Most of the time, when I get into my Yango, there is complete silence. Silence is not a sound I am familiar with. It might be normal for people taking cabs to be completely silent, but I wouldn’t know because I’m not a usual cab taker.

The silence in the Yango may also be because many people are not quite sure what to make of me. As I’ve mentioned, there are few tourists, so most drivers are curious about who I am and why I’m here but not so curious that they will start a conversation. I am also hesitant to start a conversation because, well French. My French is getting better every day, but having casual conversations about a wide variety of topics can still make me sweat. So, I often sit in silence, which is new to me.

However, the other day, when I was in a Yango, the driver asked me some questions. During our conversation, he (because there are no female cab drivers here) told me he was an accountant but drove a Yango part-time to make extra cash. When I asked him a bit more about his job in accounting, he revealed that he hated being an accountant. He told me he was really interested in environmental work and was an inventor. Cool. I like inventions.

Talking to this guy was like peeling back the layers of an onion because then he revealed that he was an inventor and had won a competition in Germany for the best environmental invention. He had created a process to heat plastic bottles to a high temperature and collect the steam from them, which, when cooled, turns into liquid diesel fuel. Ok, that was unexpected. This guy also has a YouTube video of him explaining his process. Here it is.

There are clearly a lot of plastic bottles in Côte d’Ivoire, so this guy could be the next big thing. I am rooting for his success. Go Koffi!