Thabiso Mashaba, CEO and co-founder of These Hands, won an Edmund Hillary Fellowship. The prestigious Edmund Hillary Fellowship is awarded to international entrepreneurs who demonstrate exceptional leadership and achievement in their field. The fellowship is based in New Zealand and this has given These Hands the unique opportunity to share its co-creative design process on the international stage. These Hands has gotten off to a running start in New Zealand. Mr. Mashaba has settled in at Tolaga Bay, which is on New Zealand’s North Island. In collaboration from the Tolaga Bay Innovation Hub, These Hands has quickly launched a new project called Slash for Cash.
Slash for Cash is a solution for addressing the large amounts of “slash” that has been rapidly accumulating. Slash is the woody waste product that is remaining after logging operations and can include items such as bark, branches, and sometimes even abandoned logs. Unfortunately, large amounts of slash can cause problems for the surrounding community. Since slash is a woody material, it is flammable and can increase wildfire risk. Slash can also become problematic during flooding. Earlier this year, Cyclone Gabrielle made landfall on the North Island. During this unprecedented storm, slash was washed into rivers and clogged them, which caused flooding. Slash, when washed downstream, can also cause large amounts of property and infrastructure damage. Large amounts of slash were also washed downstream into the ocean and onto beaches. Since slash degrades very slowly, it has to be managed and cleaned up to prevent these problems. However, clean up efforts are very expensive.
These Hands worked with the local community to launch the Slash for Cash project. This project aims to address the slash problem by transforming slash into biochar, which is a useful end product. These Hands brought together community members and worked together to develop a process for producing biochar. Slash can be converted to biochar using a process called pyrolysis. When slash is heated in a low-oxygen environment, it degrades and releases gases. After this process is completed, the remaining byproduct is solid carbon or biochar. This biochar can be used for a variety of purposes. Biochar is commonly used as a fuel for barbecuing. However, it can also be mixed with animal waste and converted to activated biochar. Activated biochar can then be applied as a soil additive for forests or farms. This helps to improve the health and quality of the soil. Furthermore, since biochar is a stable substance, it can help to combat climate change by sequestering carbon.
Under Slash for Cash, These Hands hosted a skills building session to introduce the local community to the co-creative design process. Participants learned how to build metal buckets that are used to contain the pyrolysis reaction and then were taught how to produce biochar. Afterwards, participants were taught how to press the biochar into briquettes and how to produce activated biochar. Since biochar has commercial value, These Hands also worked with participants to develop a business plan for scaling up production. This business plan was pitched at the Tech Stars Startup Weekend Tairawhiti, where it won the second-place prize.
Slash for Cash marks the first time that These Hands has showcased its co-creative design process on the international stage. Previously the design process had been primarily deployed in Botswana and other African countries. However, Slash for Cash is a major step forward because it demonstrates the viability of the design process in the Oceania region. It is also a tangible case where indigenous knowledge from a developing country was applied to solve an environmental challenge in a high-income country. These Hands will expand the Slash for Cash project and aims to identify solutions for other local challenges in New Zealand.
The Slash for Cash project was featured in an interview that was broadcast on Radio New Zealand.
You can find more information about our work in the Tolaga Bay Skills Builder Report and the Ruatoria Skills Builder Report.
