Dear Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company (LWSC)

By Clive Mutame Siachiyako

http://holdren.com/methane/images/digester.gif

Before the year ends, I have to drop these thoughts to the Lusaka Water and Sewerage and other sewer companies in Zambia. I am doing this against the misery of power outages business of all sizes and everybody within the vicinity of the country is facing due to high shortage of hydro power supply. ZESCO has been cursed enough; we can do something beyond this company before we are swum over with power blackouts.

I am bringing LWSC into the picture of energy generation because it is sitting on an important energy resource. I am not talking about forms of energy like solar or wind, but bio-energy. The human waste is a great resource for bio-energy, yet we are talking about "urinating in the Kariba dam." With resources becoming so dice, utilising anything promising value is paramount. Human waste turned into bio-energy is importantly a sustainable way of protecting the environment. It relieves so much waste from the environment. What falls in this waste’ bracket can be either solid, human or animal.

We may need a policy and other things to kicking in such a direction. But with the will and commitment, that is a small baby to take care of considering the dire need for power in the country and region. Few countries are already doing it at different scales. Kenya and Uganda for instance. Beyond the African borders, many countries are benefiting massively in generating energy from human and other forms of waste, thanks to their innovative and pragmatic approaches in energy generation. You can talk of Nepal, USA and Sweden, etc.

We have so many engineers to put into good use in putting this into practice. Away from noise making and chasing political favours, we can do something valuable for the country and the environment. Copper will finish, but waste we will always produce it as long as we are eating. It is a worthwhile investing in the short and long term. Lusaka City Council will in the process be relieved of the solid waste management headaches as recyclers will scramble for waste for varied uses. Different business opportunities and jobs will emerge from waste related activities to support the system.

Statisticians put human waste [bio-energy] energy financial benefits at US$9.5 billion globally. To bring it closer, biogas from human waste alone is capable of generating electricity for up to 138 million households!! This is equal South African, Kenyan, Zambian and Angolan population combined. Can engineers help me quantify waste generated in Zambia in relation to how much bio-energy we can generate to keep home on constant energy supply 24/7 even on leap year?

LWSC is already dealing with sewer waste, we can get started with it and look at other players later on. We have to begin somewhere. Policy makers have to get their heads aching for the good reasons to get us somewhere. Time to lazing around and draining ourselves into endless complaints in over, we got to get working and get things straight.

Rains are not likely to get normal again. With climate change effects getting more lethal, we have to dream differently. We have to face reality and dare new ways of getting around our problems. What we need in place to get things moving in that direction? It is not me to tell you about it, I am throwing the idea for those in positions to put in place right apparatus to get things heading the biogas direction has to do their part. We do not live silver-platter life-world anymore. Let those who went to school to thinking engineering-way do their part.

What goes on with it?

Waste-to-wealth principles go for utilisation of modern anaerobic digestion technologies linked to sanitation systems to generate energy. I am talking about connecting pipes somewhere to your toilet to the biogas digester. These can be made at household, small-commercial and large-national scale. Whatever we can manage, we have to get moving, too much on sitting akimbo waiting for miracles. Time for manna from heaven happened during the time of Moses according to biblical recordings.

Technical and vocational training here becomes more practicable. Training centres dotted anywhere in the country can teach people to generate their own biogas and government can do its part to make facilities and utilities that use biogas accessible and cut off some tax on them if it means so to get people using them. The same way we gave up old pots to accommodate electrical appliances, we can do it again. I agree it is a process, but we can start something, and LWSC could be the starting point to me. Others will join the music later.

With a focus on rural growth centres and small towns, as well as high population density institutions such as schools and prisons, the biogas and residual material left from energy conversion is a valuable economic resource to provide a return on investment in bio-energy technologies. The ultimate goal of Waste to Wealth is decentralised (on site) faecal waste management and to help bridge the finance gap for sanitation in Uganda. By identifying value in waste (energy and /or fertilizer), Waste to Wealth provides an incentive to use toilets and a mechanism to finance both upfront capital costs as well as facility operation, maintenance, and expansion. In addition to the economic opportunities, sanitation interventions have known benefits to individual, household and community health and wellbeing.

Few projects to share in Africa include those in Kenya and Uganda. What is happening in Kenya? The following are some of their projects:

i.  Collecting and converting human waste into solid fuel for use by cement plants and other industries

ii.  Franchising toilets; profitably, safely collecting and removing the waste daily, converting it into fuel and fertilizer, and

iii.  Collecting human waste and converting it into high quality, emission free bio-charcoal cooking fuel

On the part of Uganda, among other things, the country produces biogas and organic fertilizer from street waste. Zambia too can make good news on this one. We have enough waste to take us for somewhere for now. By the time we exhaust it we would have matured to buy from our neighbours if it means to do so.

Biogas Basics

Biogas is the result of gases released during the decomposition of organic matter by methanogenic bacteria. Biogas is comprised of multiple gases, the most dominant of which is methane (CH4) followed by a smaller concentration of carbon dioxide (CO₂). It may also contain traces of hydrogen (H2), nitrogen (N₂), water vapour (H₂O), and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S). Biogas turns what would be waste -- such as sewage, manure, or food scraps -- into a clean renewable energy. The gas burns cleanly, is smokeless, and is non-toxic. The premise behind biogas is a simple one – organic matter decomposes. The decomposition resulting from anaerobic digestion releases methane. Biogas units turn organic wastes into a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide gases that can be used for lighting and cooking. For example; each household builds its own plant to channel waste from the domestic toilet and nearby shelters for animals, usually pigs, cows into a sealed tank. The waste ferments and is naturally converted into gas and compost, resulting in improved sanitary conditions at home.

