Needful Provision, Inc. (NPI) P.O. Box 1595,
Tahlequah, OK 74465 USA
EIN: 85-0433956 Duns No.: 07-853-9710 Tel. 1-918-868-5710
05 July 2006
Innovative Agricultural Marketing Programs/ Improving
Value Chains Concept
Submitted to: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for RFP GD-AG-01
Application due date: On or before 31 July 2006
Project Title: “Barter Trade, via Telecommunications,
for Agricultural/ Product
Budget: $30,000,000.00 (for 48-month effort) Marketing
in Remote Areas”
(Pilot Projects for S. Asia & SS Africa)
NARRATIVE
I. Project Purpose(s): 1) To develop new, innovative
telecommunications and information technologies providing efficient
barter trade in support of agricultural/ product marketing in
remote rural/ tribal areas w/ smallholder farmers ---mostly
poor farmers typically isolated from the nations in which they
reside; and 2) To facilitate social & economic development
for the poor populations who live in these remote areas.
II. Needs Addressed: 1) Poor rural/ tribal areas, worldwide, often lack sufficient job and income opportunities for residents. Subsistence farming is the typical means of survival, but an array of complex marketing problems all act to discourage farmers from producing surplus foods or related value-added products that could generate household incomes. NPI’s goal is to assist in creating effective marketing networks to help remote area farmers to realize a reasonable return, and living wage, from their farm products. The continued failure to do so will help sustain serious global poverty problems since impoverished rural residents total nearly 2.5 billion people (United Nations data).
2) On a global basis, 1 (one) billion, of the 2.5 billion poor
rural and tribal
populations live in relative social, economic, and political
isolation from the nations in which they reside. Most of these
people have cashless economies, and they generally use local
barter trade in an attempt to obtain basic needs (United Nations/
World Bank data).
3) Continued economic isolation, of the world’s rural
and tribal poor, is
expected to accelerate an array of problems related to international
security, global health, illegal drug production, the environment,
and other issues. Entrepreneurial capitalism is the best hope
to find solutions for these populations.
4) To be more effective, other charitable and “assistance” organizations need to be prepared to assist remote rural populations, utilizing NPI’s herein proposed innovative telecommunications --------- to facilitate global barter trade to improve incomes, and thus promote self-sufficiency. (This project will provide the model.)
III. Innovation(s): 1) NPI is preparing to work with Iridium Satellite (maker of satellite phones) in the development of a satellite-type of text messaging system, powered by hand-crank generators, with extensive language translation support. This device will provide a unique, inexpensive two-way international communications system needed for efficient and economical global barter trade. This telecommunications technology will facilitate a global network of barter trade centers. For the demonstration aspect of this project, model barter trading operations will be established in India and Kenya ---with support from a Trade Coordination Center in Oklahoma (USA).
2) Many remote area populations will not accept cash as part
of any barter
trade. They have few local cash markets available. For this
reason, NPI has developed a series of unique items ---to be
manufactured by area social enterprises --- for trade to the
rural and tribal poor, worldwide. These items include solar
water stills, food supplement production kits, solar refrigerators,
solar ovens, and other items urgently needed by the Third World
poor. Initial manufacturing of these items will be by “Quick
Lift Now,” a social enterprise NPI is now starting in
Kenya.
3) Lists of available agricultural items and trade goods have
been developed, by NPI, to determine typical trades to be made
by most remote area populations ---with trades based on foods/
products produced, and a list of items desired as part of the
trade.
Thus, a basis for two-way trade will be created via barter trade
between impoverished rural/ tribal peoples and the balance of
global populations.
4) Previously isolated rural and tribal populations can use
NPI’s text-
messaging to list foods/ products available ---and/or to make
their trade or urgent needs known to those groups with a capability
to provide essential items/ immediate assistance. As an added
feature, solutions to some basic health problems, and other
problems, might be partly resolved via instructions on a return
text-message.
