Hi Shaun,

The facts mentioned in the media release quoted in my last post above are applicable to many regions in the Africa region, in addition to Mathare and Kenya. This is the outcome of several governments in that region supporting larger plants to achieve economies of operation and lower costs of ground maize for the benefit of their populations. The obvious outcome has been that smaller plants are no more competitive. Accordingly, I do not expect the figures in the article posted by me to be inaccurate.

Cheers

Vijai

Hi Shaun and Vijai,
I t is good that we are trying to carry out a long analysis about the posho mill business.I appreciate the fact that we don't want to venture into loss making enterprise rather we want some good income generating activity that will suit in meeting the needs of the school.
From the media, I can say that most of the businessmen in Kenya and perhaps other parts of our region like avoiding taxes so that they can make abnormal profits and whenever they are pinned down to pay for it , they will start spreading such information so that the gorvenment can come to their rescue.The media people are also ready to publish such information because they are searching for the day's news.When I look at Mathare for example many people don't want to pay for their bills as they want every thing to be done at zero cost.Whenever this is put in force to be done then they have to start lamenting and this leaves the media with some news to spread.All in all is, small business enterprises make a lot profits as they avoid much costs such as the ones raised in the 2oo8 issue.
At the moment, there is a lot of maze in the stocks and the government would want to buy it from the farmers at the price you have quoted just to enable farmers not make a lot of losses otherwise from private farmers we can get maize at a low price.Don't forget that we shall be giving grinding services as our major service and the milling price don't fluctuate as the maize sell itself.
There is alot of maize in the country now the demand for grinding tend also to be high.
Shaun's figures are very correct and the chances of saving more than that are also there.
That is all for now,
Warm Regards,
Richard.

Hi Vijai and Richard,

Thanks for your feedback. As I see it the article confirms that we are wise to stay away from buying and selling maize due to government support for large companies. However, as Richard points out the cost of the maize in the local market is immaterial to profitability as the business depends on the physical activity of grinding the maize itself and not its market value. There will always be a demand for ground maize in this community.

I also follow the arguement that local millers are always going to claim lower than real profits through the media as it is in their interest to do so. For this reason, and together with the fact that we have looked closely at the figures and no other options have been put forward I am optimistic this can be a profitable business.

I for one look forward to supporting the application to Kitchen Table once the CBO registration is in hand.

Cheers Shaun

Hi Shaun,
Thanks for your conlusion.I just want to let you that the money for the application of the certificate is now ready.We have to submit our papers to the concerned offices as early as Monday next week.We hope we shall be ready with this document at the time I said.
God bless you all,
Richard.

Hi Richard,

It´s great to see this lively debate and your availability, Richard, to respond to our questions.
Maybe now that we have the figures and the plan more or less sorted out, it would be good to get started with an application dossier and the search for organisations to apply to, especially since your school kids are in holidays now and you might have some more time.

1. The Kitchentable charities we talked about do not specify how to apply http://www.kitchentablecharities.org/grant.htm
So maybe you could send them an email and ask for more information on their application process.

2. We should also search for other organisations that might be worth contacting for a micro-loan.

3. To establish an application dossier some basic information are always asked. I´ll attach you a tenplate document that had been done for another village, but that gives you a good idea of what iformation is needed. Also have a look at the explanations at this website http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1301.htm

So you could already start to write something about:
a) background: your school, number of pupils, background of pupils, teachers, classes etc., who are the people of the CBO, how is it organised, what is its mission
b) what is the problem you want to adress with the posho mill business
c) how will the business work: where, who, how long etc., what will be the impact
d) timeframe and the evolution of the business and budget planning (we can help with this)

Try to be as precise as possible using exact numbers, comparisons to other similar projects in your neighborhood, and try to write very clearly, using a paragraphe for each idea, tables etc. We can then review the document.

I hope this helps to get you started, let me know if you have any questions.

Maria

01_Program_Charter village Pipeline template.doc

Very nice work, Maria!!!

--
Ginger :)

Kitchen Table Charities is really great to work with. Bramuel and I worked with them in the Kayole-Soweto village for Arrow Web Hospital. They granted the hospital money to purchase some medical laboratory equipment. Brian Donaldson is the main person that we dealt with. They did want hard copies of everything we sent them, so just be aware that email submission of a proposal will not be enough. They are a fantastic group of people and really have a genuine interest in the projects they choose to fund.

All the best-

Jennifer

Hi Maria, Ginger and Jennifer,
Thanks for the conclusion we have all reached.The hard exercise now is writing a grant proposal.Since I have not attempted writing one I will follow the instruction and the help Maria has forwaded and post it on this site for you to approve.I know Shaun who is very positive about this grant will have much to contribute as well.I hope to be back to you in few days with the a sample proposal.
Thanks to you all.
Richard.