Biogas technology is best suited to convert the organic waste from agriculture, livestock, industries, municipalities and other human activities into energy and manure. Technology systems, ranging from the very simple and affordable to the very complex and expensive, can capture methane from decomposing material and convert it into a usable energy. The technology to harness the energy potential released by anaerobic digestion varies in scale, complexity, and feeder materials. Regardless of design, a biogas plant has three primary components: an inlet to get organic matter into the digestion chamber where anaerobic digestion and gas capture occurs and an outlet to remove the digested organic matter. The gas use devices and equipment vary based on the intended end-use of the generated biogas. A biogas plant can be constructed at home with some ingenuity at minimal cost and can use methane from human sewage, animal excrement, food waste, or a combination thereof to provide cooking fuel or lighting.

From the climatology viewpoint, biogas is a plus towards the environment. I can write a lot on this point, but in a synopsis; by using biogas, the living conditions and the environment can be improved via cheaper and more available energy, forests protected, and the labour force would have more time for e.g. agricultural production. A large amount of straw, which was previously burned, is now put into biogas tanks to ferment. This reduces air pollution from smoke and helps produce high-quality organic fertilizer. Such straw can burned in an internal combustion engine to generate electricity. Biogas is also successfully compressed for use as an alternative transportation fuel in light- and heavy-duty vehicles.

Rather than treating our waste as a major liability, with proper controls in place we can use it in several circumstances to build innovative and sustained financing for development while protecting health and improving our environment in the process. Valuing Human Waste as an Energy Resource!!

References

Barnhart S.(2012). Teaching Sustainability across Scale and Culture: Biogas in Context. Journal of Sustainability Education, Vol. 3, March 2012

Karki et al A. B., J. N.(2009). Biogas as Renewable Source of Energy in Nepal: Theory and Development. Kathmandu: BSP-Nepal.

Sharma et al R., T. (2010). “Design of Farm Waste-Driven Supply Side Infrastructure for Data Centers,” presented at ASME 2010 4th International Conference on Energy Sustainability. May 17-22. Phoenix, Arizona.

Themelis, N J. and P. A. Ulloa. (2007). “Methane Generation in Landfills,” in Renewable Energy. 32(7): 1243-1257.

http://oneworld.org/2015/10/29/biogas-from-human-waste-worldwide-worth-up-to-95bn/[Accessed: December 28, 2015]

 http://www.sgem.org/sgemlib/spip.php?article1019 [Accessed: December 28, 2015]

Production of biogas and organic fertilizer from street wastehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151103064551.htm

The Solutions: Taking Action to Reduce Climate Change

By Clive Mutame Siachiyako

Picking it up from the previous article on “how climate change affects Africa,” today I am narrowing it down to some steps to reduce climate change especially in the area of energy production. Energy is the driver of many aspects of life. It runs almost every aspect of humanity, thus its extraction versus care for the environment is precarious. With the advent of climate change, the need to re-look at energy generation becomes more necessary.

What types of energy are friendlier to the environment? What technologies allow us to power our homes, industries and agriculture using cleaner energy? And in what ways can each individual get involved in this important movement?

“Climate change is a matter of life and death,” this is how Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai [Kenya

environmentalist] described the potential devastating impacts of a changing climate on Africa. Wangari Maathai also had a strong sense of optimism that our generation, the first to really feel the impact of climate change, will also be the first to do something about it. The threat of climate change [to Africa and the world] is very real. But there are ways to stem and even reverse the dangerous path we are on.

Energy sources take many forms, including fossil fuels, like oil and gas and coal, and renewable sources, like solar, wind and hydropower. These primary energy sources are converted into electricity, a secondary source, which then flows through power lines to our homes and businesses. Today, four-fifths (4/5) of all electricity in southern and eastern Africa is generated from fossil fuels.

As mentioned in the previous article, burning these fuels produces carbon dioxide emissions which trap the sun’s energy, and this makes the earth too warm and contributes to extreme weather events. But other types of cleaner energy, known as renewable energy sources, offer tremendous potential. With the right infrastructure, half of all electricity in southern and eastern Africa could come from clean, cost-effective renewables by 2030. With such amounts of energy from the renewable, we would see a substantial reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. We can now look at some of these renewable sources in more detail.

Solar energy

This is simply the light and heat that comes from the sun. It is the most abundant energy resource on Earth. The amount of solar striking the Earth each day is more than 10,000 times the world’s total energy use. There are two common ways to convert solar energy into electricity: photovoltaic and solar- thermal technologies. When sunlight hits photovoltaic cells made of silicon or other materials, a chemical reaction occurs. This results in the release of electricity. These cells can then be packaged together to make solar panels. And solar-thermal technologies concentrate the sun’s rays with mirrors to heat a liquid and create steam. This steam is then used to power a generator and create electricity.  

In a country like Zambia where there is sunshine for about 8 hours a day, generating solar energy can do such much to produce cleaner energy. Investing in such type of energy would not only address power shortfalls experienced in most countries in many African countries, it would contribute largely to saving the environment. Generating power from solar can be done at industrial levels [solar farms or houses] and at household level. Each home can have solar membranes on their roofs to generate energy for their use and possibly to channel to the national grid in case of surplus home use.

 Whether drought or not, generating energy from solar is more viable than depending on hydro power generating from water. With poor rainfall mostly due to climate change effects of weather patterns, looking somewhere makes a lot of sense. We all have to think outside the box and use other sources to generate the much needed cleaner energy.

The wind, like the sun, is also a clean and renewable energy source. For thousands of years, people have used windmills to grind grain and pump water. Today, modern machines called wind turbines are used to make electricity. To produce electricity on a large scale, many wind turbines can be placed together on wind farms. And this is catching on: Wind power has been the fastest-growing energy source in the world since 1990.

And finally, the energy inherent in water and steam can also produce electricity. If you have ever stood in a fast moving stream, under a waterfall, or on the ocean shore as waves come crashing in, then you have felt the power of moving water. Now this power is captured through hydroelectric power plants, which force flowing water through wheels or rotors known as turbines, and that produces energy. Most of us are familiar with hydro power energy.

Another source of energy is the heat built up inside the earth itself. Now if you dig a deep hole straight down into the earth and you encounter what is known as geothermal energy. At geothermal power plants, wells are drilled 1 to 3 kilometres into the earth to pump steam or hot water to the surface to make energy.

