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The CARS Plan To Re-Unite For Rock Hall Ceremony.
The last time they 'drove' together was 2010...
Fresh on the heels of their induction to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, both RIC OCASEK & (drummer) DAVID ROBINSON of The Cars have acknowledged that in all probability, all the original members (sans Benjamin Orr who died in 2000) will reunite and play together one more time at the induction ceremony in April. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, CARS leader Ric Ocasek, commenting on the question of The Cars performing said, "We probably will. I don't know in which way we will. I've been thinking about that a bit since it came up. There's all kinds of different scenarios we could do. I don't know how, but I assume it would be expected and I'd be prepared for that." In the same article (but different interview), David Robinson admitted that members of the group had yet to discuss it, and he expressed confidence that a reunion would happen, remarking, "I don't know why we wouldn't...I gotta drag my drums out and practice a bit." While there will be some sadness over the absence of Bassist/Singer Benjamin Orr, Mr. Robinson opines that Orr would have been "overjoyed" at the band's induction to the HOF. Additionally, Robinson pointed out, "Ben's from Cleveland, and has been sort of a legend there since he was a teenager. The town would go crazy if he were still alive and made a comeback appearance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame." Ocasek added, "I know Ben would have been flipped out by it."
Rock On, CARS!


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I'm getting way too excited about this
Dang it man, I hate Hollywood. It's turned into a damn joke with it's remakes, re-imaginings, and reboots. So I expect nothing but dog crap when I hear about a Green Lantern movie. But the more I see, the more I get my hopes up, and it's a bad idea. PLEASE Green Lantern, Don't disappoint me like Smallville did for 10 years... (More on that another day)
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Rambling On: Literature, Science and Environment
Friday, 29 March 2013
Would forever make a difference?
Someone recently put forth the idea that given the destruction we do to the world and things around us, it may be a good thing that we're only here for a little while. But would we invest more in our surroundings if we knew this was all we got, forever?
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Resurrectionists #1
Are you near-death experienced?
- More Below…
Product Description
- Artists
- Juan Doe
- Maurizio Rosenzweig
- Moreno Dinisio
- Author
- Fred Van Lente
- Binding
- Comic
- Cat No.
- 3185933
- Comics Wednesday
- Comics Wednesday 12/11/2014
- 76156825718200111
- Genre
- Horror
- Previews
- Previews September 2014
- Publisher
- Dark Horse Comics
- Series
- Resurrectionists
- Type
- Comics
- Universe
- Dark Horse
Are you near-death experienced?
Framed architect-turned-thief Jericho Way has discovered he's a Resurrectionist, one of a select group of people who can not only remember their past lives, but become them. Two groups are now after his services-the Sojourn corporation, which wants to exploit his powers for mysterious purposes, and a motley crew of modern-day tomb robbers who have been trying to pull the same impossible heist for 3,000 years-and if Jericho joins them, he may steal back his own future!
A new creator-owned ongoing comic series.
Art by rising stars Maurizio Rosenzweig (Clown Fatale) and Moreno Dinisio (Dead Body Road)!
Customer Reviews
There aren't any reviews published for this product yet, why not be the first to write one?Write your own review.


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SOURCE: Cisco
February 18, 2015 08:00 ET
Donates Tail-f's Leading Management Agent Software to the Industry
Donates Tail-f's Leading Management Agent Software to the Industry
SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwired - Feb 18, 2015) - Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced the contribution of Basic ConfD, a free version of its powerful ConfD management agent software, to accelerate the adoption of programmability for the broader networking industry. Tail-f, now part of Cisco, provides two products, ConfD and NCS. NCS, a multi-vendor network service orchestrator for traditional and virtualized networks is transitioning to the Cisco portfolio and will be marketed under the name Cisco Network Service Orchestrator enabled by Tail-f.
By implementing an end-to-end programmable network based on open standards, service providers can reduce configuration and management costs by nearly 50 percent over a five-year period, while having the agility to easily add new services. Today's announcement about the future of Tail-f ConfD, demonstrates Cisco's commitment to advancing open standards in the best interest of the networking industry.
ConfD is a mature, proven management agent framework with a rich set of APIs for developers of physical and virtual networking devices. Currently in use by more than 75 network equipment providers, ConfD provides the industry-leading implementation of the NETCONF protocol driven by the YANG data modeling language. The no-cost Basic ConfD is feature-rich and will be available for production use without additional fees for NETCONF. The premium version of ConfD, including a complete set of north-bound interfaces including CLI, REST and SNMP, continues to be commercially available.
"We continue to see strong demand from networking vendors, as they sharply ramp up their efforts to provide standardized programmatic interfaces to their virtual or physical network devices," said Fredrik Lundberg, director of strategy and planning, Cisco's cloud and virtualization group. "ConfD dramatically reduces the time and resources needed to develop network management interfaces. Networking vendors leverage Basic ConfD to rapidly develop products that are fully NETCONF- and YANG-compliant."
Basic ConfD is available now and can be downloaded from the Tail-f website. The software is made available with an unlimited, perpetual license.
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Dog Collars - Pet Dog Collars
Fancy Rhinestone Dog Collar
Sale Price: $3.99
Bling Glitter Leather Dog Collar
Sale Price: $5.99
Clear Crystal Dog Collar
Colored Bones Leather Dog Collar
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Leather Collar Star Bling
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Metallic Hearts Dog Collar
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Rainbow Leather Dog Collar
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Red Heart Leather Dog Collar
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Very Cherry Ribbon Collar
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The Beach Organic Cotton Collar
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St Patricks Over My Rainbow Adjustable Collar
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Fluffy Butterfly & Pink Velvet Dog Collar
My Little Rose in Velvet Rhinestone Collar
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These beautiful dog collars are just what your pampered pooch needs for his walk. Make your pooch the envy of the neighborhood with one of these beautiful pet dog collars. Select from leather, swarovski crystal, spiked, jeweled collars and more.
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Please measure your dog carefully before ordering. Any return item on collars will be handled in a fair manner, but we reserve the right to refuse a return based on incorrect measurements


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How to Make a DIY Skeleton T-Shirt
Today we're sharing with you another fabulous and SERIOUSLY easy and quick DIY Halloween costume. So if you've left it til the last minute…Read More
Today we're sharing with you another fabulous and SERIOUSLY easy and quick DIY Halloween costume. So if you've left it til the last minute…Read More
Oooh how we LOVE this time of year. Not only does autumn bring lots of new things to craft with (conkers, pine cones, acorns…Read More
So, trick or treat is RAPIDLY approaching and you realise that you have left it to late to get to the shops or order…Read More
Need some cute Halloween themed DIY decorating ideas? Then look no further, today we have some fabulously fun GIANT POM POM SPIDERS for you….Read More
Welcome back to yet another party themed activity for you – today is all about dinosaurs!! If you have a little boy or girl…Read More
So you are having a princess party! Let the party planning begin! When we throw parties for the kids, we always love to include…Read More
Harharrrrr! Shiver me timbers… yes, it is time for a pirate party!! I am guessing that almost EVERY child, boy or girl, at some…Read More
We have yet another exciting party theme to share with you today – Dennis the Menace and Gnasher! And what mischief are they up…Read More
Soooo who is excited about the Oscars?!?! We are!! Can you tell? We LOVE a good movie and we love the annual glitz and…Read More
World Book day is coming ever nearer. If like us, you will be celebrating World Book day at school or at a local event,…Read More
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You have a clean bill of health. You're active. Why do you need medical cover in your travel insurance? The answers may surprise you...
In our recent travel survey we asked 1,500 of our readers about their travel habits. Of the things we learned, nothing will be as eye-opening to travel insurance sceptics as what we are about to explain.
Medical expenses are the likeliest claim
Of our readers that claimed on their last travel insurance policy, 36% claimed for medical expenses. They didn't lose their phone. Or miss their plane. Or have to cancel their departure. By far the most common claim was medical expenses.
Not many countries have a free health service like the NHS. An EHIC will entitle you to the same level of free healthcare that locals receive in European countries. But unfortunately you cannot get free healthcare everywhere you go.
But that's okay, right? You don't have any medical conditions.
And you're not planning on getting ill while you're away.
Fate is indiscriminate...
So you thought the only people who need medical cover are those who already have medical conditions. Well, we asked the 36% who claimed for medical expenses what their claim was related to. And 53% of those that claimed did so because they became ill while they were on holiday and needed treatment. These are people who were fine and well and healthy before they left for their getaway. A further 18% claimed because of falls or trips or slips.
How much does it cost to get medical treatment abroad?
That depends where you are.
On the ski slopes in Europe a sprained wrist or dislocated shoulder would cost around £1,000 to treat. A broken leg would be around £4,000 while a serious head injury could be up to £30,000.
A heart attack in the USA would dent your savings to the tune of around £4,000. And if you are seriously ill you may need to be repatriated to the UK. The cost of the flight home across the Atlantic would be around £35,000.
If you want to travel without good cover for medical expenses in your travel insurance, you need deep pockets.
Heading off soon?
We offer reliable travel insurance with cover for up to £10,000,000 medical expenses. Get an instant quote at www.world-first.co.uk.


