entrepreneurship – Chanters Lodge Livingstone

Stella Awards

STELLA AWARDS:

It’s time again for the annual ‘Stella Awards’! For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the McDonald’s in New Mexico, where she purchased coffee. You remember, she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving. Who would ever think one could get burned doing that, right? That’s right; these are awards for the most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S. You know, the kinds of cases that make you scratch your head.

Here are the Stellas for year 2011:

7th

Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The store owners were understandably surprised by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son

6th

Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles, California won $74,000 plus medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Truman apparently didn’t notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor’s hubcaps.

5th

Terrence Dickson, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, who was leaving a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage. Unfortunately for Dickson, the automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get the garage door to open. Worse, he couldn’t re-enter the house because the door connecting the garage to the house locked when Dickson pulled it shut. Forced to sit for eight days and survive on a case of Pepsi and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner’s insurance company claiming undue mental anguish. Amazingly, the jury said the insurance company must pay Dickson $500,000 for his anguish!

4th

Jerry Williams of Little Rock, Arkansas, garnered 4th Place in the Stella’s when he was awarded $14,500 plus medical expenses after being bitten on the butt by his next door neighbor’s beagle – even though the beagle was on a chain in its owner’s fenced yard. Williams did not get as much as he asked for because the jury believed the beagle might have been provoked at the time of the butt bite because Williams had climbed over the fence into the yard and repeatedly shot the dog with a pellet gun.

3rd

Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania because a jury ordered a Philadelphia restaurant to pay her $113,500 after she slipped on a spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone. The reason the soft drink was on the floor: Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument. What ever happened to people being responsible for their own actions?

2nd

Kara Walton, of Claymont, Delaware sued the owner of a night club in a nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor, knocking out her two front teeth. Even though Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the ladies room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000….oh, yeah, plus dental expenses. Go figure.

*1st Place*

This year’s runaway First Place Stella Award winner was: Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who purchased a new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver’s seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner’s manual that she couldn’t actually leave the driver’s seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury awarded her, are you sitting down? $750,000 + a new motor home. Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home!!

27
MAY

entrepreneurship

Adrian Mvula – Technical Manager Zambezi 107.7 fm

“What’s the biggest challenge you face in your job” Milli Jam asked Adrian Mvula (above), when he appeared as a Guest on the latest edition of The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild Kaufela, last Sunday night. Adrian is technical manager at Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station which hosts our sponsored weekly Sunday night show. “Power cuts from Zesco” Adrian replied, with no hesitation. “That makes two of us” I commented. “What inspired you to train in technical management?” Milli Jam continued. “I’ve always been passionate about repairing things” said Adrian “bringing things back to life, so it was a natural career for me.”

Adrian told listeners that he’d been employed by Zambezi 107.7 fm for the past five years. He joined the station almost ‘by accident’ – he’d been stranded in Livingstone on the way to Namibia. The person with whom he’d been able to stay had a technical problem at 107.7 fm and asked if Adrian could help. He solved the issue for them and the then station manager – Chanda Mfula – told Adrian he was just the person they were looking for, so Adrian applied and was employed! He had two and a half years previous experience with Choice FM, one of Lusaka’s leading radio stations. Adrian explained that he’d completed his Grade 12 at Chongwe High School near Lusaka and thereafter had undertaken a one year six month course in telecommunication electronics at the Greenwood Institute, also in Lusaka.

The music on the show was good as usual. As well as music and chat, we also brief listeners on the latest news from the US and UK charts, as well as all the news from social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, the Chanters Lodge blog and Klout scores. George was happy that his Klout score had reached 61 that week – he has a lot of friends on Facebook – and I mean a lot! One of the highlights of the music on the show was Sade’s ‘Bullet Proof Love’ which was our ‘oldie of the week’. We give a prize of a dinner for two at Chanters Lodge to the first person to text us telling us who’s singing the oldie and although there was a delay while they thought, the prize was won. Other tracks were from Far East Movement featuring Justin Bieber, Rita Ora and Damien Junior Gong Marley. George’s local selection featured the latest from Petersen ‘Osanisiya’ (‘don’t leave me’ – apparently penned for his Swedish model girlfriend).

Adrian told listeners that he was married with a young daughter. He supports Chelsea and his favourite player is – predictably – Didier Drogba. Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Mr Mvula said he would like to be the director of a technical company, and gave the example of Swithin Haangala who had started as a broadcaster with ZNBC but now owned his own big company – which includes 107.7 fm. We wished him the best of luck with his ambition.

