tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76811748076125130212024-02-21T09:41:33.047-08:00Watu AfrikaRaise Africa's dignity and prosperityMultitude Projecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529491476599471190noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-29496708288755534522011-06-21T00:30:00.000-07:002011-06-21T00:31:12.596-07:00How to build a Rocket Stove<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aLh7FVla6RU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>TiberiusBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00912528108978262916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-25111892256384169752011-06-10T00:57:00.000-07:002011-06-10T00:57:29.315-07:00STEAM ENGINE 12KW GENERATOR Solar Mirror Array<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jTvAL7ty53M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>TiberiusBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00912528108978262916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-79338776616786249102011-05-04T17:14:00.000-07:002011-05-24T11:18:14.246-07:00Community Investment Portfolio (CIP) frameworkThe following slides present a model of a local business ecosystem. The main goal of our <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/watuafrika/HOME/the-project/map-africas-resources">Map Africa's Resources</a> project is to build <b>a map of all African resources</b>. At the local scale, the model presented bellow can be seen as an <b>inference system</b> over the local resource map. This will provide locals with powerful tools of analysis and strategic decision making. <br />
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Model created by Steve Bosserman from <a href="http://www.localfoodsystems.org/">Food Local Systems</a>.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="559" src="https://docs.google.com/present/embed?id=d5rh2r8_1581cq3z6qfx&size=l" width="700"></iframe></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="559" src="https://docs.google.com/present/embed?id=d5rh2r8_1690gc89twf8&size=l" width="700"></iframe></div>TiberiusBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00912528108978262916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-35123227585220810462011-05-01T16:50:00.001-07:002011-05-01T16:50:30.082-07:00Build your own civilization<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/13020225?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/13020225">Marcin Jakubowski - part 1</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/eastbaypictures">East Bay Pictures</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p></div>TiberiusBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00912528108978262916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-8038241083417101932011-04-18T13:43:00.001-07:002011-04-18T13:44:45.611-07:00Marcin Jacubowski on the Global Village Construction Set & Open Source Ecology<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zIsHKrP-66s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>TiberiusBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00912528108978262916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-977028397181954422011-02-20T15:04:00.000-08:002011-02-21T08:40:18.245-08:00Watu Afrika needs dating!<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:inherit;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/watuafrika/" style="border-collapse: collapse;" target="_blank">Watu Afrika</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"> needs the </span><a href="http://cotw.cc/wiki/Project_Matching" style="border-collapse: collapse;" target="_blank">ProM project</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"> initiated by the <a href="http://cotw.cc/wiki/Coalition_of_the_Willing">Coalition of the Willing</a> to enable the coalescence of small and medium size networks with specific skills and with access to different kind of resources into super networks, which would surpass the critical mass to move an entire African continent. </span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:inherit;">Watu Afrika in NOT about an empty social movement following a utopia. Our goal is to build new free and open institutions that empower individuals and local communities, that enable them to create value and to exchange it freely among themselves and with the entire world. We want to help Africans to brake free from the post-colonial system, to put them in charge of their material and cultural resources, to put them in charge of processes of value creation and exchange. </span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:inherit;">If we can somehow influence the development of the </span><a href="http://cotw.cc/wiki/Project_Matching" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(0, 0, 204);" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:inherit;"></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:inherit;"><a href="http://cotw.cc/wiki/Project_Matching" style="border-collapse: collapse;" target="_blank">ProM project</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:inherit;">. I think we would drag it