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By King_Max - 02 Dec 2011, 18:47
- 02 Dec 2011, 18:47 #1070592
Release Date: 2011
Genre: Animation
Stars: Kathryn Beckett, Ian Calder and Kate Ceberano
Oakie, a young blue heeler pup, is supposed to be delivered to Texas, USA, but through a courier bungle he ends up in Texas, Queensland, in Outback Australia. Oakie is quickly befriended by Action Dann (an animated character identifiably based on Troy Dann) and they embark on a series of adventures, meeting many wonderful and quirky characters in the rugged and unique beauty of the Australian Outback. Oakie along with his new friends, relives many of the poems and stories that define the Australian culture.Poems featured in the film include Waltzing Matilda, Mulga Bills Bicycle, The Man from Snowy River and Bush Christening by AB Banjo Patterson and The Loaded Dog by Henry Lawson. This is a timeless story of adventure and excitement with a strong dose of Australian humour, masterfully created to ensure Australian culture and heritage is not lost to the next generation. Intended for families with younger children, this film transcends a healthy lifestyle message and educates children culturally and historically, on elements imperative for the survival of the Aussie way.
File: Oakies Outback Adventures (2011) DVDRip 350MB [Doridro.com].mkv
Size: 366521782 bytes (349.54 MiB), duration: 01:25:56, avg.bitrate: 569 kb/s
Audio: aac, 48000 Hz, stereo
Video: h264, yuv420p, 720x384, 25.00 fps(r)
Doridro Entertainment Team [DET]
news: arabloads has increased download speed for free users.


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The Human Resources Customer Service Center supports the goals of the Division of Human Resources by serving as the central communication link in providing timely, accurate, and consistent delivery of information to address our customers' service needs. Through motivated, knowledgeable, caring, and professional team members, our commitment is to deliver service excellence to our customers with just one call.
Human Resources Customer Service Center's responsibilities include:
- Responding in a timely manner to all incoming human resource inquiries via our main number
(305) 348-2181
- Responding to Division's main email address - firstname.lastname@example.com
- Identifying areas of enhancement to increase customer service satisfaction and overall Division efficiency
Some of the services provided by the HR Customer Service Team include the following:
- Verify eligibility and approve Tuition Waiver requests for employees and/or their eligible dependents
- Provide information and support with Division services pertaining to the following:
- Employee health, dental, life, supplemental, and retirement programs
- Payroll inquiries
- Policies and procedures
- HR communications


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Are you sure?
This action might not be possible to undo. Are you sure you want to continue?
It can be tough to talk about climate change with kids. Put a positive spin on it by introducing them to the real-life heroes who have made saving the planet their mission.
Though the series originally came out in 2012, "The Darkest Minds" has only become more relevant with time: It's hard not to think of the immigrant children being held in detention camps by ICE under the Trump administration while reading about teens that develop superpowers being rounded up into internment camps. The movie adaptation stars darlings Amandla Stenberg and Mandy Moore.
The authors of the hit "My Lady Jane" are back, this time putting their own spin on Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre" (hint: it's now a Gothic ghost story). A humorous take on a beloved classic.
Renée Watson won the Coretta Scott King Author Award for this story about a girl named Jade who's been dubbed an "at-risk kid" and feels stifled by adult's well-meaning attitudes toward her. Race and class stereotypes are shattered as Jade's creativity gains shape and power.
One of the biggest novels of 2017 has also been recognized for its amazing audiobook production — it won the Best Female Narrator and best Young Adult Audies. This is a stunning take on the topic of police brutality narrated by Bahni Turpin ("The Underground Railroad," "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks").
After appearing in Julie Murphy's "Dumplin'," unashamedly fat Millie takes center stage in "Puddin'" and shares the limelight with her seeming opposite, the beauty Callie. They form a powerful female friendship that flies in the face of the stereotyping they endure.
The world can't get enough of Sarah J. Maas's romantic, action-packed fantasies. This third installment in her "A Court of Thorns and Roses" series gets to a massive battle fans have been waiting for, but will of course leave you clamoring for more.


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Chris and Koki examine the differences between crocodiles and alligators underwater. They find that differentiating between the species isn't as easy as they thought.
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The Burch Family history begins with the marriage of Increase Burch (born 10/25/1728 in Stonington, New London, CT) to Mary Burch. They had a son Thomas Burch (born 2/25/1756 in Pawling, Dutchness Co, NY) who would become a Revolutionary War veteran.
To view the genealogy, click here on Burch.pdf (.6 Mb)


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CIC recruiting events blend the best of a career fair and on-site interview day!
- Promote opportunities with your organization and develop brand awareness
- Identify candidates from selective, nationally ranked and diverse institutions
- Interview graduating seniors and/or internship candidates
New York City – January 9, 2018
New York Hilton Midtown
Please note: Our Boston and Washington DC events will be on hiatus in 2018 while we go through a strategic planning process. Employers and students interested in those markets are encouraged to attend the NYC event on January 9th, as it will be open to positions and employers from all three metro areas.
Key Benefits
- Events bring the students to you! – Events take place in NYC, DC, and Boston during the college winter break, candidates attend with the goal of working or interning in your area.
- Cost Effective – affordable registration rates and no additional charge for interview space
- Access candidates at schools your organization may not traditionally recruit with
- Flexible interview options – Pre-schedule, schedule day of, or both!
What are the events like?
Registration and Interview Application
- Employer Registration opens September 15th, and you have until November 15th to post job descriptions.
- Students begin registering October 15th, and apply for positions and interviews until November 28th.
- Employer receive applicant bundles on November 29th, and can select interview candidates for two weeks, build their schedules, and fill remaining slots day-of
Day of the events
Career Fair – 9 or 9:30-11:30am
- Meet additional candidates, distribute organization materials, and promote opportunities
- We encourage candidates to talk with employers during the career fair to ask about interview availability for the afternoon, as well as collect contact information for post-event follow up.
On-Site Interviews 12:30-5pm
- On-site table interviews, with an average of 8 interviews per schedule
- Last year over 1200 interviews took place across the four events, with an average of 85 per event added on-site
- You can pre-schedule interviews from November 28th application packets, schedule at the career fair, or a combination of both.


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Watson's artificial intelligence was ultimately put to use on solving important human challenges such as contributing to doctors making diagnoses in a research project at the Cleveland Clinic and helping corporations sift through mountains of data to identify insight and help make decisions…
Ray Dalio's Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund whose strategy is said to include a small portion of traditional "managed futures" algorithmic trading approaches, appears to have a desire to take the computer-based trading concept to a new level.
Dalio will start a new artificial intelligence unit next month staffed with six people and headed by former International Business Machines executive David Ferrucci, according to a Bloomberg report by Kelly Bit.
Will the creator of "Watson" take algorithmic investing to a new level?
When Ferrucci joined Bridgewater in 2012 his background in creating IBM's Watson artificial intelligence program was speculated to be involved in the decision. Watson was a computer-based application that gained fame by ultimately beating the best human players on the television trivia game show Jeopardy in 2011.
Watson's artificial intelligence was ultimately put to use on solving important human challenges such as contributing to doctors making diagnoses in a research project at the Cleveland Clinic and helping corporations sift through mountains of data to identify insight and help make decisions, which is close in function to current algorithmic trading strategies. However, Bridgewater may take existing algorithmic trading to a new level.
Citing a person with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg is reporting the computer program will "learn as markets change and adapt to new information, as opposed to following static instructions." That statement is key and speaks to Bridgewater potentially moving the little known algorithmic "managed futures" trading industry to a new level.
The vast majority of existing trading algorithms use "static" formulas to make decisions. The key development in Bridgewater's new division is that it will "learn as markets change and adapt to new information."
Algorithms detecting market environments and adjusting strategy accordingly have always been an inside discussion among fund managers. Achieving a self aware computer-based trading mechanism has been a "holy grail" to some fund managers and its development has been reported in ValueWalk.
Dalio's inclusion in the little known industry of algorithmic, mathematical investing and trading has always been a topic of consternation. Many inside the managed futures industry generously included Bridgewater in their statistics as the fund was known to be a heavy user of derivatives and some of his strategy overlays were said to rely on computer-based mathematical guidance. This led to focus on Bridgewater as a leader in this industry.
The broad-based BarclayHedge CTA Index included Bridgewater in its industry performance calculation and its widely quoted assets under management calculations. The large-cap NewEdge CTA index was said to have had a desire to include Bridgewater in their performance statistics, but Dalio refused to provide the leading derivatives brokerage firm access to his daily performance.
Bridgewater's inclusion in and labeling as "managed futures" is dubious to some inside the algorithmic trading industry. While Bridgewater's exact investment methodology officially remains a secret, nonetheless speculation regarding the investment strategy has been a popular game of sorts with those in the hedge fund industry. While opinions vary, the strategy is said to include many different components with managed futures algorithmic trading being one component among many.
What is exciting in Dalio's announcement is that he has the potential to turn the algorithmic investment industry on its head and take it into a generally unchartered direction.