5) NPI is working with a new company, known as Millennium Aircraft, in the development of unique cargo aircraft with STOL (short take-off and landing) capability. These planes will improve the efficiency and economy of most trades with many remote area populations. When many tons of agricultural crops must be moved, NPI plans to use CargoLifter blimps (developed by a German company) with a per-load capacity of 160 tons. (Added airlift may be provided by Pilatus Porter STOLs, or Sikorsky Skycranes.)
IV. Community Involvement: The rural and tribal
populations, in two
demonstration areas (Africa and Asia) will make the proposed
project possible. To wit:
1) NPI’s manufacturing and barter trade facilities, in
Kenya will directly
participate in producing and trading basic needs and self-help
products required to complete barter trades for foods/ products
from remote area populations. Previously unemployed rural and
tribal populations, from this area, will be employed to assist
in the above efforts. The Oklahoma Trade Coordination Center
will focus on cash sales of barter foods/ products received,
to provide the dollars needed to sustain subject effort.
2) Rural and tribal populations, in Kenya and India, will utilize
innovative
telecommunications means (herein described) to conduct barter
trades to meet needs, and otherwise make their urgent needs
known. As heretofore noted, the establishment of markets/ affordable
marketing systems will give small farmers the incentives needed
to produce extra food crops/ related value-added products, to
generate household income.
V. Project Feasibility: In many areas of the
world, barter trade has long been, and still is, a viable means
to access markets. To enhance this activity, efficient and very
economical forms of telecommunications provide the basis for
creating more trading partners, and more trades. This project
will perfect and demonstrate such form(s) of communications,
while establishing that the proposed effort is most feasible
to help market foods/ products from remote areas, worldwide.
VI. Anticipated Inputs: A Gates Foundation cash grant of $30,000,000.00 ---and project development will be provided by NPI, as well as supporting organizations.
VII. Anticipated Accomplishments: Subject
project is expected to fully
demonstrate that innovative telecommunications can provide the
basis for global remote-area to market barter trade. Moreover,
said barter trade will show a new way to develop communities,
create jobs, and improve self-sufficiency plus overall well-being.
Solar water stills will provide potable water, and reduce high
death rates previously caused by drinking of polluted water.
Food supplement kits will increase levels of nutrition. Solar
refrigerators will reduce food spoilage. A solar oven will help
to reduce indoor air pollution previously caused by indoor burning
of dried manure or brush (the typical fuel for many poor villagers).
Using subject technology, nearly 1 (one) million poor, isolated
populations will become part of the global economy while thereby
improving themselves.
VIII. Anticipated Project Impact(s): In brief, hundreds of jobs will be created, and several thousand lives saved during the demonstration phase. Global export volume should be increased by an estimated U.S. $37 million annually by the end of the second year. Charities, and other groups such as the United Nations, will be better able to identify the immediate needs of isolated rural and tribal populations. The alienation of previously isolated populations will be reduced, and international security thereby improved in the project areas. Remote rural and tribal populations will have an efficient, “speedy” way to market foods/ products, and to acquire needed items in the process.
IX. Project Evaluation: An independent Third
Party evaluator, approved by
the Gates Foundation, will be used to evaluate project results.
X. Homeland Security Features: Impoverished,
isolated rural/ tribal
populations are often angry or disaffected with established
authorities, and terrorist groups (such as al-Qaeda) take advantage
of this situation. The terrorists and many narcoterrorists have
helped to convince these populations that the U.S. is somehow
responsible for their poverty. As a result, these poor populations
now provide the “seedbed” for the next generation
of terrorists and narcoterrorists. Subject project will
help to develop communications with the rural and tribal poor,
and act to help remove their burden of poverty. During this
process, attitudes toward the U.S. will become more favorable
---and the threat of future terrorism should thus be reduced.
XI. Work Plan: NPI’s proposed work
plan is as follows -----------------
1) Develop and perfect a satellite-based, multiple-language,
text-
messaging system, powered by hand-crank generators, to facilitate
global barter trade.
