Hello everyone,

I’m very pleased to announce that the Mongongo Nut processing machine for Nakawa has been ordered! It will be arriving in Namibia from China sometime in August.

Thank you everyone who has been along for the journey! If you’re just joining us now, refer to this post to learn what this project is all about.

The full story is that we’ve only put down 50% of the total price of the machine. The next 50% will be paid near the end of June.

We haven’t raised the total amount yet, but enough to cover 50% to book the order (USD $260.00).

As of writing, we have raised a total of USD $301.00. Can you believe Bitcoin made this happen? I love the power of internet money.

Long story short, we need some more funds to cover our costs so please contribute if you’re enthusiastic about the project 🙏

To answer this question, let me tell you how I scored cheap space in a 20ft shipping container coming to Namibia from China.

The story starts in India.

My time in Mozambique at the end of 2024 was a wild ride, needing a break from Africa to start the new year. India is a quick and affordable flight from almost anywhere in Africa, so I took the opportunity in January to visit some good friends there.

I was eager to travel India again after my last trip there a decade ago. In terms of economic development, it is said that India serves as a proxy for Africa. India’s market simulates Africa’s conditions, but is ahead of Africa in overall development by about 10-20 years, roughly speaking. I was curious to notice any changes and reflect new insights into my experiences of Africa.

It’s a rough proxy, but I can vouch that it’s a decent rule of thumb. I found everything I needed in Africa, especially Namibia, to be much more accessible and affordable in India. Some parts of India evolved a lot in the decade since I was there, like mobile payments and renewable energy (electric tuk-tuks!)

Keep in mind that Africa and India share approximately the same total population (~1.4 billion), but you can fit the subcontinent of India into Africa about 6 times!

Overall, India felt very much the same as a decade ago --- loud, chaotic, and spicy...

I decided to try something new this time around. I had never used travel volunteering apps before, but I thought I could save some money doing so. After a few weeks in Pune, Maharashtra visiting with my friends, I headed to a rubber plantation forest restoration project in Karnataka using the Workaway app.

I got pretty lucky. Most people do very basic work on Workaway like weeding, animal husbandry, and other basic labour, but I got to spend my time doing a bird survey for free room and board. I compiled a spreadsheet of observed bird species over the month that I was there. It was great!

I had my binoculars with me, was familiar with India’s birds from my previous trip, and my Workaway profile reflected that. Still, I was happily surprised when the Kanthavara Forest Basecamp (KTV) team contacted me to work and stay with them. They also had good WiFi out in the forest so I could get some of my own work done.

During my time at KTV, I was contacted by another host. This time, the host was from Namibia.

How the Workaway mechanism works is that travellers enter onto their profile the dates and countries that they will be travelling. Travellers can contact hosts directly, but hosts can also see which travellers will be in their area and contact them. That’s how the Namibian host knew about me, because my profile indicated I would be in Namibia after India.

This host wanted to know if I would be interested to join him for a road trip from ESwatini to Namibia. He bought a huge military 6x6 truck to convert into a overlander, and he needed someone to drive his other truck back with him.

The timing worked out, so I responded with a big YES. I love a good road trip.

Unfortunately, we snapped the prop shaft of the big truck before we could even get it out of ESwatini. It will be moved to Namibia later on. However, I had gained a friend who was willing to help me out with Bitcoin Nakawa.

For the overland conversion of the military vehicle, this host is purchasing a shipping container in China to fill with all the materials he will need. I mentioned the Bitcoin Nakawa project and he was happy to offer the extra space he has in the container.

I love serendipity, and this container situation has been very serendipitous. We may not have all the funds ready yet, but this is definitely the best opportunity I’ll have to get the Mongongo machine from China to Nakawa. The money will come.

Also, the container will only go as far as Windhoek. I still need to get the machine to Nakawa near Livingstone in Zambia. That’s also going to be a great little adventure.

I’ll let you know what happens next. Thanks for reading.

Until next time,

G