19
MAY

Africa, education, electricity, entertainment, entrepreneurship, facebook, football, infrastructure, music, radioshow, Twitter, Zambia

Tribal Textiles

Here’s an eye opening little piece from You and Mia

“I recently returned from Zambia. While there, I took the opportunity to visit Tribal Textiles, near Mfuwe.
Driving along a bumpy country road lined with trees, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, there is a signpost for Tribal Textiles. Turning off the main road, you are greeted by white-washed buildings, lush greenery overhanging wooden benches and stone courtyards. The air is cool and fresh under the shade. We stretched our legs, cramped from the long road-trip and walked through the shop and workshops.

Colors pop off of pillow cases and aprons. Bold geometric shapes and traditional patterns cover everything from bedsheets and curtains, to table runners and other home accessories. Everything is made with 100% cotton, designed and painted individually. I first thought the designs were created using Batik, like in Indonesia. But the designs are made using a starch paste that is sun-dried and then hand-painted. Baking the fabric makes it durable in countless washes.”

(Go the link to see the video about Tribal Textiles)

16
APR

entrepreneurship, fashion, innovation, Zambia

Scott Taylor & Aimee Aspinall Drop Kick ‘The Experience’

Milli Jam, co-host of our regular Sunday night radio show, The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild, was quick to ask our guests last Sunday “which country do you come from?” Scott and Aimee, pictured above, told listeners that they were from New Zealand, Scott from Auckland and Aimee from Dunedin. “That’s a small country near Australia that recently won the Rugby World Cup” Scott continued. Talk about getting it in early! “Where were you when that happened?” We asked this engaging couple. “Well actually I was there!” Replied Scott proudly, “and I was in London on the phone trying to make sense of what he was drunkenly trying to tell me!” Quipped Aimee. We laughed.

Our programme goes out at 18.30 hrs GMT every Sunday night on Zambezi 107.7 fm and is a cool mixture of music and chat. The show streams live on the internet too. We’re popular locally not just for the great music we play, but because we give away a dinner for two at Chanters Lodge on each show! The prize goes to the first person to text us telling us who’s singing our oldie of the week. On this particular show no-one won! Ha ha! The track I played was ‘Macarena’ by Los del Rio – everyone knew the track, no-one knew the artists. As our next show will be on Christmas Day we promised to carry forward the prize, make it easier and dinner for four people to compensate! So watch out for that one!

Scott and Aimee told listeners that they’d spent the last 7 years living in London, working but travelling whenever and wherever they could. Scott works in IT and Aimee in property management. This was their first visit to Africa and they were very much looking forward to their three week safari through Botswana, Namibia and South Africa which would start in a few days’ time ending in Cape Town. From there they would head home to New Zealand for a visit with friends and family before moving to Sydney, Australia where Scott was scheduled to take up a new appointment. “Are you married?” Milli Jam asked. “No, but he’s popped the question and I said yes!” Replied Aimee, breathless and excited!

The music on the show was cool and latest as usual. Dev featuring Enrique Iglesias with ‘Naked’ kicked off the programme back to back with Natalia Kills featuring Far East Movement and ‘Lights Out’. Local tracks were ‘My Police’ latest from Magic Links featuring K’Millian coupled with ‘Ngani i Gelo Wandi’ by Macky 2 featuring Dandy Krazy and Kanene. Milli Jam featured ‘Never Lost’ by BoB ft TI and Coldplay, back to back with Rihanna’s ‘Drunk On Love’. We wound up with T-Pain’s smash ‘5 O’Clock’ featuring Lily Allen then Sway’s ‘Still Speeding’.

Aimee told listeners about her two years working in broadcasting in New Zealand. We wanted to know how she and Scott had met and they told us it had been in a bar in Dublin where they’d both been with friends. Was it love at first sight? “Pretty much so!” They seemed to agree. They also told our listeners they were very much looking forward to having tea on Livingstone Island the following day and swimming in Devil’s Pool. They hoped it would be the highlight of their stay.

Asked where they’d like to be and what they’d like to be doing 10 years from now, this great looking, happy couple said they’d like to be back in New Zealand, running their own business and married. “Children?” We wondered. “Yeah! Why not?” Was their eventual reply!

20
DEC

Africa, Australia, Botswana, Cape Town, Chanters, computers, entertainment, entrepreneurship, football, guests, innovation, livingstone, music, Namibia, People, radioshow

Imagine Rural Development Initiative

I found this wonderful project through Steven Putter @stevenputter on Twitter.

