'Sisal' while you work

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." 12/18/2017 The Surprising Plant Helping Kenyan Farmers Prosper Many families in Kisumu, Kenya, survive by making rope out of sisal—a fierce-looking plant with sharp, sword-like leaves.Yet because processing sisal is difficult and time consuming, there is more demand for rope than farmers can currently fill. Enter Alex Odundo. He collected scrap metal from bicycle sprockets, motorcycle chains and other sources to build machines that could efficiently process the plant into fiber and then rope.  This Great Big Story was made in partnership with Dangote Portland's Godfather of Soul | Funk Plus One Over the course of his 40 years as an R&B musician, Ural Thomas has shared the stage with the likes of Mick Jagger, Otis Redding and James Brown. But instead of taking his talents to New York or Los Angeles, Thomas stayed true to his native Portland, Oregon, becoming a legendary figure within the city's blues scene. All Hands On Deck—Dealing Aces With the Kings of Cardistry Cards twirling, knuckles blazing, hands-a-blur—welcome to cardistry, the sleight of hand acrobatic sensation all done with a simple deck of 52. The kings of the cards are Dan and Dave Buck, twin brothers dealing out some of the best moves in the game. Copyright © 2016 Great Big Story, LLC, All rights reserved.You are receiving this message because you subscribed to the Great Big Story newsletter. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list