Now these renewable sources are not only exciting, but they offer tremendous potential for Africa. Think about it. Africa contains bountiful solar and wind resources and some of the world’s largest hydropower and geothermal resources. Much of this energy is untapped. The World Bank estimates that only 7 to 8 percent of Africa’s hydropower potential is currently utilised. The good news is that many African countries are starting efforts to use these clean and renewable resources. Kenya was the first African nation to begin drilling for geothermal power.

In other countries like South Africa, wind farms are beginning to produce energy. But we have only begun to unlock the potential of our continent’s clean, renewable resources. There is so much more to be done to ensure that our generation and future generations can benefit from this clean energy. Each of us can get involved and join this environmental movement, which is so important for all of us and our beloved continent, Africa.

Reach out and join some of the many community and national organisations that are working to promote clean energy sources and preserve Africa’s forests. Or, we educate our friends and peers about climate change and the solutions that we need to adopt. We can share the knowledge with our peers, friends and colleagues, and encourage conversation about climate change. Wangari Maathai puts it “you cannot protect the environment unless you empower people, you inform them, and you help them understand that these resources are their own, and they must protect them.”

Knowledge is power. We can take action beyond words. We can adopt and generate cleaner energy to protect the environment and sustain our energy generation to meet productivity demands. Take action!

Thanks to Wanjira Mathai (2015). The Solutions: Taking Action to Reduce Climate Change. Dec 8, 2015  yali.state.gov/courses

How climate change affects Africa...?

By Clive Mutame Siachiyako

“Nearly 40 years ago, women living in Kenya — my home country — reported a troubling phenomenon. Their streams were drying up. Crops were failing, and they were being forced to travel farther and farther away from their villages to gather firewood. Today, this story remains all too common across Africa. Climate change may seem like something distant and abstract, but it’s very real and it impacts every one of us” – Wanjira Mathai Director for partnerships for the Women’s Entrepreneurship in Renewable.

 Mathai is expressing visibility of climate change effects in a simpler way possible in her case in Kenya. Typically, we see these changes in different versions and we wonder what went wrong with the old good days when seasons, rains, weather conditions, etc., were stable. Climate change effects are almost visible in any aspect of life. Whether you are in the village or most urbanised part of the continent you might have met it in one possibly without realising.

As I explained in the previous article “what is global warning and climate change anyway,” climate change causes the earth’s temperature to rise. It brings about changes in precipitation levels, a rise in sea level, and more frequent and intense weather events. And it can threaten our access to such basic needs as food, water, health and shelter. Let us look more closely at some of these impacts.

Changes in the earth’s climate have a direct impact on what Africans grow and eat. We know that agriculture is extremely important to Africa’s economy. Seventy percent of the population lives by farming and a third of the income in Africa is generated by agriculture.

Most crops in Africa — over 95 percent — are primarily watered by rainfall. If it has not rained that season we are ushered into the mouth of food insecurity and hunger. This makes food crops in the continent vulnerable to health stress from the warming planet and extreme weather events linked to climate change. These include changes to seasonal rainfall, droughts and floods. In fact, rain-fed agriculture in Africa could drop by half in 2020. Already El-Nino [the warm phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation] is affecting rainfall patterns, causing heat waves, floods, increased heat, etc., in different parts of the world. These effects are running for three consecutive years: 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Climate change is already affecting many fisheries around the world. The warming brought about by climate change increases ocean temperatures, which causes some fish to move to cooler waters beyond their normal range. These changes to the marine environment have devastating consequences for people dependent on fishing for food and their income. In Zambia we have parts famous for fish running out of it. Over fishing has been blamed for it mostly. Climate change added its ‘voice’ to the reproduction system of the fish. We have always had fish breeding seasons and the stock of fish was impressively adequate, but not anymore. 

South Luangwa National Park

We also have problems with numbers of wildlife. Some parts like in Luapula province along the Luapula River, all the animals seem gone. Were they all eaten up? In as much as people killed a lot of them, the ecosystem’s support capacity has its weight on it as well. As the vegetation dwindles, animal food goes down, their reproduction diminishes and the sizes go down. Coupled with poaching, the extinction of animals is very probable. The reduction in the support system in the jungle has also led to human-animal conflict as animals get closer to people’s homes where food is grown be it maize, cassava, millet, etc. They also want to have a share of what is still available...the grown crops by humans. Scramble for survival it is.

 Climate change is also having a huge impact on our health. Changes in rainfall associated with climate change can increase the population of disease-carrying mosquitoes. This is resulting in more malaria, the biggest killer in Africa. Scientists have noted that malaria is already spreading to higher elevations in Africa — in part due to climate change. Predictions are for a 5 to 7 percent increase in malaria distribution by the end of the century. For example, in Zambia, mosquitoes are there all-year-round. In the past we only used to experience them during the rainy season. Not anymore. They survive all the way, thus making malaria an all-year-round disease burden. 

Since climate change does not only lead to similar effects such as low rainfall or drought, it shows itself in varied ways. For example, a warmer environment with more rainfall, which also increase the cases of other deadly diseases, such as yellow fever and dengue fever. In addition to these diseases, the poor air quality that often accompanies a heat wave can lead to breathing problems and worsen respiratory conditions. In Zimbabwe heat wave warnings were circulated by the ministry of the environmental and natural resources sometime in August 2015 and giving people cautions to prevent themselves from dying from the heat waves. 

Who are the most vulnerable among us? It is often the urban poor, older adults, young children, traditional societies, and subsistence farmers. These are the most harmed by these threats due to many factors that make them less fortune. Among them is their body fighting capacity and lack of options when hit by the effects of climate change. For example, extreme weather events linked to the changing climate can cause huge migrations of people. Flooding, drought, and other competition for resources like fresh water can ignite conflict. It can impel people to leave their homes and migrate. And as my mother once said, “In a few decades, the relationship between the environment, resources, and conflict may seem almost as obvious as the connection we see today between human rights, democracy, and peace.”

