Professional info
Over the past 25 years the work I have enjoyed most is sustainable water development as well as support and capacity building for local NGOs, especially those involved in rural water supplies and sanitation. More recently I also have taken an interest in projects for environmental and ethically based businesses.
After my initial career change and MSc study in Land Resource Management and Planning, I was offered the challenging job of managing a water and sanitation programme for a resettlement project in post-war Northwest Uganda, undertaking the first ever polymer based drilling for hand pumps on the shores of the river Nile. After experiencing the interesting process of rural development in Africa, the desire grew to work on an educational approach by building confidence, knowledge and skills levels of young people, enabling them to integrate in the local economy. To that end I co-founded the Umthombo Trust in South Africa as well as managed a project to develop a regional skills based college for rural business in Tanzania.
Over the past years I was given the opportunity to be involved in a pilot project for a second generation bio-energy company that aims to produce bio-diesel from waste and wasteland biomass. Hoping to gain experience with this new green technology while using my past working knowledge in the oil industry and rural development projects, I would like to enable rural communities to generate their own power and transport fuel which is so vital for rural economic development.