“There are not many men in the camp. There are a lot of single mothers.
As a group, the men of the camp could form a business.�
            John Nairaba, the chairman of Camp Vision

 
The men and women in the camp had former lives and jobs that they lost
after the election violence. Some were business owners, some were
farmers, some raised livestock.
 
The women outnumber the men in this camp because men were targeted during the post-election riots. Though small
in number, these men are big dreamers and entrepreneurs. They are
motivated to create a better life for themselves, but having lost
everything and having no start-up capital, they just lack the resources
with which to do so. However, many of the men have saved what little
money they have earned from odd jobs and are using it to plant small
fields to grow crops or to raise livestock.
 
Having no ability to earn a living and enjoy the fruit of their labor has taken its toll on these men.
As John says above, these men would like to utilize their skills and knowledge to form a business.
 
For these reasons, we would like to start a charcoal business for the
men. Charcoal is a highly used resource in Kenya, but it is illegal to
cut down trees. We have found a way to used biodegradable waste to press
into charcoal bricks. Biomass Charcoal seems to be a great idea to
pursue as a job for men in the IDP camp and would create a product for
selling in local markets.
 
Camp Vision’s Current State:
·      Camp Vision’s population is mainly single mothers who lost or
were separated from their husbands during the election violence
·      The men in the camp have a difficult time finding consistent work
·      By working odd jobs, some of the men have saved enough money to purchase a few goats and chickens to raise
 
Project Goals for the Charcoal Project:
·      The purchase of land will provide space to work
·      We will hire men to work on this project
·      We will find locations to gather materials necessary to make charcoal bricks
·      We will find markets for the business and begin selling the bricks
 
Our end goal is that this business will be a locally owned, operated,
and managed business by the men in the IDP camp. We are looking forward
to the day when these men have a steady job that provides steady income
to provide for themselves and for their families.