2) Establish product production and delivery capabilities to
provide the
self-help items urgently needed by Third World villagers (the
rural and tribal poor) ---and assist these populations in the
production, value-added preparation, safe storage, and delivery
of foods/ feeds or trade items needed to pay (barter) for self-help
items wanted.
3) Create a model, easily replicable, barter trade system with
trading
posts in Kenya, and India. Perfect and demonstrate subject trading
technique using the herein described innovative telecommunications.
4) Perfect efficient and economical systems for delivery of
cargo to and from very remote areas generally lacking in access
to transportation systems that might support increased trade
and global barter trade.
5) Start an information program, using the Internet, designed
to quickly
inform the United Nations ---the U.S. Agency for Intl. Development
(USAID), plus a wide array of charities--- of the urgent needs
discovered for participating rural/ tribal peoples. (As appropriate,
NPI will make specific requests to assist villagers.)
6) Prepare to replicate and expand the proven telecommunications
means to help solve a wide assortment of global health issues
and other matters that may resolved for the target populations
(the rural and tribal poor).
XII. Budget: Details to be provided with full
application. US $30 million (M)
total ($4.7 M for communications; $13.2 M for transportation;
and $12.1 M for systems)
XIII. Budget Narrative: Isolated, impoverished
rural/ tribal populations
typically have little or no access to electrical power, telephones,
or computers. Satellitephones and computers are expensive, and
the cost of use is prohibitive for the poor. Language barriers
continue to be a problem that impedes two-way communications
over
any distance. At present there are no cost effective solutions
to the above problems, and finding such solutions is one major
purpose of the proposed project.
As noted above, one expense of this project will be the costs
associated developing and perfecting a satellite-based, test-messaging
system with rapid multiple language capabilities. In addition,
there is a cost for development of “burst” transmission
means (with communications security features), to greatly reduce
user satellite time and thereby minimize user costs while increasing
information security. The development of such a telecommunications
technique to save billions of dollars in communications costs
for isolated populations. Another significant expense will be
in soon perfecting aircraft and blimp systems to quickly, efficiently,
and economically deliver tons of cargo to and from very remote
rural/ tribal areas of the world.
NPI has already expended over $650,000 to research, develop,
and
perfect the innovative self-help products needed to help meet
the basic needs of poor Third World populations. This work provided
the first step toward the barter trade effort now being proposed.
In addition, NPI’s staff has worked in Africa, Asia, Latin
America, and the Middle East, to inventory surplus items the
Third World poor might use in an expanded, global barter trading
system. Now, the final step is to develop and perfect a secure,
very efficient, and cost effective means of telecommunications
needed to facilitate the barter trading operation, worldwide.
To perfect barter trade, and also establish an information system
to help
meet the needs of the rural/ tribal poor, it is necessary to
create a test model. The barter model to be created ---for Kenya
and India--- is necessary to fully demonstrate the actual capabilities,
costs, and results of the innovative telecommunications system
that will result from this project.
XIV. In-Kind Match: As indicated above, NPI
is providing the technologies
needed to make barter trade effective ----- and these technologies
are detailed on NPI’s website: www.needfulprovision.org.
NPI’s solar oven, and other self-help trade items are
also shown on NPI’s website. The barter trade system to
be used is a unique proprietary system developed by the NPI’s
President (Nuttle), and owned by NPI (see U.S. Patent Document
No. 543536). In addition, NPI will provide project facilities,
in the U.S., at NPI research and training sites. Facilities
in Kenya are being provided, to NPI, from a local NGO known
as AGAP, and facilities in India will be provided by a local
NGO known as AWARE. As a conservative estimate, NPI’s
in-kind contributions have a minimum fair market value of not
less than $720,000.00.
XV. Supporting Organizations: In the full proposal, NPI will include details on the agreements with Iridium, ALTA Professional Translations, Millennium, CargoLifter, AGAP, AWARE, and the other NGOs supporting subject project models (demonstrations) in Kenya and India. We will also have specifics on probable costs for project work by these groups, and these costs will be made part of the overall budget.