towards building a generic catalyzer. Something suitable for our multi-dimensional approach. Something that would connect <a href="http://www.oerafrica.org/">open education</a> to <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/watuafrika/HOME/the-project/map-africas-resources">resource mapping projects</a>, to <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/multitudeinnovation/">open innovation</a> (adding value to resources), to open enterprises for production and distribution, to <a href="http://www.metacurrency.org/">open currencies</a>, to open commerce with the world, to open governance, etc. This is what I call a <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/multitude2008/">Multitude Constructive Revolution</a> in concrete terms. </span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:inherit;">At this moment I am establishing a pilot project in a small community near Montreal, Canada, where we use this same approach to stimulate local sustainable development. Kate from <a href="http://www.africansolutionz.com/" style=" target="_blank">http://www.<wbr>africansolutionz.com</a> is now working on establishing a similar pilot project in Ghana. In doing so we hope to learn how to scale up our infrastructure. I am sure that whatever will come out of the </span><a href="http://cotw.cc/wiki/Project_Matching" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(0, 0, 204);" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:inherit;"></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:inherit;"><a href="http://cotw.cc/wiki/Project_Matching" style="border-collapse: collapse;" target="_blank">ProM project</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate;"> will help us a lot. </span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:inherit;">Tiberius</span></div>TiberiusBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00912528108978262916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-2834758652685682672011-02-13T11:31:00.000-08:002011-02-13T11:31:55.438-08:00OER Africa: Open Education for Africa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm05H-uiMibWH2zexwo-4djhZDA-I-_0dUsswigC9avK8VXzgIIDruVQwOqN4UzgAzv76UIAyxvC6MSJ_xNIlInqt1q5-o7oFu5Xp0OTx3_oigj4ayA4R4SnlDR61Br4v3iOmjvcxXR6Q/s1600/OER+Africa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm05H-uiMibWH2zexwo-4djhZDA-I-_0dUsswigC9avK8VXzgIIDruVQwOqN4UzgAzv76UIAyxvC6MSJ_xNIlInqt1q5-o7oFu5Xp0OTx3_oigj4ayA4R4SnlDR61Br4v3iOmjvcxXR6Q/s320/OER+Africa.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12.5px;"><br />
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</div><div style="color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12.5px;">OER Africa provides you access to all the information you will need to <a href="http://www.oerafrica.org/understandingoer" style="color: #385c9e; text-decoration: none;">learn about and benefit from Open Educational Resources (OER).</a> In brief, the concept of OER describes educational resources that are freely available for use by educators and learners, without an accompanying need to pay royalties or license fees.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12.5px;"><a href="http://www.oerafrica.org/FindingOER/SearchourDatabase/tabid/295/Default.aspx" style="color: #385c9e; text-decoration: none;">Browse and search</a> OER Africa to find information <a href="http://www.oerafrica.org/understandingoer" style="color: #385c9e; text-decoration: none;">about OER</a>, <a href="http://www.oerafrica.org/healthoer" style="color: #385c9e; text-decoration: none;">health</a>, <a href="http://www.oerafrica.org/foundation" style="color: #385c9e; text-decoration: none;">foundation</a>, <a href="http://www.oerafrica.org/agricultureoer" style="color: #385c9e; text-decoration: none;">agriculture</a> and <a href="http://www.oerafrica.org/teachered" style="color: #385c9e; text-decoration: none;">teacher education</a> resources.</div>TiberiusBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00912528108978262916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-69305748781123521692011-02-06T09:33:00.000-08:002011-02-06T09:37:15.028-08:00How can Africa benefit from its ancestral knowledge?African Herbal Medicine has the potential to affect real benefits for rural communities across the continent – both as an alternative to Western medicine and also as a way of generating income for tribal people in the less-developed parts of Africa. Herbal plants are a unique natural resource of vast potential value, and should be wisely exploited for the benefit of everyone.<br />