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CSOs and market-based sanitation approaches
Bronwyn Powell on 13/04/2016 10:26 AEST
eDiscussion: CSOs and market-based sanitation approaches
How can Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) work effectively to support sanitation markets, products and services? How can they at the same time ensure pro-poor targeting and affordability?
The Civil Society WASH Fund presented an e-discussion led by Associate Professor Juliet Willetts during April and May 2016. The e-discussion explored the roles that CSOs are playing in facilitating sanitation markets, access to financing and the roles of both the private and public sectors. This e-discussion formed part of the lead-up to the Fund's East Asia Regional Learning Event, the theme of which is bridging private and public spheres for improved sanitation.
Read the e-discussion summary here.
Sanitation coverage lags behind water coverage in East Asia, and this is particularly true for the poor, the vast majority of whom suffer a lack of hygienic sanitation. In Vietnam, whilst total sanitation coverage is 78%, this is made up of 94% urban and 70% rural coverage, highlighting inequity in access between urban and poorer rural communities (WHO/UNICEF 2015). Market-based approaches to sanitation are increasingly seen as important in achieving the goal of 100% hygienic sanitation in East Asia.
Background: Civil society organisations (CSOs) globally have started working in various ways to support the supply of sanitation products, services and supply-chains. This came from a recognition that raising demand alone may not be sufficient to facilitate access to hygienic latrines, and that often appropriate, affordable, durable latrine options were not readily available, particularly in rural communities. In addition, marketing of sanitation products can be another strategy for facilitating behaviour change and uptake of hygienic practices.
Another driver for a CSO focus on enterprises comes from recognition that project cycles are limited and there is a need to sustain impact beyond project timeframes. As discussed in the Southern Africa Regional Learning Event, this can achieved through working with local government actors. It can also be achieved through working in ways that facilitate local enterprises to take up viable business propositions and offer services for which there is customer demand.
In simple terms, taking a 'market-based approach' to sanitation is about working to facilitate the role of private sector actors (or also potentially social enterprises) for the exchange of sanitation products and services. Taking such an approach typically involves strategies to support enterprises and entrepreneurs - which can range from training masons to improving sales information systems. It can involve product design, financing mechanisms for enterprises or customers, conducting market assessments, supply chain analyses or engaging with local governments or associations to support entrepreneurs. It can also involve shifting from thinking about community members as 'beneficiaries' to thinking about them as 'customers'. Sanitation marketing is a commonly used approach.
Objective: This objective of this e-discussion is for CSOs and others to share their experiences of market-based approaches to sanitation. More widely, it aims to identify different kinds of CSO practice, how and why certain approaches are chosen and what is successful or challenging in the field. We will also cover CSO how CSOs also target the poor and related financing mechanisms (eg. loans, targeted subsidies, micro-credit, rotating funds etc.), and lastly, how CSO are, or could, also engage with the public sector in this work.
Topic Expert A/Prof Juliet Willetts will facilitate this e-discussion. Dr Willetts leads applied research, consultancy and evaluation to inform water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) policy and practice in Asia-Pacific. She is Research Director at the Institute for Sustainable Futures at University of Technology Sydney (ISF-UTS). Juliet has led four major research grants, undertaken more than 50 projects and has been recognised by several research excellence and leadership awards. She is a founding member of the Australian WASH Reference group. Her contributions cover a wide range of areas including civil society roles, institutional, governance and policy settings, role of enterprises and entrepreneurship, gender equality, and monitoring and evaluation. Her contribution to this e-discussion and the East Asia Regional Learning Event will draw on her leadership of the 'Enterprise in WASH' (www.enterpriseinwash.info) research initiative.
Thread 1: CSO roles (Week 1: 18-24 April 2016)
What is your approach to support the availability of sanitation products, services and supply chains?
Your response or reflections on this question could include aspects related to: types of activities you undertake in relation to sanitation products, services and supply-chains and why you choose these activities; aspects of sanitation marketing that you use; forms of support for enterprises and entrepreneurs; which partners or stakeholders you work closely with and why you choose these; how you combine efforts to raise demand with efforts to facilitate supply; how you monitor and evaluate this type of work; what you see as important roles for CSOs in facilitating a market-based approach.
The e-discussion was run over 3 weeks from 18 April - 8 May 2016. Read the e-discussion summary here.
really nice to hear and learn from your story about what you have done in Bangladesh. working with Vulnerable is such a challenge also in our project. our sanitation marketing activity also focused on need of People with Disability. we train local Entrepreneur to understand about issues related to Marginalized people like PWD and how they can contribute to manage the needs of them by creating facility like latrine that meet their condition so they will feel more comfort in accessing Latrine. I would love to hear more experience from you and colleagues in your project. have a nice day
Welcome to this e-discussion! The discussion will follow three main topics. The first topic for this week is:
What is your approach to support the availability of sanitation products, services and supply chains?
Your response or reflections on this question could include aspects related to: types of activities you undertake in relation to sanitation products, services and supply-chains and why you choose these activities; aspects of sanitation marketing that you use; forms of support for enterprises and entrepreneurs; which partners or stakeholders you work closely with and why you choose these; how you combine efforts to raise demand with efforts to facilitate supply; how you monitor and evaluate this type of work; what you see as important roles for CSOs in facilitating a market-based approach.
Thank you for your contribution and getting the discussion started Mohammed Keramot Ali. I am sure we will be able to hear about some of those innovative ideas and approaches, including about sanitation marketing in this discussion. We'd also love to hear a bit more about how you are approaching sanitation marketing in Bangladesh.
Look forward to hearing everyone's contributions.
Best regards,
There is an interesting innovation that have been done by one of our assisted sanitation entrepreneur group (Papsigro) in Grobogan District that i would like to share in this E-Discussion. They are now working on collaboration with BPR (Bank Perkreditan Rakyat/Community Credit Bank), Grobogan, a micro finance institution in Grobogan District to conduct Water and Sanitation Credit Program. Water and Sanitation Credit Program is aimed to expand water and sanitation service for poor/low income community. With this program, poor community members can buy/access water and sanitation product/facility with affordable installment payment to BPR. BPR does not require any collateral property for the water credit program costumer. The installment payment can be done every month or after the harvesting season. Papsigro's role in this program is to promote/socialize the program to community and to construct the Water and Sanitation Facility and the role of the BPR is to finance the water and sanitation facility construction. The program is sucessfully participated by many low income communities. At the present there are more than 350 low income Households in Grobogan District who have improved their water and sanitation facility by joining the program
Thanks for asking a very important question. I am Asim Saleem, National Program Manager, Plan International Pakistan.
Here I would like to answer your question from experience of Plan International in Pakistan working with rural communities for the past 6 years on demand creation vis a vis supporting local masons and suppliers to strengthen supply side.
During the past 6 years we have tried different options like supporting existing grocery shop owners at village to keep latrine construction material as an adds on, training local masons on low cost latrine constriction and supporting entrepreneurs to establish entirely new sanitation businesses at the community level. Only supporting local masons as stand-alone doesn't work while after training local masons on low cost latrine construction and linking them with sanitation entrepreneurs worked very well and proved to be a successful model that was sustained even after our phase out as both the entrepreneurs and masons who have been trained and linked with each-other came up with sustainable strategies to flourish their business at one end and to provide low cost options for the HHs. Based on the practical experience, in my opinion in order to make sanitation businesses last into the future the best option is to work either with existing enterprises to keep low-cost sanitation material as an adds on or the new SanMark to add more material (latrine cleaning, handwashing etc.).
Thanks everyone for your interesting inputs to date.
Already we've heard about a breadth of CSO roles and activities, including:
- Initiating and supporting enterprises by training local masons and related organisations
- Supporting enterprises to address specific needs: including people with a disability, for flood prone zones; for small island contexts
- Engaging with government to support budget allocation for sanitation marketing training and monitoring
- Supporting an association of entrepreneurs to partner with a micro-finance institution to reach low-income households
- Engaging with government to establish legal form for an enterprise (for example a cooperative)
- Engaging with government to develop guidelines and standards for latrines.
These all sound to be excellent contributions by CSOs.
So perhaps we can dig a little deeper and consider some further questions:
- Is training the best way to support enterprises? What does your training typically cover? What other forms of support have CSOs found to be helpful for expanding enterprise activity? Mentoring? Market assessments? Formation of associations? Other activities?
- How viable are enterprises (in the long-term) that have received your support? (relates to Paul's great questions above)
- How are you linking activities with enterprises, to activities to raise demand such as CLTS?
Responses in any of these three areas, or against the broader question above ("What is your approach to support the availability of sanitation products, services and supply chains?") are welcome.
Best regards,
District Bannu is located in Southern part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province with security challenges, crisis ridden and poverty stricken communities. The emergency component to the PATS project was added in the context of massive influx of displaced communities from the closely situated and war affected tribal communities to relatively safe areas in District Bannu.
PATS provide guidelines and support to relevant stakeholders in formulation of polices strategies and guidelines for enhancing sanitation coverage in Pakistan. The sanitation policy emphasizes on social mobilization as a key component to promote sanitation.
During one year of project implementation, we formed Village Sanitation Committees (VSCs), trained Community Resource Persons (CRPs) within the focused communities on how they could facilitate social mobilization and linkages development process, provided trainings to masons in low cost latrine construction, trainings to entrepreneurs on how to establish local sanitation marts.
Government officials and Political Leaders are among the key persons, whose presence is utmost important to ensure ownership of PATS to communities for up-Scaling rural sanitation, increasing understanding on sanitation importance, to reduce diarrheal diseases and also to mobilize the community door to door for eradication of polio. To provide support in this project SABAWON's team arranged one day training to the new elected representatives and also Government officials of the target area. The main purpose of the training was to train/orient the Government officials and Political Leaders of the target communities (District Bannu) for ownership of PATS and provide support in Up-Scaling rural sanitation.
SABAWON under the WASH emergency and PATS project hold a one day "Inception workshop. The main purpose of the workshop was to bring all IPs and stakeholders on one platform and give them a brief orientation about the project activities and what benefit and support it would provide to the internally displaced people. The workshop helped to a larger extent in stream lining the major activities of the project and to receive a proper back up of all the participants.
A District Sanitation Committee was established with representation of district government Bannu to oversee the progress achieved and keep the established system running after the project end.
This is Hassan Mujtaba from Plan International, Pakistan working as Sanitation marketing Officer since 2014. In this period, we are working with different stakeholders and partner to implement the Pakistan Approach to Total Sanitation.
I have been part of the process of market based sanitation approach (Sanitation Marketing) by using the different strategies to get the desired results. Plan int. Pakistan is using two different strategies in two different projects i.e. scaling up PATS in Punjab and South Asia WASH Results Program.
Training of entrepreneurs is an important task to build the capacity. But before the training, it is very crucial to select the entrepreneurs confidently by having selection criteria. Another question is raised that either mason should work as sanitation entrepreneur or not? I think, yes, but will make it difficult to manage for mason to do the both jobs at same time.
Another major part of the job is to link the entrepreneur with manufacturers with different design and models such as ceramic pan, plastic pan or concrete ring.
Entrepreneurs required support of other stakeholder such as CRPs, Village organization (VSC), Masons and manufacturers.
Both projects are related to WASH and running in 9 intervention districts of Punjab. These projects are implemented by our partners in which Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Local Government & Community Development (LG & CD), NRSP, LPP and Mojaz Foundation is involved. With these many other stakeholders are also involved in our projects like Rural Sanitation Marts (RSM's), Entrepreneurs who are working on Union Council level, Masons, Community Resource Persons (CRP's), Village Organization (VO), Village Sanitation Committee (VSC), Manufacturer and field staff of partners.
In sanitation marketing we train entrepreneurs and masons and build their capacity on low cost sanitation options. We are focusing on the reduction of cost centers which are used in supply chain of sanitation marketing. In Scaling Up PATS we are working with Manufacturer, RSM's, Entrepreneurs and masons. While in SAWRP we are working with manufacturer, entrepreneurs and masons.
In SAWRP, Community Investment Fund (CFI) is introduced to facilitate the entrepreneurs and community members while in PATS we provided subsidies to RSM's and entrepreneurs. We have experience of both models with subsidy and without subsidy.
There are two aspects of our work I'd like to highlight to illustrate the approaches we take. Overall, we aim to use a systems-based approach and look holistically. We aim to identify the range of market actors (including valuing the role of the existing informal sector). We try to make sure we (as an NGO) act as a FACILITATOR, rather than an active market player. This helps with both effectiveness and long-term sustainability and scale.
We have adapted rural CLTS approaches to make them applicable to urban contexts. This needs to combine aspects of generation demand (triggering etc.) with a more active supply-side, because in urban areas, there is less scope for people to be able to build safe toilets without on their own. All of this is documented for Kenya in this report: http://policy.practicalaction.org/resources/publications/item/lessons-in-clts-from-nakuru
We try to ensure that we work with EXISTING market actors, but they may be informal (e.g. informal, local builders), and they may not currently be very active in toilet construction. In Kenya we trained around 25 artisans in a set of new low-cost toilet designs that had been put together by local people and approved by the local authority.
A second example of taking a market-systems approach is in our work on faecal sludge management in Bangladesh. Here we recognised the work that informal pit emptiers are already doing, and tried to design new ways of incorporating them into Local Authority systems and practices to deliver a better and more widespread service to residents. You can find out more about this here: http://policy.practicalaction.org/resources/publications/item/faecal-sludge-management-in-faridpur-bangladesh-scaling-up-through-service-level-agreements
Thanks, Lucy Stevens, Practical Action
In response to Pauls comments. I agree that it's important to recognise and work with the existing supply chains and see what's possible to diversify or add on. For example in Vietnam in the North we found the delivery trucks to the road heads were also playing informal roles as sales agents; in the Himalayas', there were existing networks for cement that we could work with. In central Vietnam and the Mekong, we've been looking at linking the larger stores in the centres to a network of masons to offer a "full package" to HHs including delivery and construction which simplifies the buying process for households. We need to take care though and communicate/recognise that risk is inherent for the businesses involved, as it is for any business. So diversifying may be a way to manage issues of viability after the initial demand has passed as part of a campaign.
If training masons are part of strengthening supply chain activities, using agreed selection criteria and considering their motivation helps. One thing we've tried in several contexts, including Vietnam, is training female assistant masons in recognition that a) they were in these contexts more motivated to stay in their area and provide the services; b) they were more comfortable marketing to women within their households who in turn had specific preferences; c) it has potentially some positive economic and gender-related outcomes.
Look forward to the rest of the discussions, Gabrielle,SNV
SNV is implementing its activities through local NGOs in coordination with the government line agency, the Water Supply and Sanitation Divisional Office and the multi-stakeholder sector platform, the District WASH Coordination Committee. SNV's programme has four components: demand creation, strengthening supply chains, behaviour change communication and governance.
The supply chain component focuses on developing a supply network in the district and target villages that is able to meet the demand for sanitation as well as sustaining sanitation behaviours with quality. First a study on Consumer Preferences and Supply Chain Analysis was conducted for the 15 districts, which mapped the supply chain, identified the bottlenecks in the supply chain, and helped shed light on consumer needs. For example, it was found that availability of hardware and masons for construction was generally not an issue in the districts; however transportation to the remote villages in the mountains was difficult and therefore the materials were costly and affordability became an issue. In the terai areas (flatlands) where sanitation coverage was low, there was a lack of information flow to the hardware suppliers and service providers on the demand being created for sanitation in the villages. A key issue was construction quality, especially related to proper joints and fittings of sanitary parts to prevent odours etc, as well as making proper superstructures that were sized comfortably and had ventilation, light, and lockable doors. Furthermore, in the flood prone areas knowledge on suitable technological options was weak.
To address the above, the key intervention has been to share the findings of the study and facilitate a process of strategic action planning for each district that tackles the challenges of supply chain and effective service delivery from a district-wide perspective. This has been done through "Sanitation cafés", a form of an interactive workshop, held thus far in nine districts and attended by government line agencies, private sector, cooperatives, and non-governmental organizations in the district. Importantly, the "sanitation café" has also helped the private sector, small- and medium- entrepreneurs (SMEs) to visualize the scope of sanitation business in the districts and has created linkages between demand and supply. It has also created an awareness in the district line agencies of the importance of supply chain strengthening. SNV is now implementing its supply chain strengthening activities based on identified action points and recommendations from the study that have in turn been reflected in the district strategic action plans. Examples of activities include: developing a technological options handbook and training package together with the national government including options for high flood and/or groundwater areas and also contextualised options for people with disabilities; orientation on latrine options for masons and training for quality construction of toilets; linking consumers to cooperatives for accessing finances for toilet construction; linking concrete ring producers and masons to hardware suppliers located in the district market centres; and capacity building of small and medium entrepreneurs on business development. Now the access to sanitation materials is improving and number of quality toilet being constructed is growing.
Thanks so much for your generous contributions. A special prize goes to those of you from Pakistan for so many posts and ideas!
I'll summarise the discussion from last week, and then in my next post will introduce the new topic for this week's discussion.
So firstly, to briefly summarise week 1… we've heard what sounds like some common principles and strategies for CSO work with sanitation supply and markets:
1. Take a 'systems approach': for instance by considering together the whole supply chain and its various actors, consumer preferences, government roles and behaviour change communication
2. Facilitate market activity by linking different actors: for instance linking large stores to masons; linking manufacturers to entrepreneurs to masons; linking entrepreneurs to sanitation marts; linking concrete ring producers and masons to hardware suppliers located in the district market centres; running 'sanitation cafes' that bring together private sector, government, cooperatives and NGOs in a given district to bring everyone together
3. Diversify and build from existing private sector activity: offering sanitation products through grocery stores, delivery truck drivers as sales agents in rural areas, supporting existing informal pit-emptiers in urban contexts
4. Support quality in construction: Developing technical options and handbooks (including for specific situations (high ground water, flooding zones), develop and provide training in low-cost options emphasising construction quality in terms of proper joints and fittings to prevent odours, and well-constructed superstructures
5. Respond to the context: Two posts have mentioned the challenges of remote areas where the combination of materials and transportation costs create affordability issues. We also explored this question in 'Enterprise in WASH' research in Indonesia and Vietnam, which points to the need to understand which contexts and situations are best suited to a purely market-based approach, and which situations are not, and will require additional models of support- more on this in the e-discussion next week!
6. Make it easy for the household: We heard ideas about offering 'full package' delivery and construction as a service, developing sanitation marts, offering either as a full kit or allowing households to choose their own superstructure
7. Think about selection criteria for entrepreneurs: Several posts mentioned the importance of the selection process for those who are trained, with one highlighting the importance of considering female masons/entrepreneurs, who may be motivated to provide services and stay in their area and who are comfortable marketing to women, and which delivers gender equality benefits