 Is there any hope? Yes there is...although the impacts of climate change are real and very serious, there is much that we can do to combat it, here in Africa and around the world. In the next article, focus will be on ways to address changes caused by climate change.

Thanks to Wanjira Mathai (2015). The Solutions: Taking Action to Reduce Climate Change. Dec 8, 2015  yali.state.gov/courses

What is global warming and climate change anyway?

By Clive Mutame Siachiyako

Global warming and climate change emerged recently in the vocabulary. The concepts evoke different things in people's minds. Some of the evocations have to do with scanty understanding of what the two concepts mean. I will use very basic language as much as I can with the hope of making others appreciate what it is and what they can do to save the earth from the effects arising from the two concepts.

Global warming refers to increasing temperature of the earth, which damages the ozone layer. The ozone layer is a membrane like ‘absorber’ of damaging ultraviolet sunlight (called UV-B) to nature. I can give an example of a human skin. When the skin opens up either due to an injury or otherwise, the inner part of the body becomes vulnerable to all sorts of infection, pickings, etc. Without its ‘skin’ to filter action on the ozone layer, the earth’s atmosphere becomes vulnerable to UV-B radiation destruction in the process affecting inhabitants that depend on it for survival. The ecosystem then fails to sustain human, animal, vegetation, etc., life.

Another example is what happens when we experience heat, fire, hot cooking oil or water burns. The skin loses its texture exposing the flesh. Without a bandage or something to protect the exposed flesh, most of us know what happens when something pricks us on that same spot. The pain and oozing blood...that happens to the atmospheric ‘being’ when exposed to sun radiation.

Climate change includes more to what is described above. It does not end at changes into temperature, but adds changes in wind, precipitation (rainfall patterns), season length, strength and frequency of extreme weather events such as droughts and floods. Climate change is more like an advanced stage of the ozone layer damage coupled with opportunistic ‘infections’ that disarray the earth’s ‘immune system.’ Thus, when we experience heat waves, melting polar ice, droughts, etc., we think of climate change, we talk about what is visible, the manifestations we can see.

The other difference between the two terms is related to scale. Global warming is a worldwide phenomenon. But climate change’s visibility is at global, regional or even more local scales. However, both global warming and climate change can produce different impacts depending on the local geography as well as the local inhabitants (plants, animals, nature, etc). Many of these changes cause unexpected and dangerous effects on life around the world.

Science of Climate Change

On a more technical level, I am using different ideas to present arguments surround the climate change science and effects of climate change on nature and its inhabitants. In examining the science behind climate change, I am also looking at the difference between climate and weather, and shed light about the greenhouse effect on the environment and how human behaviour contributes to the warming of our planet. REMEMBER, I promised no jargon, I will try being as plain as I can in putting varied issues across.

From the satellite data scientists looked at in studying weather patterns and measuring changes in crop yields and soil composition; our planet is, on average, is getting warmer. Temperatures have been rising since the late 1970s. The warming reflects long-term changes to the earth’s climate, and wherever you are, you could have seen certain changes in weather patterns...in African shortened rainfall span and frequent droughts, floods in Asia, melting ice and warmer seasons in Europe, etc.

Suffice to mention that when we talk about climate, we are not referring to weather. They mean two different things. Weather can change from season to season, day to day, even hour to hour. Sometimes when you least expect it. Weather reflects short-term conditions in the atmosphere. Meanwhile climate refers to the average temperatures and precipitation rates over an extended period of time. When these rates change over time, it can result in profound impacts on our planet. Impacts like rising sea levels, more extreme weather events, like droughts and floods, melting glaciers, shifts in ecosystems, as well as many others are real problems or manifests of global-climate change.

In the past, changes in climate resulted from natural causes, such as differences in the sun’s activity and volcanic eruptions. However, explaining the warming experienced in the past 100 years cannot be done without including greenhouse gases emitted by human activity.

What are these greenhouse gases?

These are several chemical compounds found in the atmosphere which would trap heat that would normally be released out to space. Some of these compounds occur in nature, such as carbon dioxide and methane. However, others are exclusively human-made and are found in sources like hair spray, paint fumes and aerosol sprays.

The greenhouse gases play a crucial role in warming the earth’s surface and making it habitable. However, too much human-generated greenhouse gas emissions upset the planet’s natural balance, leading to an increase in warming and end climate change.

How does climate change actually works?

Pollutants and other chemical compounds are released into the atmosphere due to human activity. The sun emits energy that is transmitted to the earth. About 30 percent of the sun’s energy is reflected directly back into space by the atmosphere, clouds, and the surface of the earth. However, greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere absorb much of the energy emitted from the warm earth’s surface, preventing it from immediately escaping from the earth’s system and back into space. As a result, too large a concentration of greenhouse gasses act like a blanket, making the earth warmer and throwing off the atmosphere’s natural energy balance.

Over the past 100 years, the amount of greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere has been increasing. This is largely due to carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and gas. When these fuels are burned, carbon stored in them for millions of years is released in an instant — directly into the atmosphere — as carbon dioxide. 

Human activity currently releases over 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year! The bad news is that greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere will continue to increase, continuing to warm the earth — unless all nations reduce the billions of tons of greenhouse gas we produce each year. The good news is that the world is finally waking up to this global challenge, and there is much we can do to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. During the 2015 Paris Climate Conference - COP21 countries made great commitments to reduce the emissions. Results are yet to be seen.

In the next act, I will explain on how climate change affects Africa and possibly other parts of the world.

References

Allison, Ian (2010). The science of climate change: questions and answers. Canberra: Australian Academy of Science, 2010.

Bernstein, Lenny, R. K. Pachauri, and Andy Reisinger (2008). Climate change 2007: synthesis report. Geneva, Switzerland: IPCC, 2008.

Melanie Nakagawa (2015). The Basics: The Science of Climate Change. Dec 8, 2015  yali.state.gov/courses

UNESCO/UNEP (2011). Climate Change Starter's Guidebook: An issues guide for education planners and practitioners. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme, 2011.

IF Zambia was my company??