Imagine Rural Development Initiative (IRDI), a Zambian registered non-profit organisation, is providing skills-training in moringa cultivation to 30 previously unemployed local Zambian women. This skills-training program forms part of IRDI’s Moringa project, which aims to empower local Zambians through the sustainable production of moringa, an affordable and highly-nourishing superfood, to fight malnutrition, improve health and eradicate poverty. Imagine Rural Development Initiative is providing this skills-training program free of charge to these local women, many of whom are widows and are sole breadwinners in their families and who take care of not only their own children, but also grand-children and orphans who have lost their own parents due to HIV/AIDS and other illnesses.

The 6-month training program covers moringa propagation, planting, crop management, harvesting and processing techniques. It also includes training on making aerobic compost and using moringa-based organic fertilizer to alleviate the need for petroleum-based fertilizers and harmful pesticides.

After successful completion of the training program, these local women will be contracted by IRDI to propagate and plant moringa in rural and peri-urban communities across Zambia. The women will also train local community members in moringa cultivation, creating further empowerment through skills transfer. The women will also have the opportunity to provide their services to other local agricultural co-operatives and independent local farmers.

IRDI aims to create sustainable income-generating opportunities for program beneficiaries, and this skills-training program will empower these local women to provide a secure future for themselves and their families. By completing this program, the women will be able to support themselves financially within the next 6 months. Although our local women’s group want to improve their livelihoods by learning new skills, the reality is that they still need to put food on their tables, provide shelter for their families, pay for transport and send their children to school.

100% of donations to this appeal will go directly to these women to assist with living costs for themselves and their dependents, including food, transport and school fees. A donation of $25.00 will cover a week’s living expenses for one woman engaged full-time on our skills-training program. Our goal is to help raise $3000.00 a month for 6 months to provide financial support for the 30 women in the group for the full duration of their training.

While IRDI provides skills-training to empower these women, you can give them the peace of mind of having their basic living costs covered while they are in training. We will provide regular updates, feedback and photo’s on IndieGoGo, from the women who receive your donations.

18
NOV

Africa, charities, entrepreneurship, family, food, garden, innovation, Lusaka, management, Twitter, Zambia

Chiawa Fish Farm

I liked this from Victoria Phiri from Times of Zambia reproduced in All Africa earlier this month and agree completely with the comment at the end that it is ridiculous for a country like Zambia to be importing poor quality tasteless fish from China, when we have such a wealth of natural resources ourselves.

“Chiawa is a relatively small area in southern Zambia known for its hot weather conditions that have made large scale agricultural activities by inhabitants of the area fail. Worse still, those who have dared the weather by trying to cultivate, usually end up with downcast faces as wild elephants would not wait for them to harvest their yield.

But all is not lost in the farming sector as there is one component of farming that has made a positive impact in the lives of these people – fish farming. This new phenomenon was introduced to the area by Cherri and Richard Walson who also own hospitality businesses in the area. The couple, touched by the conditions under which the locals live, solicited the goodwill of its clientele abroad to fund an income generating activity, thus giving birth to the Bream Fish Farming project.

Together with the local community Cherri and Richard formed the ‘wealth for ambition’ project which is the umbrella body of all the income generating activities including the Bream Fish Farming project. The community formed its own co-operative of 19 families, and identified the land for the project. They then worked tirelessly to clear much of the land manually.

Cherri and Richard implemented the first phase of the fish farm by raising sufficient funds for excavation, completing the design, clearing the area of tree stumps and locating suitable basic pumps for the water. The pumps bring the water 300 metres from the river to the fish ponds and up to a nine metre head. Each of the six ponds has natural water pumped into it three times per month from the Kafue River.

The project is 100 per cent environmentally compatible as no run off from the ponds can reach the river, but rather is used to water crops. When the water is let out, it can be used to irrigate fields below for those who want to have gardens and grow millet, which is good for human consumption but can also be used as organic fish food. The first harvest of 6,000 fish is now underway and expansion is planned.

Speaking during the first fish harvest, project-coordinator Stanley Chinhoi said the project was an example of how the rural population could contribute to national development through the production of fish. He said most of the fish consumed in Zambia at the moment is imported from China, stating that if such projects received adequate support, importing fish from far off places like China would be a thing of the past. “Fish is a lucrative business which if adequately funded, we can produce much more and even export,” Mr Chinhoi said.