Some good questions have also been posed, for instance should a trained mason also work as sanitation entrepreneur or not? Does this assist? Or does this make it difficult for the mason to manage to do both jobs at same time? (thanks to Hassan Mujtaba from Plan International, Pakistan for this question!). In our research we found that this varied from situation to situation with no single answer as to what is best- we found many successful cases of combined masons/entrepreneurs, and also examples where masons were best suited to focus on the construction work, and entrepreneurs or existing businesses with aptitude for business thinking, sales and marketing were best able to focus on these aspects.
There's much more detail amongst the examples in each post, so worth taking the time to read them through.
Best regards,
Our question for this week (25-29 April) is to look at the complexity and challenges of bringing together market-based approaches whilst ensuring that the poor and disadvantaged are reached.
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What kinds of pro-poor sanitation approaches or financing mechanisms have you used to ensure the poor and disadvantaged are included? How effective have they been? What challenges have you faced?
Your response or reflections on this question could include aspects related to: how have you combined subsidies or other support for the poor with market-based approaches; what has worked and what has not?; what complexities and challenges have arisen (eg. market distortion, ability adequately target the poor and disadvantaged)?; monitoring of who's benefiting and who isn't; poverty targeting methods; approaches to gender and social inclusion; affordable product design; products that meet the needs to elderly and people living with a disability; types of affordability issues faced (eg addressing cash-flow versus absolute poverty); sources of additional finance and different financing options (eg savings clubs, rotating funds, facilitating access to loans, use of output-based aid).
Already in last week's discussion we've heard a few examples to get us started…
- A sanitation entrepreneur association established through support form Plan in Indonesia (Papsigro) is now working with a micro-finance institution in their district to conduct a 'water and sanitation credit program' to expand services to poor and low income community members by allowing affordable monthly instalment payments, and no requirement for collateral to take part in the program (for more see post from Herie Ferdian, Plan in Indonesia)
- Creating latrine models for people living with a disability (PLWD) (see post from Robertus Rio Putra, Plan Indonesia) or including a portable ramp as an option within latrine kits (see post from Iva Koroisamanunu from Live and Learn Environmental in Vanuatu)
- Approaches to reach war-affected tribal communities and displaced persons in Pakistan, including social mobilisation and training of masons in low-cost latrine construction and to entrepreneurs on how to establish sanitation marts together with facilitating support from government officials and political leaders (see more in post from Iftikhar Hussain)
- Linking consumers to cooperatives for accessing finances for toilet construction (see Kailash Sharma's post, SNV Nepal)
It would be great to hear your experiences, your challenges and any questions that have been arising in your work. Putting forward questions is a great way to hear what others think and hopefully gain some new ideas!
Best regards,
In other contexts, it may be more difficult, as you point out. But it may still be a benefit to people to be able to spread payments for a large item like this over time. And that is something that micro credit offers.
Paul, you raise a good question, and it highlights one of the key differences between two common approaches to assisting access for the poor:
- Payment by instalments
- Loans or micro-credit
In my experience in our research, payment by instalments has been helpful for reaching poor households as often cash flow rather than absolute poverty is the issue. Instalments seem to be common across the examples people have provided in this discussion also.
In terms of loans or micro-credit, it is the interest rate that then becomes the biggest factor that affects the extent of debt created for the borrower. As Alex mentions below, in Timor-Leste, interest rates for micro-finance are high (>15%) makes this financing source unrealistic.
I am interested if others (in the Fund or more broadly) could share the types of interest rates that are common in your approaches to micro-credit or loans? For instance Hanh, could you share the rates for Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) and Women's Union's revolving fund?
I agree with your points. Regarding loans and micro-credit issues, I think payment duration and amount of loan are also important factors to influence household's decision.
For your information, VBSP has offered favorable interest rates for different types of loans, all rural households can access to loans for Water supply and Sanitation with the rate at 9%/year (equivalent to 0.75%/month); and payment duration is 60 months. In addition, VBSP loans for poor households will have lower rates at 6.6%/year, near poor HHs is 7.92%/year.
WU's revolving fund used to offer loans with interest rate at 0.5%/month, but they increased the rate to 0.8%/month recently. Payment duration is also 60 months.
I'm Hoa from Plan VNM. in our project area - Kon Plong district, Kon Tum province, the VBSP's loan for water and sanitation is available (6 millon for water and 6 million for sanitation) but usually people (mostly ethnic minority) don't borrow. There are reasons behind:
- People are afraid to pay the interest rate (which is about 6%/year); - - Making toilet is not their first priority
- They are not aware how much and how to make a low cost toilet while the local service for sanitation is not available on site and
- They don't know how to reach the consultation sources.
In their mind, cost to make a septic tank is about 10-20 Mil. VND, which is too luxury in comparison with their annual income (for the poor HH the income is about 2 mil./month or less).
To help them make decision to borrow, we have been trying to combine various actions:
- introduction of low cost semi-septic toilet as a solution
- suitable approach to reduce the cost - their contribution in labour and local material for making the upper part of the toilet and borrowing money to make the lower part of the toilet only;
- together with local Women Union and VBSP to simplify the procedure for borrowing with WU sponsor.
Earlier, we have organized various training to local masons on making sanitation production, low cost toilet using cheep, simplified mold that can bring the service closer to the households; to demo making concrete ring on site using new cheep, simple mold, and make a low cost toilets; to get people visited and share comments.
As a result, many HH were persuaded, then have ordered the masons to make for them the toilet (they paid themselves without borrowing from the VBSP, because the cost is low, less than 1.5 Mil. VND and they could afford).
Demand is generated via triggering but here we need to focus more on forth P of marketing which is promotion. Use of low cost promotion methods can be utilized by sanitation entrepreneur to generate demand. Role of government department plays an important role to facilitate the poorest people of the community.
Under the BCC component, we developed many materials and tools (flipchart, posters, banners, loudspeaker scripts, village sanitation map, etc) those have been used at community sanitation meetings, household visits and sanitation events by sanitation motivators. Through these activities, we could reach all households including vulnerable groups.
Under Supply chain component, we supported to develop a link among all related actors on the supply chain, from manufacturers, sellers, service providers and households. The model of "Sanitation Convenient Shop" (SANCONS) appeared at commune level (the lowest administrative level) with a full network including shop sellers, sale agents and masons improved remarkably the access to sanitation services of households, especially the poor. In addition, low cost technologies for sanitation (types of latrine, types of construction materials and facilities) were also studied and developed. Besides, several micro-finance mechanisms were established as well to support the poor in access to sanitation including of 1) credit channels under banks with favourable interest rate and loan duration, 2) Pay late policies by SANCONS, 3) Sanitation Savings groups by households.
Under the Institutional Enabling Environment component, we supported local governments to develop long term and short term strategy and plan on sanitation with supporting policy making. Furthermore, capacity building for all sanitation actors was also focused with many training materials developed, many training courses and workshops conducted.
• Mason training: Masons in Timor-Leste tend to be community based and cover their community, not often selling their services beyond the community, which limits their market for toilets or long-term sustainability. To make it profitable for themselves and worth their time they also want to generally construct a complete new structure, rather than provide a cheap upgrade.
• Costs: Major cost for rural Timor is transport, which often triples the cost, especially for heavy fragile precast concrete and ceramic product, (e.g. to hire a truck to deliver materials from regional town to mountainous village can cost>US$200). To overcome this we have tested arranging a partial transport subsidy through facilitating bulk purchase from communities with a subsidy for the cost of transportation and we are now trialing more plastic products, such as the American Standard 'Sato' from Bangladesh, linked in with agricultural supply chains to rural communities.
• Credit: In Timor historically credit has been used for business development in particular for women's livelihoods and due to low repayment rates interest rates p.a. are usually >15% from micro credit NGOs even when special agreements for sanitation improvements are made, this compares to 2-3% for toilet loans in Cambodia. Therefore, HH's in Timor have yet to take-out loans for sanitation and we are trialing different 'smart' subsidy approaches, we would be very interested to hear about any experiences with managing sanitation rebates?
• Targeting: identifying vulnerable HH's and in particular people with disabilities is very challenging in the Timor-Leste context. Official statistics and records show that 4.5% of the rural population are PwD but we often find it is 10-15%. However, we have to do several follow-ups with careful facilitation over a number years to pick-up all the PwD as they usually want to remain hidden, for a number of reasons such as fear being taken away from their families and placed in institutions etc.. We have also found that it is best for the PwD to lead the development process of the toilet with adaptations rather than provide a standard product, although they need to have knowledge of the adaptations and products available beforehand.
Best wishes,
Here is an overview of the operational structure:
The program coaches independent sales agents to explain the dangers of open defecation, and the importance of toilet access. These independent agents then organize sales meetings in rural villages. Interested households attend sale meetings to purchasing a latrine. The pilot uses Cambodia's poor identification system to designate recipients of "targeted subsidies." Households with valid poor cards can purchase the latrine at a 22% or 55% discount, depending on their classification. (Note - full price latrines are $56.25 USD.)
Every customer, regardless of poor status, can purchase the latrine with cash or using a loan. If the customer choses a loan, our micro finance partner sends a credit officer to begin loan processing. Cash as well as loan orders (after processing) are routed to local, independent latrine suppliers who will manufacture, deliver, and install the customers' latrine.
An important operational feature of this pilot is that the targeted discounts are integrated into ordinary sanitation marketing operations. Discounted latrines and market-priced latrines are offered in the same sales event. iDE hopes integrating a subsidy program with Sanitation Marketing operations results in greater efficiency and reduces administrative burden of running a subsidy program alone.
Additionally, iDE is working with a research firm, Causal Design, to run a randomized control trial (RCT) alongside the pilot. The RCT will test the pilot's ability to penetrate the poorest market segments and the efficacy of the pilot's operational model. The study will also look at any unintended distortionary effects of the subsidy on surrounding geographies. We are looking forward to using these results to shape future efforts and ensuring that our sanitation marketing approach reaches poor and disadvantaged consumers in a meaningful way. At this point, it is too early to share pilot insights, but we look forward to sharing preliminary data in the months to come.
Since 2012, EMW has implemented a scale-up sanitation program called Community Hygiene Output based Aid (CHOBA) to increase sanitation adoption in rural communities. In Vietnam, the program has mobilized 111,500 poor and near poor households built hygienic latrines through main activities conducted by Women's Union members in collaboration with local authorities:
1. Identify the poor households having no hygienic latrines by household enumeration;
2. Sanitation promotion campaign via village meetings, household visits, loud speaker and distributing leaflets;
3. Support poor households to access to loans from Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) and Women's Union's revolving fund;
4. Strengthen exiting supply chain by engaging the material suppliers and local masons to produce affordable products and allow the poor households to pay by instalments;
5. Provide consumer rebate of 26 usd to poor and near poor households after the hygienic latrines completed. This rebate accounts for 7-10% of latrine cost in VN;
6. Reward Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) to communes where sanitation coverage increases 30% or reach 95% coverage;
7. Provide Performance based incentives to local implementers (WU officials and village promoters) to target the poor and near poor households;
Based on CHOBA implementation in Vietnam, we've found OBA sanitation to target the poor worked effectively due to the following elements/factors: (i) setting up Monitoring and reporting system is crucial but challenging due to local partners' capacity, (ii) enabling environment facilitated by performance-based incentives is important (not only increasing their income a little but also their works are recognized by community and government), (iii) OBA approach made the local implementers take the risks to pre-finance sanitation promotion activities, but it also created space for innovations and flexibility for adjustments, (iv) one size does not fit all and diversify is required when implementing at scale (CHOBA implemented in over 500 communes in 10 provinces in VN), (v) political willingness appeared by providing supports and co-funding some project activities where OBA latrine targets contributed and integrated into government development targets.
Thank you again for the many and detailed inputs. I am sorry I wasn't able to reply during last week due to travel. Below is a short summary of inputs from last week, including a few questions at the end if you'd like to discuss this area a little further. Below that I have also posted the question for the final week of this e-discussion.
Concerning supporting access by all whilst using a market-based approach, we have heard about:
o Use of 'community-investment funds' to support entrepreneurs to offer six month instalment payments (Hassan, Plan Pakistan)
o Use of 'revolving funds' offer discounts to the poor
o Discounts: Offered to households with valid poverty card 22% or 55% depending on poverty status (Alicia, IDE Cambodia)
o Payment by instalments: 'Pay-late' policies by sanitation convenience shops in Vietnam (see post from Thanh, SNV Vietnam), and enterprises allowing poor households to pay by instalments (Hanh, EMWF/Thrive Vietnam)
o Cheaper products: Plastic pans were mentioned, including potential problems in terms of their desirability and cleanliness (post from Hafiza Ayesha Riaz), and in Timor-Leste there are current trials with the American Standard 'Sato' from Bangladesh (Alex, WaterAid Timor-Leste)
o Savings groups: By households (see post from Thanh, SNV Vietnam)
o Transport subsidy: Partial transport subsidy for communities making a bulk purchase in remote areas (see post from Alex Grumbley, WaterAid Timor-Leste)
o Loans: Offered to both poor and non-poor households through a partner microfinance organisations (see post from XXX, IDE Cambodia), offered through state social policy bank (Vietnam Bank for Social Policy) and Women's Union revolving fund (see post from Hanh, EMWF/Thrive Vietnam), credit channels under banks offering a favourable interest rate and loan duration (Thanh, SNV Vietnam)
o Consumer rebate: For registered poor and near-poor USD 26 (7-10% of the cost)
o Micro-credit for landlords to improve sanitation facilities, which rather than resulting in higher rent (to cover their costs) instead did not, and led to more stable tenants and less vacancies- a win-win situation for both landlord and tenants (Lucy, Practical Action)
o Government systems of poverty identification – registered poor and near poor in Cambodia and Vietnam, including EMWF/Thrive undertaking household enumeration (could you perhaps elaborate on this enumeration Hanh?)
o Use of communications mechanisms to ensure poor are not excluded: loudspeakers, posters, banners etc.
o Identifying households with people living with a disability- noted to be challenging- with higher actual rates (10-15% compared to official 4.5%) in the Timor context (Alex, WaterAid Timor-Leste)
o Minimising market distortion – IDE Cambodia is studying this and will share results when they become available (Alicia, IDE Cambodia)
o Efficiency- IDE Cambodia offer both full-price and discounted products at the same sales event (Alicia, IDE Cambodia)
o Use of performance incentives for communes (to reach higher levels of coverage) and for volunteers (Women's Union and village promoters) by EMWF/Thrive
o Interest rates of micro-finance providers- comment from Alex, WaterAid Timor-Leste on high rates in that country context (15%) which make this source of financing infeasible
o A need for greater focus on fourth 'P' of marketing which is promotion (Hassan, Plan Pakistan)
o Masons in Timor-Leste were found to need to build a complete structure (not just an upgrade) for the activity to be profitable for them. These masons also tended to be community-based and cover their own community, not often selling their services beyond the community, limiting their market for toilets and long-term sustainability.
o Trial to link sales of 'Sato' latrine product with agricultural supply chains to rural communities (Alex, Timor-Leste)
o It was best for people living with a disability to lead the development process of the toilet with adaptations rather than provide a standard product, although they need to have knowledge of the adaptations and products available beforehand (Alex, Timor-Leste)
As per my comment under the thread following Paul's question above concerning households going into debt taking out loans for toilets, it would be great to hear more from people on the typical loan interest rates involved for the loans you have described.
Also, we also haven't heard so much about if and how offering these various forms of targeted support to poor households is interfering with either (i) demand creation/reaching ODF or (ii) marketing efforts to other sections of the community who will not receive such support.
If anyone has comments on these areas then please do respond here…
In terms of targeting the poor, as you said, we have used Government systems of poverty identification – registered poor and near poor in Cambodia and Vietnam, but we could not have accurate baseline data of "hygienic latrine ownership" by using census data provided by the health workers or government. In Vietnam, open defecation is rare, so the bulk of the work is concentrated on convincing poor households to switch from using unhygienic latrines to hygienic ones that fulfill the standards set by the Ministry of Health. There are 15 latrine models acceptable to MOH, but the majority in the communities covered by CHOBA are latrines with septic tanks, double vaulted composting latrines, and pour-flush latrines.
Payment for results depends on the accuracy of the reported data which are used for verification before EMW disburses the incentives to Vietnam Women's Union and consumer rebates to poor households. Also, the Conditional Cash Transfer requires accurate baseline sanitation coverage. Therefore, East Meets West has to spend one year to enumerate households, and to train Vietnam Women's Union members in monitoring procedures.
Again, thank you for your many ideas shared to date. The final question for the last week of this e-discussion (2-6 May) concerns the roles of public sector or other actors in supporting market-based sanitation approaches.
QUESTION: How can CSOs also work with local government (or other local actors) in facilitating market-based sanitation approaches?
Your response or reflections on this question could include aspects related to: facilitating the interest of private sector support agencies to support sanitation enterprises; local government roles in linking demand and supply; supporting other actors such as associations of entrepreneurs, women's union or women's groups; facilitating government roles in targeted subsidies to ensure access to the poor and disadvantaged; supporting the setting and monitoring of quality standards and accreditation of products and services.
Look forward to hearing your responses!
Best regards,
Our first principle is that buy-in is key. Government officials at both the national and local levels are unfamiliar with and often skeptical of the market-based approach to increasing sanitation coverage, so building buy-in among key individuals and organizations is both a top priority and often a challenge. To address this challenge, we start at the national level by cultivating relationships with officials in the Ministry of Health and the Vietnam Health Environment Management Agency. We take pains to demonstrate clearly our successes in sanitation work in Vietnam and other countries. In turn, we invite these officials to attend early provincial-level sessions with key local stakeholders and potential implementers. We always ask national government representatives to speak at these engagements to introduce iDE and express support for our approach. This goes a long way in creating buy-in from the very beginning of a project.
Our second precept is that "you have to see it to believe it." We understand that you can talk all day about the virtues of SanMark, but there's no substitute for seeing the results with your own eyes. With this in mind, we always incorporate in-field demonstrations for local government officials and other critical stakeholders. We find that these events are often the turning point for our potential partners, as they have the opportunity to truly comprehend how SanMark works and why its reliance on market forces can be so powerful.
The final ingredient to our success in building local partnerships is the belief that no two partners are the same. For example, local Departments of Health in Vietnam operate under the national Ministry of Health. Their connection to a national government agency impacts their priorities and their staffing profile. On the other hand, local Women's Unions are more akin to a quasi-NGO, with a decentralized structure and a strong focus on women's issues. We take these differences into account when designing trainings, crafting communications, and negotiating partnerships.
These are just three examples of the lessons we've learned in working with governments and other local organizations. We would love to hear from others on this crucial topic.
Great to hear these strategies used by IDE. Sounds like you are working at both national level as well as local level in engaging with government.
In our research in both Vietnam and Indonesia we found that engaging with private sector in sanitation was for many government staff a very new concept, and one that was somewhat challenging for them to contemplate and understand what their role should be.
This was particularly true for health agencies who were comfortable leading behaviour change approaches and training, but less clear if and how they should interact with businesses. And often funding ear-marked for sanitation could not directly be used to support activities concerning private sector. There is much more to talk about under this theme! We'll leave the discussion open until the end of this week and welcome any further responses.
Best regards,
Thank you for your contributions to this e-discussion!
I hope that the earlier summaries of the discussion have been helpful. There is more to be said concerning public sector roles in market-based approaches to sanitation, which we will explore further at the CS WASH Fund East Asia Learning Event (EARLE) in July in Hanoi and will document and share in the event synthesis report.
Meanwhile, the WASH Futures 2016 Conference starts tomorrow in Brisbane, and you can join the conversations on social media at the Linkedin WASH 2016 group and on Twitter #WASH2016 @WASHConf2016. There are several relevant presentations, posters and training on market-based approaches to sanitation which you may find useful for your work.
Look forward to seeing at least some of you either in Brisbane or Hanoi!
Best regards,