By Clive Mutame Siachiyako 

Forget about Zambia being a country divided into 10 provinces for now. Look at it as a company. A company that needs a turnaround of things to make it more liveable and socially and economically inspiring...My first point of entry would be sharpening power supply [malaiti, ba zesco –Zambia Electricity Power Supplying Company]. Then I will turn to other social and economic factors that I can put into some level of practicable direction to make most of my company’s lifeblood viable.

The economic and social life revolves around energy supply. Even the body requires an assortment of energy to survive. Running a company without power is very dangerous in this era. Endowed with varied sources of energy: sunshine to generate solar energy, wind for wind power, biogas for bio-energy, and water for hydro in different parts of the country; pragmatic steps to decongest zesco and increase supply to manufacturing and other key sectors that need more energy than households would make my zed company more desirable to keep.

Making solar power generating equipment more accessible at cheaper rates would be supreme. Looking at how much sun we have every day, households can be brought into reality of generating their own power from their roofs. Since no one lives underground, everyone who has a house would be encouraged to put solar membranes, solar panels and other sunshine trapping gadgets to generate as much solar power possible. That can give zesco breathing space for delink some homes and focus the hydro power to most critical sectors what can take longer investment to generate and supply solar power to their operations.

In addition to solar energy, I will focus on utilising the sewer resource every home produces. I mean the resource humans leave in the toilet. This can be used to produce bio-energy to supplement solar energy. If the sunshine fails us, bio-gas will do the magic. Forget about technicalities, I am taking about connecting every septic tank to biogas generating system, what technocrats would call Anaerobic Digestion. From climatology perspective, this is an incredible sustainability step to save the environment. I can make engineers more useful than scrambling for banking and management jobs by getting them involved in extracting energy from the great sewer resources wasted daily.

Simply put, when constructing a house, connect pipes from the septic tank to the storage facility for your biogas. A qualified electrical technician will help you with technicalities to go with a biogas digester to tap bio-energy from the human waste and have it stored somewhere in some container connected further to your gas stove. Before you knew it, you will be smiling with energy in your home while others scream at zesco for taking away the electricity. To learn more visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AZv6MjZylo

Village people who rear livestock can also benefit from a great resource of livestock dung to generate biogas. The droppings from their livestock can into energy to light up their homes and for cooking. That can save so many trees. Another climatology score there! Biogas can also be generated from waste from our kitchens...the food remains we dump in municipality dump sites can be kept somewhere in a ditch and pipes connected to a biodigester or something of that nature to generate and store the bio-energy before pumping it into homes for use, something my zed company badly needs.

I am talking about changing mindsets, being innovative, no idling when the going is getting chaotic, no baby crying...but doing whatever is within means to get things better. The construction of the University of Zambia history indicates attracted all sorts of contributions from peasant farmers, fish mongers, metal fabricators...anybody bringing anything from chickens to goats and building sand to erect it. Triggering a true spirit of "LET'S DO IT" can get the company zed somewhere. Putting luxury aside a little bit to get things in place will be my top most mission. Everybody from office assistants to the highest office...my office as CEO of zed company have to tighten belts and commit ourselves to getting the company on track before enjoying our sweat.

With rains playing hide and seek, I would sit down FRA and have every grain meticulously stocked because the year ahead looks bad. When rains delay, hunger looms. What we have can be the ‘stick to kick the dog’ on the bad day. Further, I would encourage every household that has excess crop to keep it tightly until the harvest is known. With climate change distorting rainfall patterns...pushing rains to come rate and reducing its lifespan during the rainy season, I would make everyone realise time for jokes on food security is over. Hungry people are angry people. Keep my zed company people look beyond their nose on their food stock would be among my top priorities.

The cost of living is already high; adding hunger due to poor rains will lead into a disaster that will set masses ablaze with anger. The message on my lips whenever allowed to open my mouth in public would be to take care of every little food, every grain and every coin because the year ahead does not look green. It looks bleak and unpromising. The earlier reality dawns to everyone, the better we can gear up and collaboratively chart the way forward. FRA will be at the driver’s seat in keeping the food security walk in practical.

Coming to jobs...mines are looking for saving measures. I would also look for measures to increase my company’s share from minerals. Time to get real is now. Mining investors are foreign and cost of capital is far much cheaper in their countries. They can get cheaply lent capital, mechanise the mine to reduce cost and maximise profit...and bingo! They will not need thousands of workers. Work done by 1000 miners would be smartly done by a single mining equipment. Where does that leave my zed company? Chaotic...people crying and screaming for jobs in the mines, wanting things to be done the same way....manually and employing masses.

My company zed would have to take drastic measures. Either increase tax payable to its coffers through appropriate taxes that are beyond the laughable taxes currently existing. Use the returns from the mines to invest in human capital and use that human capital to create jobs and wealth somewhere else. Do not ask me where...when people are thinking outside the box and innovatively to use their hands and brains, the sky is never the limit.

The human capital I am talking about includes stocks of knowledge, habits, social and personality attributes, including creativity, embodied in the ability to perform labour to produce economic value. Comparative advantage principle can apply here...those with technical knowledge can generate bio-energy, solar and others and use it to supply our neighbours who need energy so much. By the time they wake up, we would have made our money and invest in other things. Where there is a will, there is away. Idling and praying for a miracle while blessed with plenty is not enough. Creativity, hard work, dedication, sacrifice and determination can add to what is beyond humanity.

What I am saying...?

ONE: the energy deficit is real. We need to think beyond basic reasoning. We have to diversity energy generation and grab every energy resource available to avert the situation. Who told zesco power generation and supply is only hydro? Whoever it is must be Stone Age minded. El-Nino effects on rainfall patterns for the years 2015, 2016 and 2017 were predicted by scientists way back...and as usual some people thought climatologists are making too much noise about global warming, it will not happen. It is unfortunately here. We still have 2 rough years to go with the El-Nino blues.