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Many species of medicinal trees and plants are already threatened with extinction due to over-exploitation linked to population growth, the spread of diseases (HIV/Aids, tuberculosis, etc.), and unscientific and unmanaged (and hence unsustainable) harvesting techniques such as ring-barking.<div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYR4WDqg1NfpcSvsQjYLupJ7IiD5ISFKng_7Jjjfc7wWAxr9F8a2rXVOhEoJi2sS3YlTDOcJEBn7TVHRbwKEu4XTnl3hcHcgM0l2dv5u6UOhqVbgZGoerDMPmlIU82QspvZnVMCjTncnk/s1600/herbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYR4WDqg1NfpcSvsQjYLupJ7IiD5ISFKng_7Jjjfc7wWAxr9F8a2rXVOhEoJi2sS3YlTDOcJEBn7TVHRbwKEu4XTnl3hcHcgM0l2dv5u6UOhqVbgZGoerDMPmlIU82QspvZnVMCjTncnk/s400/herbs.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">© by Giacomo Pirozzi</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>The problem is that we are not really sure what is actually out there. Research has already identified numerous plants that have preventative and/or curative properties. But how many more are there that we know little or nothing about? How much indigenous knowledge of potentially inestimable value will go to the grave with its custodian, the last tribal elder still in possession of that information?<br />
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Several species are already being commercially exploited by foreign interests (exploited unfortunately in the worst sense of the word) – rooibos tea, aloe vera and pelargonium are cases in point. Regretfully little or no benefit has trickled down to the people on the ground, which has understandably bred resentment.<br />
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And because these are natural products there is very little in the way of intellectual property protection. Urbanisation, coupled with a critical Western culture which has always pooh-poohed this type of thing as barbaric, has resulted in much of the indigenous knowledge already being lost. What remains is held by the elders and sangomas (medicine men), and is progressively disappearing as the purveyors of the old customs pass on.<br />
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I have examined the rapid growth of Chinese Herbal Medicine and believe that, given the opportunity, something similar could happen with its African counterpart. But it needs to happen in a sustainable way – where the natural environment is properly protected and people in deep rural communities can simultaneously reap the benefits.<br />
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The first task is to collect the knowledge. With high level of suspicion and cynicism about the motives of those doing the collecting, it will clearly not be easy, but it can definitely be done. If the collection can be done as a continent-wide programme involving the youth, it could have the additional benefit of rebuilding a respect for tradition and bridging the gap between two generations with vastly different perspectives on this issue.<br />
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If this could then be commercialised at community level, the spin-offs could be great. The most obvious of these would be (a) new natural cures for many illnesses and ailments, and (b) income generation activities in the rural areas leading to a reduction in the flood of rural people to the urban slums and the accompanying moral degeneration that this brings with it.<br />
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But the most valuable just might be the survival of the culture, traditions and way of life that is simply being ‘enveloped’ by the perpetual forward march of ‘civilisation’<br />
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By Ian Bentley</div>TiberiusBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00912528108978262916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-68045713785564806152011-01-26T11:49:00.000-08:002011-01-26T11:52:43.157-08:00Watu Afrika is not yet African! We need to do a better job to spread this concept where it is needed. See the Google Analytics data below, geographical distribution of visitors on Watu Afrika home site, by regions and by city. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBezLhDCaUxi9XirBDEDfbyc0th9UMz0kEmxRMn0KZnPmlMUsRXxqmVTHCytUj38KtVPoUFCtDVbgEfkXmtQaxpNAw0po4W5Exr9ZVI3FalCzkx5vGBnH-AOZe53zu5QWG-e6_0WfCQlE/s1600/Watu+Afrika+Regions.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBezLhDCaUxi9XirBDEDfbyc0th9UMz0kEmxRMn0KZnPmlMUsRXxqmVTHCytUj38KtVPoUFCtDVbgEfkXmtQaxpNAw0po4W5Exr9ZVI3FalCzkx5vGBnH-AOZe53zu5QWG-e6_0WfCQlE/s400/Watu+Afrika+Regions.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgH3uq2Dt6qAl-u7j-HOa8Qp4dEvhnc90wJRz6w42FEPHvGTbr8JSN8_Er1MIXWcGaelzzX9_SxUQ_zLYC2yeWsiW236zfD5AzG0lhxwKVhIEIwFTdB79dnCcxSf9CtsjQ0mJaMUywiq0/s1600/Watu+Afrika+City.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgH3uq2Dt6qAl-u7j-HOa8Qp4dEvhnc90wJRz6w42FEPHvGTbr8JSN8_Er1MIXWcGaelzzX9_SxUQ_zLYC2yeWsiW236zfD5AzG0lhxwKVhIEIwFTdB79dnCcxSf9CtsjQ0mJaMUywiq0/s400/Watu+Afrika+City.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>TiberiusBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00912528108978262916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-36538608752409547012010-12-27T13:24:00.000-08:002010-12-27T13:25:54.340-08:00Africa a New Developmental Focus<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="451" src="https://docs.google.com/present/embed?id=df24cfh7_271dhsz2cgs&size=m" width="555"></iframe></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">This is a first draft, you can contribute to improve this concept. </div>TiberiusBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00912528108978262916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-70254955571547303022010-12-06T11:23:00.000-08:002011-01-26T11:56:39.987-08:00Wikimapia - a tool to map all Africa's resources<b>Follow this <a href="http://wikimapia.org/#lat=1.7575368&lon=18.3691406&z=4&l=0&m=b">LINK</a></b><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="489" src="http://wikimapia.org/#lat=2.9869274&lon=20.390625&z=3&l=0&ifr=1&m=b&tag=4979" width="465"></iframe><br />