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February 7, 2017
Join us at Perkins Restaurant in Avondale at 7:45 am – 9:00 am for a Business Networking Event. This will be an open Group event. All are invited to join.
Speaker: Karen Eichman, Eichman Law, PLLC
Subject: Employment Law and Estate Planning, How the two go hand in hand


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On a mission to attain five trillion Yen by 2020, retail futurists Uniqlo have certainly turned their prospects around since restructuring a fragile business model in 2004. Born in the city of Hiroshima, the 'Japanese Ikea' of fashion seek to provide affordable quality, in keeping with a comfortable feel amongst exuberant connotation.
Pantone Cashmere Collection includes 100% cashmere sweaters. Dedicated to the confident, energetic gentleman with a passion for exciting color palettes.
True to his roots, Design Director, Naoki Takizawa is proud to manufacture homegrown sustainability.
Basic yet 'street-influened'. Relaxed and industrial. Uniqlo use high-quality cotton to give off a modern family style
HeatTech, a line of under-layer apparel has helped Uniqlo tap into a market that stylistically blends clothing and technology into one. Think lightweight, thermo-fibers vs. vivid tones of pastel.
Uniqlo secure the signature of Novak Djokovic. The ATP World No. 1 signs a five-year contract with the Japanese trend-setters before sporting the new threads shortly after at the 2012 French Open. (Djokovic shakes hands with President, Tadashi Yana and Design Director, Naoki Takizawa)