Forget about what you were told on “urinating in the Kariba dam” to fill it up and generate the required hydro energy. I would even agree with Enock Kavindele’s idea of getting water from Lake Tanganyika down to Kariba dam and get things moving. Is it possible? Let us say we connect the Lukuga River an outflow of Lake Tanganyika to Kafue River and let the water flow all the way to Lake Kariba?....Nile river was dug somewhere...!!If that would be too costly, what about starting a new hydro power plant on the northern region where rainfall patterns are more stable to help hydro power generation hiccups? Where are the engineers in Zambia? What are they saying?

TWO: rains are not likely to be stable this year. Hunger is knocking on our doors. We have to safeguard the little crop from last farming season until we are sure of the things. Waiting for the last minute is pathetic planning and bad way of living on earth. Projectory mindsets are drivers of appreciated actions. 

THREE: technology has massively advanced. Expecting the mines to operate on old methods and shun mechanisation to please the job market is folly. Even shopping malls are now mechanising their system...installing CCTV cameras to monitor theft and introducing self-service on the tills via swiping is becoming more desirable than having till operators who give endless headaches for pay raise to management. We got to start thinking about these things. We got to empower people differently to broaden their basket. Government can get decent tax from these malls and invest the money into its human capitals to enable citizens apply themselves somewhere.

I will give two examples: Cuba and Philippines. Cuba invested heavily in providing medical doctors and exported them all over the world. Philippine is doing the same via smart training of nurses massively, exporting and getting remittances to drive the economy home. Philippine’s idea is have the benefits returned to the educational institutions and hospitals that are producing the emigrant nurses. These are not perfect examples, but they are showing how we can use our comparative advantage to leverage our position.

What are Zambia’s comparative advantages? How best can they be utilised for the betterment of the country? Together we can add and shape quality and admirable Zambia.

IF Zambia was my company!!!

Nonviolent Communication (NVC), Love and Intimacy

By Clive Mutame Siachiyako

Thanks to the big brains behind the excellent summary of nonviolence communication  (NVC) and its use in love, intimacy and romantic relations. Sadly, I did not have chance to meet the German philosopher Marshall Rosenberg accredited for NVC. He died few days before I did my conflict management course. RIP.

I am motivated to write about NVC due to my fragile and bad temper in relationships. I tend to use very injurious language when I lose it. Reading about NVC gave me a lot of upskills on how to handle 'hot buttons' before they escalate into a fight. What is considered minor ‘hot buttons’ in a relations can escalate into full fledged brawl even break up if not well attended to, especially when poor communication is added to the issue. Words may seem light to the speaker, but very hurtful to the recipient. It is thus important to watch the words we use to the loved ones no matter how much we feel angered.  

In his nonviolent communication writings, Rosenberg provides rich material to save us from breaking cherished relations built over the years. NVC can be referred to as compassionate communication. It is an approach to communicating designed to help people connect more compassionately with themselves and others. Nonviolent communication can transform interactions, as it enables people to become more aware of their feelings, needs, and desires, as well as those of others, in a given situation. It can promote greater self-awareness and personal growth, to foster deeper interpersonal relationships, and to effectively settle conflicts and disputes at all levels of society. 

NVC history

It was developed by Marshall Rosenberg in the 1960s. Among the proposals of NVC is that humans are innately compassionate. The model emerged from Rosenberg’s effort to understand factors that influence this innate compassionate nature and his realisation that language is one of the most crucial. Although it is human nature to behave compassionately, many have learned how to speak and act in ways that are harmful to others e.g. we judge, withdraw, defend, and attack, etc. These actions alienate us from others and from our natural state of compassion. NVC was thus designed to help us overcome these negative tendencies so that we can connect with others on a deeper personal level.

Rosenberg also believed that all humans share certain universal needs. When these needs are satisfied, we experience pleasant emotions such as happiness and contentment; when they are not, we develop negative feelings such as anger and disappointment. Our feelings, therefore, indicate whether our needs are being met.

Rosenberg's model of nonviolent communication was influenced by the principles of humanistic psychology as well as the Gandhian principle of nonviolence. The core components of NVC are outlined by Rosenberg in his well-known book Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life.

The focus of nonviolent communication is to help people rethink and restructure the way in which they express themselves and listen to others. As humans, we learn to respond to certain situations in an automatic manner. When asked "How are you?" for example, the automatic response might be "I'm fine," although this might be far from the truth.

Such habitual responses are functional, in that they help conserve time and cognitive resources and allow us to react quickly in emergency situations. Nevertheless, they prevent us from being truly authentic. The end goal of NVC is to develop a mutually satisfying exchange, one in which the needs of all parties involved are met through compassionate giving.

NVC principles serve a dual purpose: i) they allow people to become more aware of what they are perceiving, feeling, and ii) wanting in a given moment while also helping them become more attuned and empathetic to the needs, emotions, and circumstances of others. As a result, people are able to replace their habitual reactions with more conscious and honest responses and interact with others in a more respectful and empathic manner.

Key components of NVC

i)                     Observations

ii)                   Feelings

iii)                  Needs

iv)                 Requests

We first observe what is happening in a given situation without any form of judgment. We then express how these observations make them feel and what needs, values, or desires are related to these feelings. Lastly, we make clear, specific requests based on what they need to enrich their lives, instead of demanding these from others e.g. a wife whose husband shouted at her at a social function might express these four components by saying, "When you shout at me in public (observation) I feel humiliated (feeling) because I value respect, especially in the presence of others (need). When we have a disagreement in public, would you be willing to wait until we can discuss the matter in private (request)?"

Since communication is a two-way lane, the process would not be complete unless both people are willing to accept the same four pieces of information from each other i.e. they must discern what others are observing, feeling, and needing, without evaluating, and they must be open to receiving their requests. The four components of nonviolent communication need not be expressed in the same order each time. The process allows for some creativity so that the verbal exchange does not become mechanical and formulaic. 

NVC Practicalities 

Some of the tools of NVC are based on avoidance of judgements, needs and feelings e.g. for someone to learn to distinguish between them and respond more accurately; reflexivity on the judgements, needs, and feelings can be an important step is avoid hot buttons’ escalation.  Accurate responses or reactions can be opted for rather than hitting back immediate to express displeasure.