And Kambale Ward councillor Charles Mandika said the fish farm had proved to be an effective income generating activity because of the poor rainfall pattern in the area that prevented the cultivation of crops. Mr Mandika said though there was a lot of skepticism in the initial stages of the project success had proved that with hard work and dedication, anything is possible.

With a second farm under consideration, the people of Chiawa are poised to be major suppliers of fish in the surrounding areas, but this can only be achieved if the Government and other cooperating partners provide the necessary conditions for such a project to thrive.”

14
NOV

Africa, agriculture, entrepreneurship, food, innovation, Zambia

Ty2 Enjoys ‘The Experience’

We felt privileged to host Zambian singing sensation Ty2 (real name Mbangweta Mwendaweli) as our guest on the latest edition of The Chanters Lodge Experience with The Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild – that’s our regular radio show airing on Zambezi 107.7 fm every Sunday night at 20.30 hrs and streaming live on the internet. That’s Ty2 in the picture above. “How did you get the name Ty2”? Milli Jam wanted to know at the top of the show. Ty2 explained that when he was at school he had (wrongly!) been considered short in stature – as was the then president of Zambia Frederick Titus Chiluba. His school mates had christened him Titus 2 and he had shortened this to Ty2 for the stage and the name had stuck! His break through into singing had come initially from singing in church. People likened his voice to Shaggy and Buster Rhymes and he liked both these artists.

Ty2 told listeners he’d been in the music business for ten years and had released three albums with a fourth – ‘Forever’ recorded and close to release. He also had his own company Big Buoy Ltd handling micro finance, buying and selling vehicles as well as operating a boutique in Lusaka. He and his wife are also planning to open a phone shop soon. Married with two children, Ty2 explained that he was in Livingstone for two shows, one at Elite Apartments and one at Vision Pub and Restaurant. He said both shows had been packed and his performance had gone down very well. He said the most popular of his tracks at his shows was ‘Smile’.

The music on the show was excellent as usual. We opened with the current UK number one ‘Read All About It’ by Professor Green featuring Emile Sande, back to back with Bruno Mars and ‘Runaway Baby’ – real rock and roll that one. Of course we featured two of Ty2’s tracks – ‘VIP’ very recently recorded and ‘Spotlight’ featuring Kaufela (aka George Soulchild). Super track ‘Spotlight’ and Milli Jam confirmed that the track was hot in the Livingstone clubs. Milli Jam himself featured ‘She Doesn’t Mind’ by Sean Paul (he does love that one!). Our oldie of the week was the Bee Gees with ‘Night Fever’. Listeners found it tough to tell us who was singing the track – we’ll make it easier next week! We also featured ‘When I Was A Youngster’ by Rizzle Kicks and Amy Winehouse ft Nas with ‘Like Smoke’ from her upcoming posthumous album.

Ty2 told listeners that his ambition remained to become known internationally for his music. He would one day love to win an MTV Award. On an international note we were delighted to get messages during the show from both London and Paris from people listening to the programme live on the internet.

10
NOV

Africa, awards, entertainment, entrepreneurship, innovation, livingstone, London, Lusaka, music, radioshow, Zambia

Zambia Weekly

These days in Zambia it’s quite hard, in my opinion, to get a neutral and objective take on the news. ZNBC, Daily Mail and Times of Zambia are all in a state of transition with new management and the Post is still PF – one suspects it will remain so for the foreseeable future. Time then to turn to Zambia Weekly which appears intelligent, independent and thorough without being too verbose or bunged up with adverts – for now. Their take on themselves is below:

“Zambia Weekly is a free ezine that provides an effortless way of keeping up-to-date with current affairs in Zambia. Every Friday, Zambia Weekly sends out an aggregate of Zambian news – the news you really need to know about!

Zambia Weekly compiles, summarises, compares and analyses the news. It is to the point: short and concise! Zambia Weekly promotes factual and objective journalism. It has no political, religious or ethnical affiliations. Zambia Weekly focuses on the coverage of politics, business and development.

Zambia Weekly reaches thousands of business leaders, decision-makers and opinion formers – both in Zambia and abroad.

It was founded in April 2010

Subscribe – Contact Editor
Camilla Hebo Buus
cabuus@zambia-weekly.com
Cell +260 977 461 877

Subscription is free!”

Wishing them all the best, it is an excellent production.