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<b>We have more ambitious plans... See <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/watuafrika/HOME/the-project/map-africas-resources">Map Africa's Resources</a> project.</b>TiberiusBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00912528108978262916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-16311671936334676902010-11-30T08:19:00.000-08:002010-12-13T12:58:31.315-08:00Does the sun shine in Africa?Innovation worth spreading. Free energy (provided by the sun) melting. <br />
Do you want to build a melting facility based on solar energy? Hey, what about solar ovens and stoves, cooking with the sun? <b>Multitude, go for it! </b><b>It only takes a few mirrors... </b><br />
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Create an enterprise based on open principles and collaboration, using the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/multitudeinnovation/home/discovery-network"><b>Discovery Network</b></a> blueprint, and attract technical expertize from all over the world. Contact <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/watuafrika/"><b>Watu Afrika</b></a> and the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/multitude2008/"><b>Multitude Project</b></a> for assistance. We even have a specialist in optics and light interaction with matter in our group (contact <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/tiberiusbrastaviceanu/myresume"><b>Tiberius Brastaviceanu</b></a>).<br />
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You need funding? Get involved with the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/watuafrika/HOME/the-project/diaspora-bank"><b>African Diaspora Bank project</b></a>.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/z0_nuvPKIi8?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/z0_nuvPKIi8?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></div>TiberiusBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00912528108978262916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-37878105727527456072010-11-29T09:32:00.000-08:002010-12-01T10:19:51.352-08:00This is how you build Africa!<b>A multitude approach to building. </b><br /><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:black;"><a href="http://openfarmtech.org/wiki/Main_Page"><b>Open Source Ecology</b></a> </span>is a movement dedicated to the collaborative development of tools for replicable, open source, modern off-grid "resilient communities." By using permaculture and digital fabrication together to provide for basic needs and open source methodology to allow low cost replication of the entire operation, we hope to empower anyone who desires to move beyond the struggle for survival and "evolve to freedom."</blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://openfarmtech.org/wiki/Main_Page">Join this community!</a> Use their creation and spread the word!</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CD1EWGQDUTQ?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CD1EWGQDUTQ?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="560"></embed></object><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote>The <a href="http://www.openarchitecturenetwork.org/"><b>Open Architecture Network</b></a> is an online, open source community dedicated to improving living conditions through innovative and sustainable design. Here designers of all persuasions can:<br /><ul><li>Share their ideas, designs and plans </li><li>View and review designs posted by others </li><li>Collaborate with each other, people in other professions and community leaders to address specific design challenges </li><li>Manage design projects from concept to implementation </li><li>Communicate easily amongst team members </li><li>Protect their intellectual property rights using the Creative Commons "some rights reserved" licensing system and be shielded from unwarranted liability </li><li>Build a more sustainable future<br /></li></ul></blockquote></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://www.openarchitecturenetwork.org/">Join this community!</a> Use their creation and spread the word!</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SLsDeSkg9lA?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SLsDeSkg9lA?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object> </b><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style=""><br /></div></div><b>Multitude, go for it! </b><br /><div style="margin: 0px;">Create an enterprise based on open principles and collaboration, using the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/multitudeinnovation/home/discovery-network"><b>Discovery Network</b></a> blueprint, and attract technical expertize from all over the world. Contact <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/watuafrika/"><b>Watu Afrika</b></a> and the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/multitude2008/"><b>Multitude Project</b></a> for assistance.