Submitted by: David A. Nuttle, President
Needful Provision, Inc. (NPI) Tel. 918-868-5710 Email:
npiinc2000@aol.com
-------------------
Supplement: “An Overview of Remote Area Barter
Trade”
In most remote rural and tribal areas, barter takes place between
clans, tribes, and/or rural villagers, and acts to help meet
some basic demands. This level of trade seldom has the means
to create self-sufficiency, and is generally of a survival nature.
Under current practice, the most extensive remote area barter
takes place between growers of illegal drugs (such as opium
poppy) and local “drug lords.” In poppy growing
areas of the “Golden Triangle” (primarily in Burma),
tribal villagers contract to grow a certain quantity of poppy.
Soon after the poppy harvest, the drug lords’ horse and
mule caravans arrive (under armed guard) with trade goods such
as rice noodles, kerosene for lanterns, candles, pots, pans,
and other items desired by the villagers. In payment for these
goods, the villagers provide a certain amount of poppy for caravan
delivery to the regional opium refineries. (Such illegal trades
will not be undertaken by this project.)
The proposed barter system would allow rural/ tribal populations
to send a text-message indicating what legal trade items they
have, and what they seek in return. As an example, a tribal
group (in Kenya) might indicate that they have a ton of Neem
seeds to trade --- and they seek 5 solar ovens, plus 3 solar
refrigerators (in trade) to pay for seeds. The trade offer is
accepted, and NPI’s cargo aircraft deliver the ovens and
refrigerators to a STOL strip that has been prepared near the
village. This same aircraft returns with the Neem seeds, and
the seeds are sold to W.R. Grace Company for use in making an
organic insecticide. (By this means, trade items received are
quickly sold for cash.)
Exhibit A -- Supplemental Information
----------------
I. About the Concept Author: David A. Nuttle,
NPI’s founder & President, has a BS degree in agriculture,
advanced training in tropical agriculture, and 63 inventions
related to agriculture and/or self-help technologies for farmers.
Mr. Nuttle has worked for over four decades with poor rural/
tribal populations in 42 Third World countries. He is the author
of “The Remote Areas Development Manual” used by
many volunteer organizations working in rural/ tribal areas.
In addition, he authored “The Universal Survival Handbook”
to help these volunteers better provide for their own safety
and security while working in hazardous areas. During 3-years
of work with Montagnard paramilitary forces, in Vietnam, and
2-years of work with Hmong paramilitary forces, in Laos, Mr.
Nuttle coordinated overall operations to include massive logistics
for remote, hazardous locations requiring extensive use of STOL
aircraft/ flying-crane helicopters.
As part of his work, Mr. Nuttle made extensive surveys of barter
trade activities by the remote rural/ tribal populations with
whom he worked. These surveys included analysis of barter trade
in the illegal drug producing areas of Africa, Asia, Latin America,
and the Middle East. (Populations in these areas grow and trade
illegal drugs primarily due to the many barriers preventing
affordable marketing of other agricultural crops.) Mr. Nuttle
has received many foreign and U.S. honors to include a Thomas
Jefferson Award for Humanitarian Service, the CIA’s Star
for Valor, and others.
II. About Needful Provision, Inc. (NPI): NPI,
a 501(c)(3) charity, was founded on 12 June 1995 by David A.
Nuttle. The main focus, of NPI’s efforts, is on research,
development, demonstration, and teaching of innovative self-help
technologies designed to help the rural and tribal poor achieve
self-sufficiency. To help accomplish this task,
NPI engages in cooperative research projects with universities,
labs, and national labs with the help of an experienced staff
and dozens of volunteers, worldwide. In an effort to increase
overseas effectiveness, NPI cooperates with a number of very
successful NGOs operating in Third World nations; e.g. AWARE
& AGAP. Most of NPI’s self- help technologies are
available on NPI’s website (www.needfulprovision.org)
used by over 800 visitors per day seeking self-help information.
