How going organic is opening up new markets for zanzibars spices. And, how huge areas of rain forest in guatemala get destroyed to make space for agriculture. Japan is robot coury. It was several hundred years ago that the first mechanical dolls were manufactured there. Decades ago, robots were put to use in industry, and these days, they provide support in shopping centers, hospitals, and as of recently, also at schools. With his cute face and moveable body, this robot called nao has a somewhat human look that has helped him to conquer japans schools and universities. The little white plastic creature speaks several different languages, and although it comes at a steep price, nao is a big seller in japan. Yet, he is not the only robot used in everyday situations in japan. Here in our western culture, we may find technical gadgets with a human look and feel a bit creepy, but in japan, that is very different. Welme, says the woman at the reception desk in japans first robot hotel. Shtells guts how tregister with their credit cards and name not very different from the automatic checkin at the airport. The female robot just looks on. But the guests seem enthusiastic when a robot looks after their baggage. The hotel near nagasi is pular. Theres also a reptile at reception that can speak english. The robots save 30 on staff, says the hotel owner. Were in a country that loves robots. We visit mihoko aida in tokyo. The 85yearold widow lives alone and keeps house for herself, but she lavishes all her love on a robotic dog. She bought it 15 years ago. She affectionately calls it bobby, bobbychan. But bobbychan is broken, and the sony company, which sold robotic pets like this in the aibo series, no longer services aibos. She used to have aeal dog, but the robotic one is a perfect surrogate for her. Hes cute, the quickwitted elderly lady says, and i can mother him. Bobbychan is being picked up. Mihoko aida saw a Television Broadcast about an aibo repair service. So shes sending him there. Kasama in the araki precture is a sleepy provincial town. A workshop here run by two elderly men is the last hope of many owners of ailing robotic dogs. Both men used to be engineers at sony. They improvise with whatever they can use. Nobuyuki norimatsu fully appreciates the owners emotional ties to their small robots. In the japanese mentality and religion, even a paintbrush or a needle has a soul. So we can really make friends with a robot. Unlike the west, we dont see anything threatening about robots. He tellus that e aibos marked a tipping point, moving away from robots as Household Appliances towards those that evoke emotions. Robots like these are family members, clean and safe. Hopefully, mihoko aidas bobbychan really can be repaired here. Well have to wait and see. In a rirement me in sendai in miyagi prefecture, we meet pepper, japans latest robot designed to trigger an emotional response. Its been on the market since 2015. Thousands have been sold to private homes for the equivalent of about 1700 euros. Here in this home for the aged, the robot entertains the residents. Nursing care is still provided by staff. Pepper has no practical abilities, but hes fun. Peppers cameras and sensors enable him to recognise emotions. And he mak conversation. Japan is thrilled with the humanoid robot. Here hes doing a bit of math with a resident. Its like therapy with pets. Pepper is a communicator in geatric ca. Hes like a little boy for the residents. In 1963, a cartoon series on Japanese Television began with the death of a little boy in an accident. To repce him, his father puts together an android called mighty atom. Also known as astro boy, it was incredibly popular, reinforcing japans belief in technological progress. Robots are considered the great hope for japans aging population. Theyre expected to make the lives of elderly people easier and replace personnel in geriatric care. In this care and Rehab Facility in tokyo, were shown some initial approaches. A robotic mobility device developed by the carmaker honda is strapped onto a patient to support his paralysed leg. A computer applies gentle pressure and improves his walking patterns. This patient used to be able to take just 20 steps. Now with the walk assist device, he can manage 500. This woman cant usually walk without a cane. But with the device, she says its almost like being back to normal. The device has been used only in care facilities, but shed love to have one at ho. Noriyuki yamazaki works with the more serious cases. Technology makes his work easier. When he lifts patients onto their beds, a robotic muscle suit helps him. Soon as he exhaleinto the mouthpce, the vice ben over with him. When he inhales, the suit lifts him up. That saves 30 of muscle power. For decades, japan has dreamed of a robot that can lend a helping hand to anyone, but that success is still a lg way of in geriatric and nursing care, the machines have to be able to deal with people physically. We are not that far yet. Such robots in thesereas are still inhe experental an laboratory stages. Mihoko aida is excited. Bobbychan is back home again. But will he work . An intelligent woman in love with a machine. Worldwide press reports about robots in japanese geriatric care tend to be exaggerated, but this robotic dog quite touchingly satisfies aeed for emotional contact. Even wn he lifts his leg. If you believe that everything has a soul, thats a comforting thought. Lets move from the mechanical world of robots to something organic now. Pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, and of course, cloves. Spices which you will find in many peoples kitchen, including in mine. Theyre readily available even though they come from far away places where climatic conditions are ideal for them, like for example, an island off the coast of east africa zanzibar. Once, zanzibar was one of the worlds biggest producers of cloves, but then, prices dropped and it became unprofitable to cultivate them. But now, zanzibars spice farmers have found a profitable niche. Nutmeg. You can find almost any spice you can think of on zanzibar. But the times when people got rich from them are long past. Before all the farmers in the , area used to be dependent on tourists. If no tourists came to the farm, it was hard to survive. A lot of them had to gave up and looked for other jobs. Together with his neighbors, spice farmer Patrick Maganga has managed to capture a new market. Hes considered an expert among zanzibars spice farmers. Everyone goes to him to buy new seedlings. I think thats because i use cow dung and choose the plants very carefully. Maganga founded a cooperative with 30 other spice farmers. Since then, theyve shared everything their tools, their labor, and above all, their knowledge. Together, theyve found a way to expand. Now, they are growing cloves on a large scale. Magangas neighbor ali foum explains how they did it. We decided to be certified organic. And when we sell to our customer as organic, the price is increase from 15 to 20,000 tshillings. The cooperative found a Young Company located in stone town that was looking for organic products from the island. At zanji spice, all the spices are sorted by hand and then sent to europe. Farooq mussa is very satisfied with the close cooperation with the farmers. Nowadays, they have a market. They know exactly where they can sell their stuff. So even the production is a little bit higher and last year it was about 500 seedlings for cloves newly planted. So probably after two years, they will harvest 500 new plants. Patrick maganga has already been able to build a new house with the extra income. And his wife is very happy with the improvement in their lives. Im very proud of him. Life isnt as hard as it used to be. More and more people are now coming here. Its the only way to make good money here in this area. His eldest son now has his own family. Patrick maganga plans to use the profits from the next harvest to build a house for him. Bold, brave, actionoriented such are the qualities that the World Economic forum looks for when it selects promising individuals as young global leads. One them isric kacoof ivorcoast. Focusesn econom reconstction, eecially postonflict tuations followinthe genode in rwda, ericed a proam to help revalize thrwandan onomy. Erics convind that businessmen and thr entrepneurial irit havthe power help a untry atin prosperi. Also thks that erea lot whiceurope cld learn from h contine, africa people in africa look at europe in two different ways. I think for some people its a place that almost looks like paradise. Its a place where you can have a job. You can get good health care. You can actually study, etc. But for others, its also a place of very little opportunities. I think what has happened in greece is at least a very good example. The world has changed and some of the ways in which things had been being done hasnt been updated. Its a really leadership challenge for the europeans to really think very hard about to make the continent sustainable again. And i think its going to be difficult because most people are used to the comfort. My name is eric kacou and im cofounder and ceo of entrepreunerial Solutions Partners which is an advisory and Investment Firm looking to use entrepreneurship to create prosperity in africa and the caribbean. What i would wish for is for europe to think about africa as an equal partner because africa has something to contribute. I would really invite the europeans try innovate through learning. And the way you learn is you visit africa, you visit india. You visit other parts of the world that are doing better in certain areas. If you look at whats happening around the greek crisis or every time there has been a crisis, its basically its one country that feel that almost feels singled out. Its really that sense of connectedness which makes society work because you think of solutions that are not only individualistic, but solutions which actually touch the community. There needs to be a return to the original idea of the community. I mean, its called a community for a reason. I think africa can teach a lot to europe about how you build communities. Literally in southern africa, they call it umbuntu. I am because you are. Today, its about how do we builwalls whh are ve high. How do we screen refugees better . How do we sort of send them back to where they come from faster . And i dont think thats a solution. The solution is to really look at ways in which you make africa prospeus, because when that ppens, then its going to create enough growth for those refugees not to go. When we talk about prosperity, its not just wealth. I think its wealth, its happiness, its heth care, its security. Its like living a good life according to ones definition. When you start looking at it in a more comprehensive manner, it breaks the question. Can you really make the case that the average european is happier than the average african . I dont know. Guatemala, along with mexico and belize, is home