23
OCT

Africa, entrepreneurship, innovation, News, Publications, Zambia

CRI$I$ Mr Swagger

George da Soulchild writes:

C.R.I.$.I.$ or Crisis Mr. Swagger is Zambia’s premiere Hip-Hop artist with the fastest growing international presence of any of our artists. He is currently is working on a new album to be titled ‘B.I.G (Business is Good).’ This forthcoming release is part of a major plan as the artist moves to another level in his career. The album boasts high powered production from Canada’s Bos Beats on the song ‘Make The Crowd Go’. It also has production by fast rising US producer Youg Fyre. Fyre has also recently produced a song called ‘How To Hate’ for Lil Wayne and was in charge of production for T-Pain’s PreVolver Mixtape. B.I.G will also include production from C.R.I.$.I.$. The album track listing has not been finalized but, Houston rapper Lil Flip is confirmed to make an appearance on a song called ‘Since You Hate Me’. The song has been officially released and is available on iTunes and at other online stores.

C.R.I.$.I.$ is currently nominated for the Channel-O Music Video Award in the category for MOST GIFTED AFRICAN SOUTHERN VIDEO. His song ‘The Fire Inside – Produced by Bos Beats and Young Fyre’ will be competing with some of the best acts out of Southern Africa. Voting closes on the 27th of October, 2011 and he is scheduled to perform at the awards ceremony.

This year already saw C.R.I.$.I.$ win a BEFFTA Award for BEST INTERNATIONAL ACT: In February, 2011 he was nominated for the Black Entertainment Film Fashion Television Arts Award (BEFFTA). He faced stiff competition as he was competing against M.I (Nigeria), 2 Face (Nigeria), Ali Kiba (Tanzania) and Faly Ipupa (Congo DR). Based on a global vote, the BEFFTA Award for BEST INTERNATIONAL ACT was given to C.R.I.$.I.$.

In 2010 he shared the stage with Akon and Sean Paul in Harare Zimbabwe. It was a successful show with an attendance of 48,000 people at the Harare National Sports Stadium which was was almost filled to capacity. He also performed at an MTV Event during the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa sharing the stage with Liquid Deep & Zulu Boy

C.R.I.$.I.$. aka Crisis Mr. Swagger is a Zambian born Hip-Hop Artist/Producer/CEO of his own independent music label called Diamond Chain Services in Lusaka, Zambia, Africa. 35,000+ CD’s and Cassettes sold in Lusaka alone, C.R.I.$.I.$.’s album Officer in Charge (released January 2005). First hip-hop record, produced and released in Zambia by a Zambian artist. Second album, The Diamond Chain Mixtape reached another milestone by becoming the first Zambian Mixtape to be released commercially in Zambia. 2008-Released the album called, ‘Designer.’ C.R.I.$.I.$. isn’t showing signs of stopping as he continues to venture out of Zambia and into the international Hip-Hop market.

21
OCT

Africa, awards, entertainment, entrepreneurship, innovation, Lusaka, music, Zambia

Zambikes

Loved this when I found it on Filtre

“In Zambia, bicycles grow on trees, or rather bamboo, the primary building material for many Zambikes. Groves of it grow outside the company’s factory, which is run by two Zambians and two Americans on a quest to build a local bike for Africans, and employ the “uneducated and underprivileged” to make them for the rest of the world.

So far, Zambike has cranked out at least 8,000 metal bicycles and 900 bicycle ambulances and cargo carts in Southern Africa; they’ve sold 200 bamboo bicycle frames worldwide. The company’s goal, besides benefiting communities around it, is to sell affordable, effective transportation throughout Zambia, a country where the average life expectancy is 47 years old, and infant mortality approaches one in 10 births. The for-profit firm was founded in a partnership with U.S. nonprofit Akerfa, and has employed more than 100 people, says Zambikes co-founder Vaughn Spethmann.

“Our products are saving and changing lives,” said Spethmann during an interview with SOCAP Europe. “We are creating opportunity and employment. “Our goal of having Zambikes be run by Zambian nationals will ensure that Zambikes will be a catalyst for change for decades to come.”

The design is relatively straightforward, though labor intensive. Three-year-old bamboo is cut, preserved, and cured for several months before being cut to size. The frame is then bound with wood glue and plant fiber cords soaked in epoxy, and affixed to the metal components. The whole process takes as long as a week, but produces a 95% bamboo bike that is “one of the classiest, comfortable rides in the bike industry” with almost “magical” vibration absorption, says the company. Models have fetched about $900 abroad, and a messenger bike version is now available for export.

19
SEP

Africa, entrepreneurship, innovation, transport, Zambia

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