After the first days of getting acquainted with South Africa, the culture, the customs, and the first touch with the humiliating poverty in Soweto, the multidisciplinary boost team split after the visit to the biodiesel plant in Bothaville yesterday to each focus on their specific assignment. The Technical Team would stay for another three days in Bothaville to optimize the production process of the pilot plant.

The Logistic Team started their field research as part of their assignment to draw up  a technical-logistic plan for collecting used cooking oil in Soweto by the ‘Miss Collect’ foundation. Hence, the team presented their findings from the desk-research of the preceding months and these few first days in South Africa to the people of greenFusion, a local organisation owned and managed by qualified black engineers, that have worked closely with World Mobile Plants. The Logistic Team is working together with greenFusion (who knows and understands South Africa, especially the townships). As a result of the morning discussions, a list with subjects to be researched and questions to be answered was produced.

Later on, the team had a meeting with the Managing Director and the Operations Manager of Collect-a-Can, a Johannesburg based organisation with primary focus on the promotion of the recovery and recycling of used beverage cans in South Africa. The intention of the session was to discover and learn from similarities between their processes and organisation, and also our used cooking oil collecting model. The team gained a lot of knowledge, as Collect-a-Can’s management team very openly shared insights into their operations and useful experiences. Some of the information they shared include awareness programs, public relations, advertising, branding and partnerships, which are vital for the success of Miss Collect.

Kagisho Dichabe

Bart de Lange