to the biggest tropical rainforest north of the amazon. Its history also makes this forest unique. More than 1000 years ago, more than 100,000 people are said to have lived in tikal, the ancient city of the maya. But for their descendants, life is difficult. There are only few jobs and not many opportunities. Yet, the population is growing rapidly, and therefore, needs more and more space to cultivate their crops. The morning mist clears only slowly over the peten basin in the selva maya, the maya forest. The ruins of the ancient mayan city of tikal tower above the treetops like skyscrapers. The temples are evidence of an advanced civilization in the middle of the rainforest. Tikal has been interpreted as meaning place of the voices. Nowadays, the barks of howler monkeys dominate the forest. Its unclear what caused the downfall of the maya about 1000 years ago. There are many theories disease, wars, climate change. They had a culture for almost 2000 years. Theres a lot of people, many people, and obviously they lived to some extent in harmony, and i think that is something we can learn from the past. Jaap schorl is a biologist whose aim is to bring the rainforest into harmony with people today. Together with local conservation organizations, hes developing Sustainable Concepts for protecting the forest. The breadnut tree the mayas used its seeds long ago. Here they are called maya nuts and harvested twice a year. The people from the Forest Village of uaxactun go out to collect the seeds. The seeds had long been forgotten, but nowadays, theyre being eaten and traded again. The forest means an income for me. If the harvest is good, our family alone can deliver up to 90 kilos a day, which means almost 50 euros a day for us. For Dona Magdalena and her family of 11, the maya nuts are an important source of income. The village has a permit. The villagers can use the forest with certain restrictions. But, Sustainable Management is an exception in guatemala. Not far away, the rainforest has already disappeared. 70 of it has been deforested in just 20 years. Now its grazing and farmland. More and more people need food. The trouble is that the soil i very poor. Anyone who wants to raise cattle needs large tracts of land. Another disaster for the forest is drug smuggling. What happens is that the people that do the drug smuggling, they have a lot of money. Its black money and they want to whitewash the money, and what they do is they buy large tracts of land which has all been illegally deforested and they transfer it into cattle. But the forest is gone, and once the forest is gone, its very difficult to bring it back. Jaap schorl and his colleague victor ramos from the National Council for protected areas have been monitoring the extent of deforestation in the region for years. With the support of the International Climate change initiative, they record the disappearance of the rainforest. This is the forest in 2000. What you see in dark green and light green is forest, and what you see in light yellow is agriculture and cattle ranching 2000. This is 2007 and this is 2013. 3000 plant and nearly 1000 animal species, among them many birds, live here. The selva maya is rich in biodiversity. Many species are unique to it. As the rainforest disappears, they lose their habitat. The guacamaya, once a symbol of the mayan sun god. The parrots in this breeding station are meant to provide offspring. There are only an estimated 300 birds belonging to this type of macaw living in the wild. The greatest threat to these macaws is loss of their habitat. After that comes illegal trade. The chicks are taken from their nests and sold on the black market at prices of up to 5000. Until the parrots are large enough, they remain in the station. Then, theyre released into the wild. A macaw can live up to 80 years. Whether the rainforest will exist that long is doubtful. Back to the village of uaxactun, the seeds of the breadnut tree are processed in this facility turned into flour or readymade biscuits. The project provides work for the women, led by a team from the German International Cooperation Agency and forest expert julio madrid. The nut fascinates me because it tastes delicious and its very healthy. It contains many important nutrients. For example, lots of vitamins. Some of the products remain in the region, but since a few years ago, most have been exported, mainly to the u. S. To date, there are eight communities that process and sell maya nuts. The proceeds provide an increasing source of income for the families. The forest also benefits because experience shows that most of the areas in the selva maya in which people live are in good shape. The inhabitants feel responsible for the trees and protect them. The areas that arent inhabited often provide easy pickings for loggers. Without the people, you cannot protect the forest, so you need people to protect the forest. And you need people to earn money from the forest in one way or another, otherwise its a lost cause. Guatemala means land of forests, but only when peoples attitudes change can this natural paradise be preserved. That brings us to the end of this edition of global 3000. Do join us again next week for another edition of the show. Until then, thanks for watching, all the best. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] uqus to an innovative program, life is good. She earns up to 200 a month from her furniture business and employs 11 people
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