</div><br /><br />TibiTiberiusBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00912528108978262916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-90536382561984811912010-11-28T21:51:00.000-08:002010-11-30T08:53:10.858-08:00Our collaboration infrastructureTibi (founder of <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/multitude2008/"><b>Multitude Project</b></a>) is presenting the general idea behind a collaborative infrastructure supporting social projects and open enterprises. The same ideas are implemented to support our project. Go to <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/watuafrika/HOME/members/our-infrastructure"><b>Our infrastructure</b></a> page to watch other videos about our infrastructure, its architecture and how to use it.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ohRQCvrY8PM?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ohRQCvrY8PM?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div><br />
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If you are not part of our community yet, but you have suggestions or questions please contact our community directly.TiberiusBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00912528108978262916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-74521754439853650292010-10-30T16:55:00.000-07:002010-10-30T17:02:30.254-07:00Diaspora Bank concept<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="451" src="https://docs.google.com/present/embed?id=df24cfh7_94cfcsdnf2&autoStart=false&size=m" width="555"></iframe></div>TiberiusBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00912528108978262916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-43118380535121773612010-10-28T14:23:00.001-07:002010-10-28T14:23:59.942-07:00Make A Change - For Africa<div style="text-align: center;"><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/m0ntnS80xZ8?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/m0ntnS80xZ8?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div>TiberiusBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00912528108978262916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-74959821218433344632010-10-28T14:20:00.001-07:002010-11-30T13:38:23.771-08:00Why Africa?<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: darkred; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"><i>by </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: darkred; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://profiles.tigweb.org/kaboyojulius" rel="nofollow" style="color: rgb(151, 56, 0) !important; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><i>kaboyo julius</i></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: darkred; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"><i>, Rwanda</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: darkred; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Why should it be Africa,</div><div style="text-align: center;">where children starve amidst food,</div><div style="text-align: center;">people die evil deaths without cause,</div><div style="text-align: center;">war wipes out entire communities and commodities</div><div style="text-align: center;">and causes panic inside our intestines--</div><div style="text-align: center;">leading to miscarriages that discourage</div><div style="text-align: center;">our courage?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Why we,</div><div style="text-align: center;">they say, our soils are fertile,</div><div style="text-align: center;">our land is the richest without reach,</div><div style="text-align: center;">yet we languish in biting poverty,</div><div style="text-align: center;">sickening solitude of absolute hunger,</div><div style="text-align: center;">as if there is no one to help?</div><div style="text-align: center;">Our life span is below God's promise,</div><div style="text-align: center;">our culture is decaying beyond rotting.</div><div style="text-align: center;">What have we done to deserve this?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Why we,</div><div style="text-align: center;">who were the beloved of the world,</div><div style="text-align: center;">whose culture stood firm like the Muvule tree,</div><div style="text-align: center;">whose children saw no sickness and agony,</div><div style="text-align: center;">us that bore the courage of giants--now</div><div style="text-align: center;">we are marked with fear and fright to flight</div><div style="text-align: center;">from our own father's land?</div><div style="text-align: center;">We, whose beauty was bound to no bolting</div><div style="text-align: center;">but brood beyond horizons--now</div><div style="text-align: center;">opt for imported beautification.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Us, who believed in love and unity,</div><div style="text-align: center;">now tear each other like tigers.