welcomes us into their lives is astounding. The children want to hold out hands or play with us. The leaders of the community cook and eat lunch with us each day. The smiles and laughter are universal. We explained the design of the Maize Mill yesterday and they were quite interested. We tested Bore Hole water and interviewed the community members who use the Bore Hole. The way of life here is full of a supportive community. Many people gather to visit and the children seem to belong to everyone. Part of me longs for this embrace. This is so different than our independent competitive culture.

Our Team: We all are working hard in any way that we can to make this trip a success. We support and encourage. We keep each other company as we travel Blantyre in search of parts. We are able to have hard discussions about design and process. We are all flexible without being indecisive. I don’t think there could be a better team.

Malawi: The weather here is almost exactly like San Luis Obispo in the summer. There are mosquitos, but not many. We sleep under mosquito nets so we can open the window at night and the room is cool. The air often smells of smoke as there are many open fires for cooking or clearing brush. This is different than SLO. One of the shocking things for me is that people drive on the left side of the road. It’s hard for me not to panic as I watch our driver, Thompson, take a traffic circle going clockwise. All these differences allow us to notice that there are many ways to live a life.

Liz and team