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1) Pre-Training Punch
Hitting the iron like a pro? Take in hefty dose of easy to absorb proteins and carbs 60-90 minutes before gym-time. The combo exerts anti-catabolic effect protecting your hard earned muscle while sparing muscle reserves of energy called glycogen. Good bets: 25-35 grams of whey protein mixed into a large bowl of cream of rice cereal or plop ¾ cup of fat free cottage cheese on top of a large baked potato.
2) Gouge After Training
Done training? Hit the kitchen! Training initiates a state where large amounts of carbohydrates and protein can be absorbed and utilized for muscle growth – more so than any other time of the day. Try eating 40 and up to 65 grams of protein – depending on your size – and .5 to .6 grams of carbohydrates per pound of bodyweight
3) Cycle Carbs per pound of bodyweight daily, though some will need 3. The best approach: eat 2 grams per pound of bodyweight daily for 4 days and on the fifth day, go to 3. The reason: cycling carbs not only helps keep you lean, but can keep growth supporting hormones like insulin, GH and thyroid levels mildly higher translating into grater growth.
Really hard trainers need roughly 2 viagra coupons grams of carbs
per pound of bodyweight daily, though some will need 3. The best approach: eat 2 grams per pound of bodyweight daily for 4 days and on the fifth day, go to 3. The reason: cycling carbs not only helps keep you lean, but can keep growth supporting hormones like insulin, GH and thyroid levels mildly higher translating into grater growth.
4) Cheat
Pro Bodybuilders often take a cheat day – they'll pick one day out of every 2 weeks and just go wild – eating anything and nearly everything they want. The results? They grow even better. Why? When calories zoom upwards, the body responds by increasing insulin –like growth factor (IGF) which not only help repair muscle tissue but assists in creating brand new muscle fibers, called satellite cells.
5) Creatine Load
Case closed; creatine works. It increases muscle strength and size. However, cycling it, 2 weeks at 5 grams a day, followed by 4 days off then 2 days at 20 grams might trick the muscles into holding greater amounts. How so? With a creatine "deficit" the machinery within the body that stores it, works overtime. With a greater dose – 20 grams – muscles sop the stuff up and retain larger amounts.
6) Leucine
Leucine is one of the three branched chain amino acids, but this one takes top billing. It increases insulin – the muscle building hormone – independent of carbohydrates- helping to reverse muscle breakdown. Try taking 5-7 grams 20 minutes before the gym and another 5 grams after.
7) Lucky Seven
Bodybuilders make better gains eating 4-6 meals a day and even better with 7. Multiple meals supplies non-stop muscle building nutrients without setting off fat storing hormones and enzymes associated with larger, infrequent meals. The other plus: cortisol control. The many meal approach suppresses cortisol levels, the hormone that can suppress muscle growth.
8) Beef
When dietary fat is kept under control, it makes room for a much higher carbohydrate. Contrary to popular bodybuilding mythology, carbs are essential and are extremely anabolic in that they increase insulin levels, a potent anabolic hormone. That said, don't skimp on beef – though it's a little higher in dietary fat. It's packed with B vitamins, minerals, zinc and iron making it a must-have food for muscle building.
9) Go Fish
What do Tuna grade sushi, baked salmon, and grilled trout have in common? They're loaded with special fast called omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3's fight muscle inflammation, spare glutamine levels and increase the anabolic response to insulin. The result: recovery and growth. Try 4-6 ounces 3 times a week.
10) Pump It Up
What do Viagara and the amino acid arginine have in common?. Yep, they both work at,
well, you know. They do so by increasing nitric oxide production, a compound in the body that allows blood to flow. Ever hear of the pump, the gorging of blood into muscles when you train? That's a solid stimulus for growth and nitric oxide is a chief facilitator for better pumps.
11) Crush The Cortisol
What's the opposite of anabolism? Catabolism – losing muscle – is accompanied by a rise in cortisol, a stress hormone that chews apart your hard earned mass. A trio of supplements taken after training can squelch its devilish rise. Try 1000 mgs of vitamin C, 400 ius of vitamin E and 800 mgs of the quasi fat called phosphatidylserine.
12) NightTime Morsels
What's the best thing to eat before bedtime? You need protein to help repair tissue and 2 sources lead the pack. casein can linger in the body for up to 7 hours – delivering sustained release amino acids for nighttime growth. Omega-3 proteins are a close second. The fat content delays the absorption of all the amino acids – providing constant delivery while the special fat is reported to support growth hormone release.
13) Glutamine and Sugar
Try this post training drink within 5 minutes of your final set. Ten grams viagra from canada legitimate msnbc of glutamine and 30 grams of carbohydrates –
from dextrose or even sugar to kick start growth. Glutamine supports the carb-up process which signals an end to muscle breakdown and sugar kicks up insulin levels, the potent hormone that is extremely effective in reversing tissue damage.
14) Protein!
The single most important factor in growth, protein supplies amino acids, the building blocks the body uses to repair, rebuild and mend damaged muscle tissue – the result of training. Aim for at least 1 grams per pound of bodyweight per day and for maximal amino acid uptake, break your protein meals into 5 to 7 servings.
15) Play With The Protein
Did you know reducing your protein intake that to .6 grams per pound of bodyweight for 4 consecutive days out of the month might be helpful? During the shortfall, the body "fights" to protect its muscle by releasing enzymes and messengers that oppose muscle loss. When you return to a higher protein intake, the body overcompensates and
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retains more protein for added growth. the body is a fuel-requiring process. They also increase insulin, which, in turn increases other growth promoting hormones and enzymes. Carbs are also stored as muscle glycogen the essential form of fuel for brutal workouts.
16) Carbs are Essential!
Don't you let anyone tell you, you don't need carbs for growth! Heck, they buy viagra online without prescription play an essential role in muscle building. First they provide fuel – and repairing
the body is a fuel-requiring process. They also increase insulin, which, in turn increases other growth promoting hormones and enzymes. Carbs are also stored as muscle glycogen the essential form of fuel for brutal workouts.
17) Zinc
What's the most underrated nutrient for mass building? Zinc. It helps the body make insulin, testosterone and it supports the immune system. It also is required for over 200 other cheapest pharmacy enzymatic reactions in the body. Not bad huh? Problem is; it's sometimes hard to get a full 18-20 mgs a day. Best bets; oysters, beans and seafood.
18) Milk
Low fat or skim, milk is a complete source of protein, and highly anti-catabolic. The amino acids in milk digest slowly – which makes it ideal in preventing muscle breakdown. Plus, milk exerts a repartioning effect – where calories become less efficient at making body fat – which means they are either used to build mass, or simply burned off the body.
19) Potassium
Potassium helps muscles contract and assists in the manufacture of muscle glycogen, the reserve fuel tank within muscles and liver that supplies energy to muscles. A low potassium intake can short circuit your ability to carbo-load your muscles. Since potassium is stored within muscles, it's speculated that – like creatine and glutamine – it adds to the total amount of water muscle can retain and store. The benefit; more water in muscles facilitates an anabolic environment causing greater muscle growth. Good sources include lean meat, yoghurt, bananas and potatoes or try supplementing with 1000-1500 mgs daily split over 5-6 meals (200-300 mgs over any 5 meals)
20) Drink
Water is the medium for metabolism; getting nutrients to muscles and helping to detoxify the body of metabolic waste products that can put a drag on growth. Water builds glycogen reserves, blood volume, and directly supports growth by signaling anabolic mechanisms in muscles for greater protein synthesis. A gallon a day is what the big boys drink; from Cutler to Coleman, you'll find water is not for wimps.