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Why we,</div><div style="text-align: center;">who cherished chastity and honesty,</div><div style="text-align: center;">but now believe in immorality and betrayal?</div><div style="text-align: center;">Tell me brother--who triggered us to this</div><div style="text-align: center;">treacherous, treasonous life,</div><div style="text-align: center;">punctuated by misery, pain, hunger,</div><div style="text-align: center;">death, deprivation, despair, disillusionment,</div><div style="text-align: center;">and degradation from our captors?</div><div style="text-align: center;">Who should we blame for this?</div><div style="text-align: center;">The gods, the invader, the era, or ourselves?</div><div style="text-align: center;">Who will help us?</div>TiberiusBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00912528108978262916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-27544767980855398512010-10-28T08:58:00.001-07:002010-10-28T08:58:58.805-07:00Diaspora Bank concept - outlineSee a short description of the Diaspora Bank concept <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/watuafrika/HOME/the-project/diaspora-bank">HERE</a>.TiberiusBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00912528108978262916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-78066092199094619522010-10-27T18:52:00.000-07:002010-10-28T08:59:30.171-07:00Join a new discussion on the Diaspora Bank concept<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-size: medium;">This discussion "<i>INNOVATION CHALLENGE: DEVELOPING AN AFRICAN DIASPORA INVESTMENT BANK</i>" is going on within </span></span><a href="http://sicusynergynetwork.ning.com/group/sicuinnovation/forum/topic/show?id=1032470:Topic:84789&xg_source=msg_group_disc">SICU INNOVATION group</a>, s</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">tarted by <a href="http://za.linkedin.com/in/ianbentleyprofile">Ian Bentley</a>.</span>TiberiusBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00912528108978262916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-5551544665095234772010-10-27T18:41:00.000-07:002010-10-27T18:44:45.647-07:00Concept proposed: DIASPORA BANKOver the past few weeks a fascinating discussion has been taking place in the LinkedIn group, ‘<a href="http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=56849&type=member&item=28506047&commentID=25260424&goback=.gde_56849_member_33404910&report.success=8UL">Africa - All Things Business</a>’. The discussion thread was started by Paul Kibuuka. It has focussed on ‘Africa’s Greatest Strengths’ and to date it has attracted 230+ contributions.<br />
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The group is made up largely of professional and business people with close links to Africa, and as the thread has illustrated ... a great deal of love and passion for the continent<br />
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The highly perceptive posts in the thread have effectively begun to develop into a SWOT analysis of Africa. It has provided participants with a glimpse of the magnitude of the problems faced by the continent and her people. At the same time it has revealed massive opportunities for those with the foresight to recognise them ... and the vision to realise them.<br />
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During the course of the discussion a number of suggestions were made as to how the situation could be turned around. It is critical that this time the ordinary people of Africa get to reap the benefits ... and not only the ruling-class elite who have to date largely continued the colonial tradition of leeching the continent dry.<br />
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It was agreed that for the continent to compete successfully on the global stage, it must not only explore new avenues of opportunity and new ways of doing things ... Africa in fact needs to completely reinvent and reposition itself.<br />
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Being a ‘business’ group, one issue that predictably surfaced was the difficulty that entrepreneurs (with bold, original ideas) experience when attempting to source funding for innovative new projects.<br />
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I proposed a solution to this problem to the group in the form of a DIASPORA BANK ... in essence a bank funded by the 60 million-odd displaced Africans around the globe with the express aim of financing disruptive new business ventures that would ordinarily struggle<br />
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Visit <a href="http://sicusynergynetwork.ning.com/groups/group/show?id=1032470%3AGroup%3A78769&xg_source=msg_mes_group">SICU INNOVATION</a><br />
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By <a href="http://za.linkedin.com/in/ianbentleyprofile">Ian Bentley</a><br />