Some of the exercises of NVC include practicalities in identifying unmet needs of the other person e.g. for my partner to act that way, what are her/his unmet needs? Avoiding sweeping judgements is a good step in winning a misunderstanding. Using phrases like "you always..." or "You never..." These can be replaced with more specific, concrete observations e.g. "I feel..." instead of blaming others for them by saying "you make me feel...").

We need to focus less on “I” and more on “we” and how what happened shake what we share together...our love. Avoiding suppressive language of choice e.g. "must," "should," and "have to" is premium in NVC.

NVC also requires clearly and honest expressing of feelings. Sadly, as humans, we often do not clear understanding of our complex emotions. Our ability to display empathy determines the success of NVC principles in our relationship. We have to learn to calm our nerves and think through things in a best way possible to build and strengthen our relationship. Outbursts and careless words are hurtful and ruin relationships.

References

Baran, G. (1998). Speaking giraffe language. Peace Review, 10(4), 533-538.

Ditkoff, H. (n.d.).Nonviolent communication. www.systemsthinker.com/interests/

Nosek, M. (2012). Nonviolent communication: A dialogical retrieval of the ethic of authenticity. Nursing Ethics, 19(6), 829-837.

Rosenberg, M. B. (2002). Nonviolent communication: A language of life (2nd ed.). Encinitas, CA: PuddleDancer Press.

Rosenberg, M. B. (2012). Living nonviolent communication: Practical tools to connect and communicate skillfully in every situation. Boulder, CO: Sounds True, Inc.

Sullivan, D. (2007). Nonviolence begins with speech: An interview with Emily Gaarder on the practice of nonviolent communication. Contemporary Justice Review, 10(1), 131-142.

http//:wwww.goodtherapy.org 

Christianity: Religion or Business Enterprise?

By Anisha Simutowe Banda 

It would be unwise to claim that all Christian Churches are money raising ventures – very unwise. However, there are so many of them operating under the guise of Christianity and with ulterior motives that put Christianity as a religion in a shameful position. Unless Christians can hold firm to the teachings of the Bible and not fall prey to these false prophets, then ‘true’ Christianity might go into extinction.

Over the years, Christianity seems to have evolved. I am not sure if it has always been this way and I was just too young back then to notice or it if it has actually changed drastically. In this age of technology, the realm of Christianity has grown vast and the word of God can be found on the tele, radio, newspaper, online – with most of it being administered via social media. I have seen the same scriptures being interpreted differently by different churches so much that at times, I have had to stop and do some reflections. Who is telling lies and who is speaking the truth? And who really is twisting the verses to suit their own personal needs?

There are so many churches out there some with such ridiculous names and strange activities going on yet they have huge followings. Every one of them believes they are preaching the Truth. The rate at which churches are mushrooming is very alarming. I keep asking myself; why do Christians feel the need to start their own churches instead of growing in the already existing ones? Apart from evangelising, what is it about starting your own church that makes people do it? And it hit me; money.

It would be very unwise of me to claim that all churches are money raising ventures. Not all of them are. My issue is that there are too many of them out there whose main focus is robbing people off of their money in the name of God. There are too many of such churches and every single day, a new one is born. And in what seems to be their naivety or blinded faith, Christians are tagging along and putting their lives and life savings at risk.

Every time I turn on my tele or go to social media, there is some prophet or pastor being praised for his or her miracle performing ways.  Unfortunately, the manner in which most of these sermons are given in some of these churches has taken attention away from God leaving the very Pastors to be revered and worshipped by their followers in the place of God. Miracles are now performed not as a means of illustrating God’s almightiness, but they are presented as a PR package for the pastors behind them; they showcase how powerful this pastor is and what you will gain if you start following him and ‘sow your seeds’ with him.

Sow a Seed!!!!!

I have heard this phrase so many times my ears have started to itch at the mere mention of it. This is the phrase that is taking the rounds in Churches of today. It is no longer important to teach people how to live their lives according to God’s commandments or how to maintain a righteous path in life. However, it’s become common to simply tell people, sow a seed and all your desires shall be manifested in the name of God. This seed they talk about isn’t referring to the Word of God or living a Godly life so as to attain everlasting life, it is referring to how much money you ought to give if you want God to look upon your life with favour.

It has become the fashion for some pastors to devote a third of their ministries every Sunday talking about sowing a seed. This idea of sowing a seed which is equivalent to ‘give me your money and only then shall you receive blessings from God’ seems to be held in such higher esteem than anything else written in the Bible. The manner in which some of these pastors have interpreted the Bible verses dealing with this topic is quite remarkable! Consider some of the verses about sowing a seed in the name of God:

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Acts 20:35

Galatians 6:7-8

Proverbs 11: 24-25

Ecclesiastes 11:6

Luke 8: 1-15

When I got older, I became a little unsatisfied with some of the beliefs and the hypocrisy that the church I grew up in was teaching and practising, thus, I went on a voyage of discovery. I tried different churches every Sunday…suffice to say, it was an experience that opened my eyes in more ways than one. Firstly, I was very impressed by the number of young men that seemed to be actively involved in pastoring in churches. I thought to myself… ‘and yet they call us the lost generation, Er?’ But one of friends who is a pastor in that church was quick to burst my bubble when he said, “Do you have any idea how much money Churches make these days? And it’s all tax free, that’s why I want to start my own soon! You get to spread the word of God and at the same time make some money. God is amazing!”

It finally began to make sense to me why almost every guy I knew growing up that had failed to make it in life was either a pastor or had established their own church. Chances are that some of them have genuine interest in Christianity, but the financial aspect of it makes their motives very questionable. During my church ‘tours’, I did observe that it was mostly these very young pastors (youths) that seemed very devoted to preaching about sowing the seed than anything else during their sermons. Somehow, they always managed to fuse in these three little words into every sermon they delivered. The manner in which these verses where shoved down our ears made me feel guilty to attend church services if I didn’t have any money on me that Sunday. I could not let go of the idea that I would never receive God’s blessings if I don’t put a lot of money in those baskets/buckets. And slowly, I began to grow further away from God because I felt I couldn’t afford him. If I felt like that even when I am someone who comes from an average family, what about those people that come from very poor families?