Hi everyone,

Just to endorse Jennifer's experience with Kitchen Table. We found them most supportive with our succesful application for a water project in Zambia. Their genuine interest extended beyond the project itself by expecting further reports into the future ; all very reasonable as quite rightly they choose partners carefully and demand accountability.

I am sure between us we can submit a good application.

As I am in the same country as Kitchen Table I am happy to forward the necessary hard copies from Richard to them when the time comes. We did this with our previous application and sent a supporting letter with photos.

On that point Richard have a think about photos as they add good support to an application.

The people at Kitchen Table may know little about Mathare and the present school but a few carefully selected photos can be valuable.

May I suggest a photo of the school building or a classroom and another of the members of the school committee.

Cheers Shaun

Hi Shaun and every one,
It is true that you shall be of great help in this application exercise.Now, as there is much to be done from my side, let me have some time to draft a grant proposal as well as the rest of the supporting requirements. Meanwhile we wait for the registration certificate.I have given out all the requirements to some one acquinted with the necessary office and I am yet to receive the reply from him.I will let you know as soon as he gives me the feedback.
Richard.

Hi Shaun and all,
As for now, I have submitted my application papers to the gender and social services registration office and awaiting for the certificate to be signed and issued to me.I hope towards the end of this week, it will be released to us.
I am also working on the proposal draft and much sooner I will post the sample draft for your approval.However I have heard from a few organizations that have sent their application to Kitchen Table receiving regrets. They say that right now they don't have funds for grants.
Thanks for now,
Richard

Hi Richard and everyone,

Good to see the certificate may soon be issued.
I am not too surprised that Kitchen Table are low on funds. I am sure Maria, Ginger and Jennifer will agree how difficult it is to get funds at this time. In many ways it is easier to apply for supplies from donors but this brings its problems of transportation between countries.
Looking at the Kitchen Table web site there is no indication of them stopping their efforts to help projects; I am sure their committee receives hundreds of applications and still has to make difficult decisions on who to give funds to. We may not be lucky but we can give it a try.

I think what this does mean is that we should all be looking for alternative sources of funds and keep suggesting ideas. I know many of the ideas Maria and I came up with initially were not suitable for the Mathare community ; but I think we should still keep looking. Ginger has been very successful with goat and horticulture projects in the past...I wish we could tap into those here but Mathare is in the middle of a city.

Keep pooling our ideas and something will come up.

Cheers Shaun

Richard-

I agree with Shaun and have not seen anything from Kitchen Tables indicating that they are not funding projects at this time. I think if you draft up a proposal, post it here first and we will see what we can do to make sure it is as good as can be before submitting. I do not think that you should rule this out as a possibility.

I also think that you could consider submitting for the posho mills project to Friends of Kenya. Because this is potential income-generating I do think it would be a good project to submit to them. The Safaricom Foundation may also be a good option to explore. You can learn more about their process on their website at:

http://www.safaricomfoundation.org/index.php?id=340

Keep your eye on the fundraising group here at Nabuur. I've added a feed to the overview page from Funds for NGO's so each time they update with new funding opportunities you'll find reference to them there.

All the best-

Jennifer

Hi Richard and everyone,

Well done Richard getting the CBO certificate and posting the Grant Proposal. I can see you have given this a lot of thought.
It certainly helps us better understand the challenges you face with this project.
It is ambitious in its timescale but very worthwhile in its objectives.

I will now go back over the proposal in more detail and try and help with the final draft. I am sure all our neighbours will now come forward with some good suggestions.

Cheers Shaun

Hi Richard,

As you know Carol and I have had a previous successful application to Kitchen Table Charities Trust.
On that occasion we found it helpful as we had previously visited the place to write a personal recommendation to KTCT before submitting a formal application. If you are happy for us to do this, we would need to know:

1. How many children are currently attending school in the rented church building, their approximate ages would be helpful. Also whether the children are fee paying at the moment.

2. How many teachers there are and whether they are volunteers or paid.

If you could let us have this information as soon as possible, then we can get the email off to KTCT.
However, if any neighbours think that it would be better to just send the application off, then please let us know.

With regard to your formal application, we know that KTCT will ask you to provide the following:

- a copy of your local registration certificate and most recent Annual Accounts (we can advise you with this);

- a detailed estimate or invoice from a supplier giving the cost of purchasing a Posho Mill Machine;

- details of the your charity's local bank account, including its name, account number and IBAN/SWIFT code;

- any additional literature and background information on your community based organisation's activities that might be useful in helping the Grants Committee to reach a decision.

So if you could start to work on these points, we should have all the information that we need for an application.

Cheers,
Shaun