PUM Senior Expert missies:

2007 Conservas de Antano, Boquete, Panama

This picture is actually from 2016 when I took my family to Panama including a visit to Boquete and a joint vacation with Roderick Tedman for one week. Two other activities are worth mentioning. My helping him in promoting his business in the booth of Panama at the ANUGA in Cologne (Germany) and the follow-up visit of Matthijs Jansen (master destillator of Kuypers, Schiedam). Besides preserves Roderick had also a passion for making fruit liquors. Once Roderick came to Europe we had a tasting session of his excellent coffee liquor in my backyard. Further spin-off to the PUM was my realisation that there was no proper knowledge management at the PUM at that time. All my work, the first steps for a quality manual to make fruit preserves were dumped in a file and inaccessible for other missions. I initiated the Pilot Toolbox experts with support of my sector coordinators and established links including an excursion to the NIZO and valuable contacts at the Wageningen University..

2008 Ascex, El Alto, Bolivia

My second mission was assisting a very small business of Lily Zuna at Alto near La Paz (Columbia) at 4000 m altitude. The factory was in El Alto, a rough environment. She had an export business in king beans sorted by Indians with even a customer in Japan and wanted to grow her local dried quinoa soup business. I acquired a subsidy for a dryer (see picture) afterwards. I assume Lily is no longer in the dried soup business because a few years later quinoa became a popular ingredient and prices went up. I made a weekend trip to the Titicaca lake in the Andes noticeing what we now would call climate change. The gletsjers had started disappearing. El Alto was a desolate place and the centre of La Paz was dangerous. I met a Belgian guy at the airport on my way back, who had been strangled and robbed just walking 20 meters behind his group and was even pickpocketed on his last day.    

2009 Sicam, Blida, Algerije

PUM missions are not always easy. In Blida, there was only proper internet at an internet cafe not at the factory nor at the hotel. Communication with the director was not easy, French, and he was more interested in the acquisition of machines, whilst I noticed quality defects and scope for improvement of labour conditions. He was also not too happy with my report in French, as he could read English.  I choose French, so his managers would understood my recommendations. I had an excellent contact with two of them: Mohammed Flites, who was manager and also my "driver" and Kamal. They invited me to their homes and took me to the hamam teaching me also the islamitic ritual how to wash my hands. I am still LinkedIn-ned with Zora Flites, the daughter of Mohammed. Mohammed was a modern moslim, his daughters going to an international school. Blida was safe and unsafe. The advise was not to go outside your hotel wen it was dark. However, I could dance on the streets with the Algherians when their national soccer team beat Rwanda in Blida. I could safely discuss religion in my poor French at a tea terrace. No alcohol was needed to connect. Blida was also a strong spiritual place. Almost every night I got mystic experiences including the revelation of the three short poems which I felt were the key message for a unifying religion.  

2010 Pavizham, Kalady, Kerala, India

My mission to Pavizham, a 1500 ton rice produceing factory, was a miraculous spiritual experience. I stayed in a lodge for people working in for the national forest and one wise man taught me intense breathing and took me to the river to show the washing of the elephants of the mini-zoo. I had the chance to scrub a baby elephant. Early in the morning I could hear the singing of the nuns of the monastery of St. Thomas. I came into a lucid state of mind. The question of the company was initially the development of snacks using rice flour, but at the factory I found they had a problem with weevils in their flour. How to make them aware about quality and hygiene? I am still in touch with Kunanthoor Rajendran and Sanjay Sinha. The latter made also recordings of training and the regional seminar which was organised at the end of my stay. I collected garbage in front of their head office. Two clips of my seminar, the OMO Power warning and a strategy to control weevils. My plan for a general animal friendly strategy to control pests like rats, mosquitos, etc. went via Prof. Rudy Rabbinge to the WHO. Holy rats ate the rice of 220,000,000 people!  The idea was not bad and was even stolen to start the business TROPIQ.

Ik had ook een nooit voltooid reisjournaal gemaakt.