There is nothing wrong with the Bible verses encouraging us to be more giving and to give from the heart. It is a situation where even a cent would mean A Lot if the heart that was giving was sincere. Think of the woman from Mark 12:41-44  do you think this widow’s offering would be encouraged in some churches these days? We live in a time where the rich receive special treatment even in churches because they are the ones that ‘give more and contribute to the growth of the church.’ These rich folks are the ones that sit on the front rows in church while the old ladies hard of hearing and sight sit in the back because they are too shabby to be displayed in the front.

A church is a place that was initially meant to be a place of equality but is now a place exhibiting all forms of segregation packed with very judgemental people that look only on the outside and never the soul of their brothers and sisters. It is a place where people get to realise how different their social status really is because only the rich are mostly heralded and given opportunities to grow and participate in church activities while the poor and uneducated ones remain in the background. But ‘again’ I will reiterate, not all churches are like this.

I find the judgmental attitude of some Christians very daunting. If someone walks into your church dressed in funny clothes, shabby, or they are looking like they just stepped into the building mistaking it for a brothel, instead of throwing them judgemental looks or avoiding them like a plague, how about taking it as a God given opportunity to witness to them? A church is a place for sinners; we are all natural born sinners seeking deliverance from God. Just because your sins are dressed up in clean and fancy designer clothes does not make you better than the rest. Sit down.

When some pastors start their churches or their pastoral work, you will constantly hear them preaching about how difficult it is for rich men to enter the kingdom of God. However, two years later, these very people will be rolling in fancy cars and wearing extremely expensive suits, taking long vacations to worldwide destinations, buying Islands, yachts, and acquiring real estate faster than actual business moguls themselves. The question is; where is all that money coming from? They will quickly tell you that they have been blessed thanks to their work in God’s name. The truth is yes, their lives have tremendously improved since they started their preaching work. The only problem is that they got to where they are today because you gave them…and you kept giving and giving them your ‘seeds’. How is it that you have been sowing for so many years yet you cannot even afford to buy yourself a Vitz or take your kids to a proper school while the Pastor has 15 cars packed in his garage with a Yacht he only uses once a year?

Does he really need all those material things he keeps acquiring for himself all in the name of God? He’s sent his kids to fancy schools abroad and yet when you go to him complaining about the financial problems you’ve been facing he tells you; “Sow a seed my brother and it shall be well with you.” How is it that you are telling him you are broke, and he is telling you to give him money if you want a miracle? Does that even make sense? This is the same crap that happens with government institutions; you have been robbed left right and centre and you run to them for help and they tell you, “Madam, you need to pay for a police report if you want us to work on your case.” The hell??

Sometimes I have been tempted to believe that we can’t solely hold fake pastors or prophets responsible for the evil acts they do. Christians are to a very large extent to blame for the perpetration of such behaviour. It’s a fact we live in very difficult times hard to deal with; diseases, poverty, droughts, wars, ISIS, natural disasters and so on. We are in desperate need of miracles and we will believe anything we are told if it means rising above our challenges. But that shouldn’t be the case. Even blind faith is a sin in itself and the Bible cautions us about fake prophets preaching the Word in His name. It is not wrong to question the acts or motives of pastors. Remember, they are not gods but men born of Adam and prone to sin as well. They are not immune and neither are they perfect. The problem is that you have put some of them on such pedestals that you can no longer see them as human. They have become synonymous with God himself. Today am reminding you that they are not!

Why should you feel comfortable taking off your clothes so that the pastor can bless you with his ‘holy body’ in order for you to have a happy marriage or find yourself a good spouse? Do you think God would ask something like that from you? Someone tells you to eat grass to demonstrate your faith and you ahead and do so! You is selling you ‘holy pants’ and you buy them…smh. Are you nuts?? No pastor should touch your body everywhere as a means of blessing you or cleansing you of your sins because that’s not how the Holy Spirit works. God isn’t that lazy, he can operate from anywhere in the world and he doesn’t need to feel your boobs or vagina to help you have a child. Someone tells you that they had a vision of you being their wife and that you should leave your boyfriend because he is not your soulmate and you believe them without questioning anything?? If God appeared to people to tell them about their soul mates then most of us wouldn’t have been born I tell you. The world’s population would be less than half what it is today.

Do not be anxious to receive a miracle in your life that you will believe anything that seems out of the ordinary happening around you is the work of God. Remember, the devil has his powers too. You see people pretending to walk on air, they are turning water into

fuel, claiming to heal mysterious diseases and you are more than ready to fall at their feet. If something seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Those are not the kind of miracles humans need.

We need cures for Cancer, we need heavy rains in Zambia, we need great leaders with achievable visions, we need hospitals, and we need the wars to cease…we need so much more. You floating on air or turning water into fuel has no bearing on my life. Why would you ask God to manifest his power in you by floating on air seriously??? Couldn’t you have prayed for something else, seriously? And you think God somewhere went like, “wow, this fella is one of my pips…let me manifest myself in him…Shooop! There you go…fly my dear son…fly.” Yeah right. Sit down.

As long as Christians keep giving questionable pastors and prophets the platform to grow, Christianity will lose its foundation and eventually cease to exist. Why should money be the most recurring theme in churches? Isn’t there anything else to talk about? Yes, churches cannot do away with money but let not that be the thing that defines your church. Do not make the poor and underprivileged feel inadequate simply because you have a growing need to see your church walls shinning in gold and silver, or        you need to send your family to fancy schools. That is not Christianity, it’s called stealing. If God is only blessing the head of the flock in abundance while the flock wrestles in poverty and anguish, then clearly, something is wrong with such a God. Pastors are Leaders, and leaders do their work through other people. If you want to grade a leader, check the people that serve under him. If he is the only one repeating benefits, then clearly, something is wrong with his leadership style.