The question remains : why is it so difficult to convince the donors to invest in large-scale application of this cost-effective technology. Like you said, it is "a means to halt the desertification of sub-Sahara Africa, a path to reclaiming land lost to desertification, as well as the developing world's food crisis."
When will this message be understood ? Prof. Dr. Willem Van Cotthem Beeweg 36 - B 9080 Zaffelare (Belgium)
willem vancotthem: why is it so difficult to convince the donors to invest in large-scale application of this cost-effective technology.
In the article about that Helen referenced above, it says that Malawi's largest donors (Britain, the United States and the World Bank) initially refused to fund Malawi's "revolutionary" program that provided subsidies to farmers to buy high-yield seeds and fertilizer. However, upon seeing the results, "international donors [including Britain], after early scepticism, now support the scheme".
willem vancotthem: Several humanitarian projects in Africa and Asia have been remarkably successful. Actual projects in Algeria (Tindouf area) and India (Tamil Nadu) show the same positive results.
What is the visibility of these programs to the decision makers in large donor organizations and bureaucracies? Do you have anyone inside them to champion the use of your soil conditioner?
Also, have you approached deep-pocketed private donors, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation? It seems probable that some of these large charitable organizations would be very interested in supporting you. And assuming the results of these pilot projects continue to be positive with only minimal (if any) harmful side-effects, then such major philanthropies may also have the connections and/or influence on governments to persuade them to use TerraCottem on a more wide-scale basis (in addition, obviously, to the money to fund them). A language is a dialect with an army and navy.