NPI’s staff is skilled and experienced in the type of
project proposed herein. Technology transfer is under the direction
of Charles A. Gourd, Ph.D. a specialist in assistance and development
programs for indigenous (tribal) populations. Dr. Gourd has
previously worked with the United Nations and OAS as regards
technology transfer issues. Karen M. Lees, NPI’s Director
of Training, has 30 years of experience planning, writing, and
directing programs of instruction for minority populations with
an emphasis on rural/ tribal poor.
Dr. Gourd, Ms. Lees, and other NPI staff members will provide
overall support for the herein proposed project. (Details
on supporting organizations, and their personnel, will be provided
in the full proposal.)
III. Special Security Considerations: Worldwide, there
are numerous remote,
rural/ tribal areas (such as The Golden Triangle) controlled
by “drug lords” and their own private armies. Local
populations are coerced to produce illegal drug crops (such
as opium poppy), and outsiders coming into these areas are typically
killed as part of the extreme security procedures practiced.
(The proposed barter trade efforts will not be undertaken in
these drug producing areas, since special security features
would be an added expense not available under the current budget.)
Exhibit B – Review Information Requested by Gates
----------------
1) Background/ Problems : Third World governments have
historically lacked the resources to assist their isolated and
impoverished rural/ tribal populations, and support from these
populations has seldom been critical to maintain power. The
United Nations, USAID, and other “aid” organizations
typically attempt to assist these populations by providing funding
to governments where these populations reside. Corruption typically
prevents any assistance from reaching the impoverished rural/
tribal populations in remote areas. Most of these remote area
poor live without cash, and participate in some local barter
to obtain survival items. Since employment opportunities are
rarely available, remote area residents are small farmers, with
significant numbers growing illegal drugs for barter trade with
regional “drug lords.” Transportation is almost
always lacking or far too expensive to move non-drug crops to
market. To date, alternative or remote area marketing systems,
as attempted, all failed in one way or another.
2) Project Vision/ Objectives/ Design: The
project vision is based on making modern forms of communication
and transportation available, in the next few years, to nearly
1 (one) billion rural/ tribal poor living in essential economic
isolation. In addition, the other part of the vision is to provide
appropriate self-help items that these populations will seek
to trade for ---while identifying, trading for, and marketing
items desired by elements of the global economy. By this means,
the project will meet the initial objective of making these
remote populations part of the global economy. The second objective
is to utilize global barter trade to greatly improve the well-being
of these peoples, and thereby improve global security for all.
Steps to achieve these objectives are as detailed in the concept
hereby presented; i.e. communications, transportation, and international
barter trade specifically designed for nearly 1 (one) billion
residents of remote areas. Our long journey will start w/ subject
barter trade efforts for Kenya and India --with beneficiaries
over time being all of the rural/ tribal poor, worldwide. The
measurable output shall be increases in trade dollars, with
the measurable outcome being numbers of rural/ tribal poor actually
removed from poverty.
3) Monitoring & Evaluation: The governments of Kenya and India, where subject barter trade will be demonstrated, will monitor project efforts and require trade reports showing increased economic activity/ benefits to remote areas assisted. In addition, NPI will work with an independent project evaluator recommended by Gates Foundation.
4) Impact & Sustainability/ Results: Economic
impact will be global, with the most dramatic positives being
for nearly 1 (one) billion rural/ tribal poor ---- achieved
in a matter of only a few years. The economic gains will be
sufficient to make subject effort sustainable far beyond the
period of the Gates Foundation grant. Results will be self-
evident given the project related benefits for previously isolated
population who have used global barter trade to greatly improve
their well-being.
5) Risks: There is always political risk related
to the fact that Third World governments may see outside sponsorship,
of any effort, to be threat. For this very reason, NPI will
make certain that host governments are fully aware of all project
benefits for any government concerned. Other possible risks
relate to any terrorist, narcoterrorist, or insurgent activities
in areas of project activity. Support from local populations
will greatly reduce these latter risks. (Natural disasters also
cause risks.)