2012 ITAP, Bangkok, Thailand.

My mission in 2012 was my most intense mission. ITAP (A kind of TNO) organised a symposium around me in Bangkok and my visit included also five business visits, which were not only SME's but included also Betagro (animal feed) and MitrPhol (the 3rd cane sugar producing company of the world. I gave four seminars during "my" two day symposium using slides with pictures and just a few words on every slide realising the limited English from India,so that people could concentrate of my talks. All my seminars were recorded and I have copies.

Quality and the Art of Innovation

Trends and Challenges in Food technology

Quite an experience to present a  Paradigm shift in Management for the whole board of Betagro (one billion annual turn-over). At my informal visit to MitrPhol the R&D director asked whether I could give a seminar to her department that afternoon. No problem, I presented in shorts.

2013 AMCB, Songo, Sierra Leone

I stayed at the house of Mark Saccoh, "director" of a small lemon grass facility. It was raining season and the roads were in such a poor condition, it was not possible to host me at the guest house. I stayed in Mark's house for two weeks including a visit to Yele, where his father was the Paramount Chief. Mark Saccoh had a dream to have a lemon grass farm near a beautiful small beach where tourists would enjoy his lemon grass tea. The beach was magic but there was a lot of garbage just outside the beach. I taught Mark to look with the eyes of a potential tourist and I trained the children in his community to collect garbage. On this picture they show their reward. A King peppermint. At the end of my stay I bought a soccer ball for my team.

2014 Chambre de Commerce, Niamey, Niger

 Mission Impossible Niamey (in Dutch) for PUM Magazine, amended from radiocolumn.

Oeps, op mijn 1^e missiedag in het verre Niger (Niesjère op zijn Frans) hoorde ik van Issaka, de vertegenwoordiger van de KvK dat 50  kleurrijke Franstalige islamitische vrouwen al de volgende dag (!!!) een training in het houdbaar maken van tomaten verwachtten. Tomates pelees, sechees,  gepelde tomaten, gedroogde, etceteráá. Vrouwe Fortuna was gelukkig  op mijn hand. Op weg in Frankfurt bleek ik, bofkont, een franstalige FAO-cursus gegoogled te hebben. Op dinsdag ontmoette ik mijn vertaalster Housseina. Ik deelde de groep in drieën en we bespraken een boodschappenlijstje voor het practicum. De vrouwen moesten zelf maar glazen potjes meenemen.

Ik begon elke trainingsgroep met een plaatje van een landschap. Waar voor zover het oog reikte miljoenen goede tomaten zijn gedumpt. Zo kan in onze wereld 1,3 miljard ton goed eten verloren gaan. Bij een miljard mensen onder de ondervoedingsgrens komen we op 1300 kilo per hongerende. Zelfs als het alle dagen kerst zou zijn krijg ik dat in een jaar niet weg.

Mijn vrouwen in  Niamey krijgen in het hoogseizoen ook weinig voor hun tomaten en het zou oneindig veel beter zijn als goede tomaten tijdig kunnen worden ingemaakt. Zo heb je ook in het laagseizoen nog  een hoogwaardige voedingsbron.

Mijn dames waren gemotiveerd. Ze wilden ook sauzen en ketchup maken, maar dat zat niet in de cursus. Bij de laatste groep was die lacune ook  gestopt. Housseina gaf onder mijn supervisie de laatste training zelf. Ik mocht ook nog als enige de ketchup proeven, het was immers Ramadan.  Van Issaka hoorde ik het mooie nieuws dat ze een half jaar later enthousiast in het hoogseizoen ketchup aan het maken waren. Nu nog train de trainers en uitrollen over heel Niger?! En vervolgens Afrika?!

PS Ondanks de Ramadan was niemand chagrijnig, het geheim: Frisbee-en in de pauze: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m2btvGq0Vc 

Radiocolumn for Gewoon Groen Gouda (2014)  

2014 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

In 2014 I supported Hilina Enriched Foods. The old director told me that a macchiato of Ethiopean coffee with foam of raw milk is the best there is. The woman on the picture brought me every day a delicious macchiato from the canteen outside to my place at the fourth floor in their brand new Research and Quality Assurance facility. Unfortunately he had to leave suddenly with his wife halfway, she needed surgery and they flew to India. I had not time to build a relation of trust with his daughter and she was not to pleased with my conclusions as there were also some safety and quality issues. Amongst other a miscarriage and a link to working with chloroform. One of my outputs was a Risk assessment for Cronobacter sakazakii, a pathogen of concern for infant food. 

