Large-scale fluff production has begun!

Editor Note: Have you been dying to know what's been happening at our Ngoma production site? The wait is over! You can learn first-hand from Tyson Huffman, MacGyver-in-Residence, in our mini blog series in three parts. Read today's final post out of our mini series.  Don't forget to check out Part 1 and Part 2!

Come meet our production team: Gaudance, Ernestine, Sandrine, Louise, Christine, Nadine, and Daniel, along with Sylvere, our Business Development Officer (in red shirt).

As I write this, we are in full fluff production at our facility! We have hired eight employees and a manager and they are performing above expectations. We ran our machines all day for three days and produced copious amounts of high quality fluff that are ready to become LaunchPads.

Again, how did we get to the point where we are producing fluff? We have the tools, we have the people, and now we have the fluff. Even though we were still working out the kinks we produced a lot of fluff. As I write this I have been watching our manager, Daniel, work out some bugs the refiner is having. I’ve only had to help him once. He is currently teaching a team member to troubleshoot problems. As a restaurant manager, I found the two hardest things to find in a manager are someone who can quickly troubleshoot and train his colleagues. We have hitched our wagon to a star here with Daniel.

From banana fiber to fluff: our team and facility in action!

We will soon have more fluff than we know what to do with. Maybe we could manufacture pillows on the side? I have a few more ideas that I may be able to get done before I leave. They will speed up some of the process.

For all of our supporters, followers, and team members I have one last message: WE DID IT GUYS, THANKS TO YOU!

From Four Walls to Up and Running

Editor Note: Have you been dying to know what's been happening at our Ngoma production site? You can learn first-hand from Tyson Huffman, MacGyver-in-Residence, in our mini blog series in three parts. Today is Part 2 of 3. Missed Part 1? Read it here.

Sylvere, Julian, and Tyson at our Ngoma production facility

How did we get there? Sweat, determination, patience, and a little savvy thrown in for good measure. There were road bumps and unexpected issues but Marines know how to adapt and overcome. This is the mindset I brought to SHE.

We faced some initial challenges when I arrived to the production site. The first concrete we installed for the floor was unstable, like mud. We had to replace a motor. We then had to replace said motor because our electrician wired it incorrectly. Our initial water plan had to be revamped into a recycled water system. We’ve had to learn and improve the refiner. Our Fitz mill clogged every time we used it.

Newly installed water system

Some were easy and others were tough fixes. The water system was my favorite design of the project. We initially planned to let the water flow onto the floor and then outside into a 9 meter sump. (The guy dug this by hand. He must have the strongest back in the world.) It proved to be too much water and was just too messy. We dug a 1 meter deep sump at the base of the refiner, then built a grate over top of it and put a pump with a float inside. It required us to install another smaller tank to hold recycled water. I piped it in such a way that our team members never have to turn a valve or turn on a pump for it to work. Water rarely flows in Ngoma. This system ensures that we will never have to stop the process for lack of water.

Other problems proved to be easy fixes. We had no washers, so we used bottle tops. Our motor burned so we replaced it. We slightly altered the refiner to adapt it to fibers rather than wood pulp. When the Fitz Mill became clogged, we cut out two bars and it worked perfectly. Much of the equipment we use here does not exist so we manufactured it. We made steps and a platform for workers to stand on. A box was manufactured to catch pulp. The crates that the machine came in were used to make a large table for fiber cutting and a desk for our manager. We even used the nails.

We started this project with four walls and a plan. We have installed electricity, wired our machines, and placed them on concrete. In order to place the machines on concrete, we used 15 men and 2” x 4”. That was a feat. We have installed plumbing to the building, plumbed our machines, and installed two large tanks. A mission well accomplished!

Tune in tomorrow to learn about the successful replication of our fluff-making technology on an industrial-scale and meet our new SHE team members that work at our production facility!

Greetings from the Land of Thousand Hills!

Editor Note: Have you been dying to know what's been happening at our Ngoma production site? You can learn first-hand from Tyson Huffman, MacGyver-in-Residence, in our mini blog series in three parts. Read Part 1 of 3 today and stay tuned for the rest of the series!

Greetings from the Land of a Thousand Hills or as Rwandans say, the Land of a Thousand Beautiful People!

So how did I get here? It’s because Sustainable Health Enterprises realized that lack of access to affordable pads while menstruating is a big problem for girls and women in developing countries.  Women miss school and work for nearly 50 days a year.  This causes them to fall behind.  SHE decided that this was a major setback for women and decided to do something about it.

SHE came up with a plan to produce pads from banana fiber.  Banana fiber is a waste product of agriculture and therefore affordable to buy.  SHE enlisted the help of MIT and NC State who came up with a process to turn the banana fiber into a highly absorbent fluff using paper-making equipment.  The most amazing thing is that this patent-pending process uses no chemicals.  SHE proved they could make pads on a small-scale at both NCSU and Kigali Institute of Technology, but wanted to bring large-scale production so millions of girls and women in Rwanda can have access to its pads. So, it sent over equipment to Rwanda and were ready to set up shop.  This was no small task.  Now where could they find a guy that is bold enough to join and help SHE pull it off? 

Tyson, second from right, with Sylvere, second from left (in red)

That would be me, Tyson.  I seem to attract unique situations and people.  I’ve had a wild ride so far.  I am a former Marine, restaurant manager, and apple farmer. I’ve done a little construction, was a security guard, and worked as process engineer at a large paper mill.  I am currently a student at NC State in their Paper Science & Engineering and Chemical Engineering programs. 

I would be remiss if I did not also give a shout out to my right hand man, Sylvere, SHE’s Business Development Officer.  He has been my interpreter, guide, and friend since I first arrived in Kigali.  For the most part, we have been together every waking hour.  He taught me how to navigate the landscape of Rwanda, and I couldn’t have done it without him.  He is one of the most interesting and capable people I have ever met.  I have no doubt that we will be lifelong friends.

Stay tuned tomorrow to learn more from Tyson about our production site!

Dispatch from SHE's MacGyver: Getting Dirty for the Cause

Since our MacGyver-in-Residence Tyson Huffman has arrived at our production facility in Ngoma, SHE has been on the fast-track to mass production of our Launchpads. 

Tyson is applying his expertise in process engineering and operations management to set up our production site, test and validate our quality control and assurance manufacturing processes, and train our local technical team. And guess what? Tyson's latest dispatch declares that "We are on a roll!"

In just 3 short weeks, Tyson has hired three technicians (2 of whom are women) from the local vocational school, has brought our machinery online, led the minor re-construction of our facility, the installation of our water tank and electricity, and has begin a test run of processing our fiber into fluff!  

Building a production site means that you need to be ready to roll up your sleeves. Thankfully, SHE's Tyson and Sylvere have no problem getting dirty for the cause!

Sylvere (left) and Tyson (right) testing one of our machines.

Tyson is making our production site ready for manufacturing action! Stay tuned for upcoming dispatches from him!