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Number One: I would never plant ditch lilies again!
Back in the day I received a bunch of day lilies from a friend and given my financial state, I was especially grateful for the gift. I planted them in a thin line along the perimeter of my garden, thinking they would be a nice border. My idea was to create a flowing stream of lilies. It was very pretty. For the first two or three years.
And then they multiplied.
Like a lot.
I had more lilies than I knew what to do with, so I dug up a bunch and thought I'd make an attempt to extend my line of ditch lilies to create a backdrop of the garden that ran along the sidewalk. I really don't know what I was thinking, but that year it looked GREAT!
What happened the following year still doesn't make sense to me, but I have named it "The Year of the Ditch Lily" because it was THAT year that those lilies multiplied like rabbits. I had ditch lilies coming up everywhere. What had previously been a nice flowing stream of lilies throughout my garden was now gorging swell nearly overtaking everything I ever planted. I dug up tons of these lilies, shared them with friends, loaded some in our ditch where they could happily reproduce unfettered and some were, sadly placed in my compost. When these efforts didn't work to control the lily population, I dropped the R-bomb on them (Roundup) and placed a layer of cardboard followed by landscape fabric and river rock.
That was about 5 years ago. I STILL have lilies that have poked their heads through! They are tough.
So, I guess I really should not say I'd NEVER plant ditch lilies again. I mean. I love them. I do love their tenaciousness and I love the orange flower they poke up. I also love the way the leaves gracefully dance in the breeze. I have just started putting them where I don't mind their procreation efforts. ❤