2015 Taswiq, Ben Guérir, Agadir, Marocco training delegates of cooperations in jam and vinegar making

Mission Impossible II Two days before I flew to Marocco I found out there was no English-French translator, only French-Arab. Adnane and I managed.  I was extremely lucky that Robert Woestenborghs, PUM colleague had one building block, a HACCP-course in French ready. He also wanted to join me for a Train the trainers programme in Burundi/Rwanda for sustainable agriculture and preservation. I had excellent contacts with Burundi, amongs others, the former minister of Agriculture Guide Rurema but PUM had made the strategic decision not to support Burundi. 

2016 Saint Louis, Senegal, training female leaders of cooperatives in quality and transformation

Link to powerpoint Training Senegal based on the course developed in Niamey, Niger

Link to a blog with pictures and text of my trips to Addis Abeba and Saint Louis (Senegal)

2017 Freetown, Sierra Leone, Training in lemon grass production and marketing, ecotourism

Link to pictures of the final presentation in Freetown

Link to the report of the Student team of the International Master Class of Kees van Veluw (Wageningen University Research) Ecologic design for lemon grass production and ecotourism in Yele.

2018 Kulayapatija Sri Lanka Cocounut factory audit & quality improvement and marketing support

Miracles can happen. It was a mission partially outside my expertise area, but I had wonderful back-up of my former Unilever boss, who actually wanted to fire me in 2003! He became a PUM-volunteer after his retirement. My end report was a presentation. It was a bewildering experience as at the factory site the manager did not have time for me. I had to invent my own mission.

2018 Request for mission to Vietnam, but I was able to deal with it on-line just needing two Skype calls.

2019 I was fired by PUM-director Dick Ernste because I did not agree with the new rules for expert missions. The PUM head office did not understand how PUM missions were actually done. It would mean that I did not have the IPR of my own trainings and knowledge!!! Plus at a mission you need to use your informal network to make it a success. At Sri Lanka I got wonderful support of my former boss at Unilever, who put me out of my job in 2002 at Unilever, when I raised integrity issues.     

5.3 Bij beëindiging van de inschrijving als expert en bij het einde van elke opdracht dient expert alle aan PUM en/of haar klanten toebehorende zaken, waaronder begrepen alle correspondentie, bescheiden, adviezen, producten, stukken, documenten en overige informatie, in welke vorm dan ook bewaard of opgeslagen, met betrekking tot PUM en/of haar klanten, aan haar gelieerde ondernemingen of haar relaties en opdrachtgevers, ongevraagd aan PUM en/of haar klanten over te dragen uiterlijk op de laatste feitelijke dag van de opdracht die expert heeft uitgevoerd. Gegevens welke zich bevinden in databestanden op een aan expert toebehorende computer dienen na op een elektronische drager te zijn gekopieerd en aan PUM ter hand te zijn gesteld of per e-mail of soortgelijk aan PUM te zijn gezonden, te worden gewist. PUM en/of haar klanten heeft/hebben het recht zulks te (laten) controleren.

6.6 Tijdens een opdracht in een van de landen kan de expert terugvallen op de lokale vertegenwoordiger en het PUM -hoofdkantoor in Den Haag.

6.7.PUM gaat ervanuit dat de expert zich voortdurend op de hoogte houdt van ontwikkelingen binnen zijn eigen vakgebied.

11.2 Expert zal zich onthouden van enige uitlating in spraak of geschrift omtrent PUM en/of klanten van PUM die negatief is en/of enige schade in welke vorm dan ook toebrengt of toe kan brengen aan de goede naam en faam van PUM en/of haar klanten.

2020 Unofficial on-line mission for orphanage in Bali via Harry Surminski (sector coordinator)

Again, I had the chance to work with a student team of Kees van Veluw (Wageningen University). Again a wonderful output, the corona pandemic interfered with the implementation. I incorporated the plan as an example of a seed for sustainably development of  Africa.