The Independent reported on two “environmental activists”Andy Pag and John Grimshaw who were setting out to drive from Dorset to Timbuktu in a car powered by chocolate waste.

They left their home town of Poole, Dorset, on a cross-Channel ferry yesterday. They are travelling in a Ford Iveco Cargo lorry powered by fuel which began life as chocolate, in an attempt to raise awareness of “green” biofuels. Their 4,500-mile (7,250 km) trip across the Sahara desert to Timbuktu in Mali should take about three weeks.The pair have taken with them a small processing unit to convert waste oil products into fuel, which they will then donate to an African charity, along with the lorry. They are taking 2,000 litres (454 gallons) of biodiesel made from 4,000kg (8,818lb) of chocolate misshapes – equivalent to 80,000 chocolate bars.

But they will not be able to dip into their tank if they feel peckish because biodiesel does not look or smell like ordinary chocolate. It is made from cocoa butter extracted from the waste chocolate.

The BBC showed a picture of the cargo lorry they are traveling in

It is interesting that this comes at a time of discussion in Africa about first generation biofuels and their role in Africa.

Its my own feeling that we have been discussing too long and have been left behind by the developments in Europe & USA, which are now revealing the problems. We should rather be focusing on second generation biofuels which don’t run the risk of taking food from the poor and use waste like this initiative.

The Centre for the Promotion of Exports from Developing Countries (CBI) is established by the EU to facilitate importers from Developing Countries.

While its focus is wide it does have specific focuses on Food Ingredients, Organic Foods, Fresh Fruit and Vegetables, Preserved Fruit and Vegetables etc. Within these sections there are detailed market reports, information on regulations and standards, databases of suppliers and services , links, information on CBI projects, news and reports.

The information is free to developing country and only requires a cost free, short registration.

The amount of information in the Herb Data NewZealand library is hard to conceive.

Looking more like an alternate therapists dream, it holds practical information such as how to build a steam distillation plant

The bulk of the library is links to data on a large number of plants. Each plant is described in a detailed page including mongraphs and articles. Scattered through these links are articles on everything from anatomic terms and images, through arrow poisons to dyes and tans.

The link is of course the plant material and its use with a focus on health.

This information is useful just as a reference, but would presumably be in valuable to a business person looking to start an activity in this sector.

The following reported by AllAfrica.com

The port city of Douala is still a major hub for international food aid heading to Chad and Central African Republic, but the World Food Programme (WFP) in Cameroon is buying an increasing amount of its requirements locally.
Of the 70,000mt of food aid WFP’s regional office in Cameroon is forwarding to emergencies in neighbouring countries this year, about 26,000mt has been produced in Cameroon.

WFP told IRIN that the percentage of food it purchases in West and Central Africa for distribution in the region grew from 13 percent in 2005, to over 30 percent for 2007 with Cameroon being the largest supplier followed by Burkina Faso.

is a good sign that the old processes are changing.

The problem is that the supply will only continue while the food shortages continue and we all want to see those ending. There is the difficulty of the effect of sales of large quantities on the food price and availability. This needs to be managed carefuly to ensure that food security is not negatively impacted.

The Mail & Gaurdian has reported that

In the United States, public pressure has been growing to force powerful corporations to disclose where their bottled water comes from, after research indicated that up to 40% of bottled water used tap water as its source.

While in some countries (I saw it in Senegal some years ago) the processing and bottling of unsafe tap water can can guarantee its safety, this is surely not the case in most of the USA and South Africa.

Besides the cost to the consumer bottled water has a large cost to the environment.

Making bottles to meet Americans’ demand for bottled water requires more than 17-million barrels of oil a year — enough fuel for more than a million US cars for a year — and generates more than 2,5-million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

One good place to start to look for food and agricultural processing information is the website of Practical Action at www.practicalaction.org.

The information here is practical but is still based on a strong technical background. As well as product based information eg how to dry fruit, how to make pineapple vinegar and papaya pickle, the information includes more generic articles eg food poisoning and its prevention, building design and food quality control.

The articles generally provide process background, details to allow implementation, names of suppliers and links to other information.

Starting at http://practicalaction.org/practicalanswers/index.php?cPath=28

one can navigate to a category of foods

and then to specific foods

at this stage there is option to give feedback and to ask questions online and the ability to download a pdf version of the information.

I would suggest we try and use this communication potential to discuss and share information and in particular localised information to expand the sometimes geographically limited info such as indredients & equipment suppliers.

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Some years ago SAFPP (Strengthening African Food Processing) exhibited at Technology Fairs in Kolda in the South of Senegal and Tambacounda a well known stop on the Paris Dakar Rally.

In what I came to see as typical West African fashion many Projects bu few Entrepreneurs were represented. As well as presenting their project they sold their products which I came to understand was the main reason for their attendence. The photos give an idea of the type of groups exhibiting (one women’s group had a male Chairperson!).

notice that all of these are groups and not entrepreneurs!

and the products are “artisinal” and have little chance of appealing more than commercial FMCG products sold at the fast mushrooming supermarkets in Africa.

So what level of development can we expect from such an approach?