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2018 Feast on This! Film Festival
November 8 - 10, 2018
MFCC and the Monadnock Food Coop presents the 2018 "Feast on This! Film Festival" featuring movies that highlight a diversity of issues and viewpoints related to food and agriculture. Films chosen spark conversation among the community about what we value about the farms in our region, and action around building stronger, local, regional, and national sustainable food systems.
We are in the process of building an incredible line up of films, panel discussions, and guest speakers. Check back soon, more is coming!
11.10.17 Friday
6:30pm at Antioch University New England. Hosted by Community Garden Connections
South Central LA. What comes to mind is gangs, drugs, liquor stores, abandoned buildings and vacant lots. The last thing you would expect to find is a beautiful garden sprouting up through the concrete, coloring the urban landscape.
Can You Dig This follows the inspirational journeys of four unlikely gardeners as they discover what happens when they put their hands in the soil. This is not a story of science and economics. It's the story of the Human spirit, inspiring people everywhere to pick up their shovels and "plant some @#%!".
11.11.17 Saturday
BREWS + BITES + REAL FOOD MEDIA POPUP FILM FESTIVAL, 7pm - 9pm at The Hive at Hannah Grimes Center; a Machina Arts collaboration! Hosted by MFCC and Cheshire County Conservation District
*Ten, 4-minute Real Food Media Popup Festival winning shorts feature real FOOD HEROES whose innovation in farming is changing the way we eat!
SHORTS: Verruckt: The Snail Farmer of Vienna; The Oyster Men; Growing Good Bugs; A Greene Generation; Who Keeps the Beekeepers?; Naturali Tea; McEwen & Sons True Grits; Garden Under the Sea; Food Heroes: The Nelson Family & Kristin Carbone.
CASH BAR + HORS D'OEUVRES by CC&D's Market
11.12.17 Sunday
at Stonewall Farm, hosted by the Monadnock Conservancy
5:30pm Hors d'oeuvres by CC&D's Market
5:45 - 7:05pm Screening
7:05 - 7:30pm Panel discussion and community conversation
Every week, 330 farm families leave their farms. The Last Crop is an intimate exploration into the lives of small family farmers Jeff and Annie Main of California's Central Valley. Inextricably woven within these organic pioneers' story is their ten-year pursuit to ensure that a farm need not be imperiled at the end of every generation.
In the last year, NH lost 16% of its dairy farms. What is happening in the Monadnock Region? Land For Good and local farmers, join the Monadnock Conservancy to share how they work to address the issues involved with farm transfer and planning. Join us for this community discussion after the film.
Suggested donation per film: $10/per person or $30/film festival pass on sell at film venues the day of screening.
All proceeds go towards film & venue rentals and to the Monadnock Farm and Community Coalition.
John E. Hoffman
David Lavigne, Waste Management
2018 Feast on This!
Film Festival
November 8 - 10, 2018
More will be coming...
Festival Sponsors
film Sponsors
Event Supporter
Local Food Fighter


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Renaissance Video Services:
We're proud to say that clients contact us weekly for our broadcast-quality cameras and production services for a wide variety of events. Please select from the following links below (Corporate, Wedding, Legal) for the category that most closely suits the events you are planning. Within each category, you'll find greater details and a number of past event photographs to show you what we can do.
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Ayurveda, the holistic medicine of India and sister-science of Yoga, translates to the "Science of Life and Longevity". The texts of Ayurveda provide suggestions on almost everything you can think of: foods to eat, times to eat, how much to eat, yoga and mantra for your constitution, what attributes to look for in a good partner and more! Many people start out trying to incorporate everything and become totally overwhelmed- the opposite of what Ayurveda is designed to do!
The great news is that being consistent with just a couple things can bring incredible results! Like with yoga, consistency (regular practice) is much more important than how much you do. In my Ayurveda consulting practice, I help people implement just a couple things at a time so they can really see the results of the efforts they are putting towards their health. Here are some of the most valuable changes you can make and ones that I often recommend with incredible results.
Take a look at these three suggestions below and consider adding one or two to your daily rhythm for the next month and see what happens!
#1 Eat when you're hungry.
Such a small suggestion, but so powerful! Ayurveda sees the timing of your meals as just as important as what you're choosing to eat. Noticing when you are genuinely hungry in your gut and then eating as much as needed to satisfying that physical hunger can dramatically improve your digestion, elimination, and metabolism! Many of us either tend towards eating when we're not genuinely hungry which can result in weakened digestion and a slower metabolism, or we skip meals when we are hungry which can contribute to systemic inflammation. Start to eat in a way that honors your digestive fire, agni, and see how your health changes!
#2 Try out new spices & herbs.
Did you know that most all herbs and spices help improve digestion? And many of them will also help ward off colds, aches, pains, and inflammation too! Try adding fresh herbs to your eggs, vegetables, rice, salads, or even sandwiches. Try adding dried spices to a little melted ghee, butter, coconut oil or olive oil then mix it into anything you're cooking. Ayurveda's favorite spices for everyone are cumin, coriander, fennel, and ginger; try them one at a time or all together!
#3 Yoga before bed.
By yoga here, I mean the broader context of yoga: asana, pranayama, meditation, and mantra. Pick the yoga that feels good to you to wind down each night and commit to five minutes of it before your head hits the pillow. A good number of sleep disturbances are caused by stress and taking a little time to de-stress before bed can change not only the quality of your sleep, but your mood when you wake up too. A reclined twist like Jathara Parivartanasana and/or legs-up-the-wall are excellent to help you wind down and quiet your mind.
I hope these suggestions help to gently transform your year to one that is filled with vibrant health and a peaceful heart. To learn more about Ayurveda along with delicious recipes and a quiz to discover your dosha, check out my blog at kateschwabacher.com/blog.
Happy New Year!
About the Author: Kate Schwabacher teaches Hatha Flow Yoga and practices Ayurveda, the holistic medicine classically aligned with yoga. She approaches yoga as medicine for body, mind, and spirit after being introduced to the practice to balance the scoliosis curve in her back. Kate practices Shadow Yoga, a dynamic style of Hatha Yoga with her teacher Scott Blossom. Her practice influences her teachings, and in her class you'll find a strong emphasis on the breath, core engagement, squatting and hip opening. This emphasis created a foundation that is grounding, centering, and improves one's circulation and overall health.
Explore Kate's yoga & ayurveda blog at kateschwabacher.com/blog.