I think I joined One Earth Designs at just the right time.

There’s lots of exciting things going on here. We have a new team member – Clement Lam – who will be the Chief of Business Development. Clement is a seasoned professional at ramping up sales and getting companies to lift off the ground once they have a great product to sell.  He also invented the scroll wheel for the mouse, so he’s definitely tech-savy. A native of Hong Kong and a regular of the Bay Area in California, he loves the SolSource and what it can do for people around the world. And he’s a fun-spirited fellow who’s an absolute blast to grab a drink with and delve into a fascinating conversation about technology and the human condition.

Another good thing is that we’ve had plenty of interest from organizations that would like to distribute the SolSource in countries like China, Nepal, Bhutan, India, Mongolia, Indonesia, Mexico, Guatemala, and Zimbabwe, just to name some current ones off the top of my head. Clement has been spearheading these efforts to develop business relationships and I’ve been shadowing his lead, helping him look at pricing tables, and just generally bouncing ideas back and forth. The interest we’ve received for the SolSource is terrific and to capitalize on that we’ve got important work to do to make these deals happen.

This is a crucial time for the company because we want to gain solid market traction, but we also believe it’s imperative to build a strong, meaningful reputation amongst our end-users and the international solar cooking community. This means that we maintain our focus and stick to our regions of strength. Success can be defined in so many different ways. At OED, we want to get the SolSource into the hands of rural families who need it most, while demonstrating that we can operate effectively on all fronts.

This is the unique perspective that I’ve been offered, and that’s why I feel so fortunate to have joined right now.

-TCF

Last week the design team brought me along with them to visit a factory in Shenzhen, which is just over the border in China. At this particular factory, our SolSource solar cooker is assembled. This was an enlightening experience that allowed me to see first-hand “how the sausage is made.” Two photos below show Sloan, Maggie and Tin very focused on ensuring quality control.

Scot and Erica are currently attending SOCAP (Social Capital Markets – the preeminent conference for social enterprises and impact investors, held in San Francisco each fall) to represent One Earth Designs and meet with people in the industry. More on that event next week! Today on Skype I met with Gina, a promising high school senior who will be rejoining our team remotely. Over the next month or two, Gina and I will be researching the concentrated solar power market to analyze growth prospects and better understand it’s evolution in China.

This was a shorter work week to recognize the Mid-Autumn Festival, a widely celebrated holiday in China, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. Earlier in the week I ventured over to Victoria Park in downtown HK to check out the carnival grounds. What an electric gathering! Literally. There’s a magnificent structure that’s been constructed just for the week-long festivities. It’s called the Golden Moon, because the moon plays a large role in the meaning of this holiday. Standing at 6-storeys high and partially submerged in a shallow pond, it sporadically gives a neat light show.

I also traveled to some surrounding regions of Hong Kong. By ferry I cruised across busy shipping lanes to Lantou Island. From there, I took a bus which wound it’s way around the island and through the jungle to an old monastery, where a famous “Big Buddha” sits atop the hill. The Big Buddha is a spiritual place for all people of the Buddhist faith to visit and pay their respects. I was just excited to find a little adventure again.