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This anouncement was first published on <a href="http://sicusynergynetwork.ning.com/">SICU HUB</a>.TiberiusBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00912528108978262916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-15632291913904259732010-10-18T16:52:00.000-07:002010-10-18T17:06:34.432-07:00Thinkers, Dreamers and Doers<p style="font-family: arial;">Brooks Atkinson an American theatre critic who worked for the New York Times described the reasons for America’s greatness. He stated, “This nation was built by men who took risks-pioneers who were not afraid of the wilderness, business men who were not afraid of failure, scientists who were not afraid of the truth, thinkers who were not afraid of progress, dreamers who were not afraid of action. Which African nation can boast of such characteristics? We need to cultivate such qualities in our future leaders.</p><p style="font-family: arial;"><span id="more-959"></span></p><p style="font-family: arial;">Why are African nations incapable of escaping poverty? When will we start to compete with the rest of the world in science, innovation, and economic might? Why is it that in over fifty years of independence we have not changed from primary producers to manufacturers of finished goods? Where have we gone wrong? How do we change our predicament?</p><p style="font-family: arial;">Kwame Nkrumah, a visionary African leader would be turning in his grave if he was alive, to witness the anarchy in some regions on the continent. East Africa, a former powerhouse on the continent has morphed into a region of instability, war and terrorism. Nkrumah’s dream was to create nations that were not only a “pool” to source raw materials but an economic force with its own industrialized bargaining power. Many African countries are living below the breadline without the basic human necessities like: access to clean water, sanitation, accommodation and education. In fifty years we have failed to produce many shining examples of fair, honest leadership. Our continent has been marred with dictators like Idi Amin Dada, a former British army lieutenant who later styled himself as “His Excellency President for Life”. Then there was Mobutu of Congo, Charles Taylor who is currently on trial for crimes against humanity at The Hague. Most of these dictators had a common trait. They were once the darlings of their country, seen as liberation heroes, but somewhere down the line lost their way.</p><p style="font-family: arial;">How does a continent begin to heal from decades of bad governance? How do we purge the continent of leaders with archaic ideology, corrupt leanings and self- enriching tendencies? How much blame rests on the shoulders of each African?</p><p style="font-family: arial;">We are guilty of not standing up and demanding truth and transparency for fear of retribution. There are not enough dissenting voices driving the need for change. A nation with a weak civic society is a nation setting itsel up to fail. African youth have to fill this gaping hole of civic responsibility, acting as watchdogs and challenging the status quo.</p><p style="font-family: arial;">Succession-planning and grooming of young future leaders with the right qualities is imperative. African governments should make this a priority and include it in their policies.</p><p style="font-family: arial;">Young Africans have little interest in participating in matters concerning politics. The youth expend their energy on attaining materialistic possessions, forgetting that in order to secure their aspirations, their country needs to have sound governance. African youth must serve as the voice of society. They ought to become the conscience of a nation reminding its leaders that another generation will follow and therefore decisions made should be of benefit to future generations. The youth of Africa need to create an organisation powerful enough to influence policies in government and leadership positions.</p><p style="font-family: arial;">We need to bring about change. We need a generation of strong-minded youth similar to the generation who helped to fight for our independence decades ago. We need a revolution!</p><p style="font-family: arial;">I want to extend a challenge to African youth to develop our abilities to dream, think and act. We need dreamers who can dream up visions of a future far beyond our imagination. We need innovative thinkers who are not afraid to push the boundaries and challenge societal norms. Finally, we need doers to act on the dreams and innovation to create concrete plans with a vision to build and develop Africa.</p><p style="font-family: arial;">This is the time for the Youth of our continent to become part of a shift in mindset and social conscience.</p><p style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Written by: Kate Nkansa</span><br /></p>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12410191719718442584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681174807612513021.post-51164485860031909012010-10-16T16:51:00.000-07:002010-10-16T16:58:46.589-07:00Watu Afrika project was born on October 16, 2010Watu Afrika project is an open collaborative network to raise Africa to dignity and to prosperity. It was the initiative of Ian Bentley. <br /><br />t!b!Multitude Projecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529491476599471190noreply@blogger.com1