Food for Thought

How one humanitarian is effecting change for an entire people

 

How do you effect change for the greater good? And if that greater good is an entire nation of people? And what if that nation of people is Africa? And if the affectation needing change is the African food problem…what then? Does it take innovation, invention, design and sheer determination? The obvious answer is yes, but to find out if all four aptitudes could be found in one individual also comprised of integrity; a visionary with a sharp mind AND compassion, plus one armed with the arsenal of talent, skillset, and drive, well if ‘the impossible’ is what comes to mind, then ‘the impossible’ is an oxymoron when it comes to inventor extraordinaire, Michael Ma.

 

If you wonder how one comes about such a title, consider what NutrAfrica was up against.  The up and coming African-based tour-de-force dedicated to preserving the environment, health & nutrition, and sustainability of Africa by utilizing African resources to provide unique products had one small problem: How? So they did their research, developed a business plan, thought outside of the box (in it, around it, underneath it, as well).  They consulted, conversed, consulted again.  Tireless efforts, endless networking, and growing pains typical of an organic company starting (literally) from the ground up begot unflappable NutrAfrica founder, Sisay Shimelis, when through a stroke of luck, genius, or perhaps plain old fashioned good timing he happened to be on the phone with a colleague half a world away.  Valerie Ma, a longtime supporter, former employee and collaborator of Shimelis was making dinner in her Southern California kitchen while Shimelis explained via phone the many needs for the project such as detailed artwork, unique and organic branding, a compelling company logo and marketing material, illustrations for the business plan, even a ‘machine’ designed intricate enough to produce injera from scratch yet simple enough to replicate in the long-term.  And in an instant, everything changed.  In what could be considered an act of God, or a mere letter rearrangement, the ‘how’ becoming the ‘who,’ she uttered “Oh, my husband, Michael, can do that.” Shimelis, after nearly dropping the phone, quickly learned she meant he could do all of that.

 

And so it was that Michael became an integral part of the NutrAfrica team.  But to learn about Micheal Ma, the premiere designer, artist and inventor for NutrAfrica, we must first get to know the man. Michael is a Californian by way of Vietnam.  A government employee in Los Angeles, Michael Ma is an accomplished and storied artist and designer. A Bachelor of Science degree in Transportation Design from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and a vast conceptual design & mechanical engineering background fueled his talent and enthusiasm for the imagination and innovation offered by his industry. Michael has had the pleasure of working with giants such as NASA, Mercedes-Benz, Disney, General Motors, Sun Micro Systems, Aston Martin and others on exciting innovations, collaborations, development, design and inventions; his experiences and accomplishments impactful, progressive, far-reaching and ever-evolving. 

Raised in upscale Pasadena, California – home to the Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena Museum of History, among many other art, cultural and educational institutions and nestled in an area of the state known for “living the American Dream,” and now residing in the family-friendly Los Angeles suburb of Valencia with his wife and three children, life wasn’t always so picturesque, the future not quite as favorable for Ma.

No stranger to struggle, strife and fear, at 12 years old Ma’s family made the daring and dangerous decision to flee their native home in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam, for other shores; distant, safer shores.  After a harrowing journey at sea and suffering yet surviving long months in a refugee camp, family members finally took the Ma’s in and his new life began.  Michael attributes the opportunities, education, and advantages that have come his way not to his own endurance, drive and intelligence but to the perseverance of his two parents who managed to get all of his family (Michael is one of two brothers amongst six sisters) out of harm’s way relatively unscathed, physically speaking. What did leave its mark is his unwavering commitment to family, foundation and fortitude. He even holds Cam Ranh Bay in thoughtful repose as a place he may someday return to see how it has fared in his absence of all these years.

 A unique combination of one who has benefited from both a happy early childhood yet knows of deprivation and desolation, Ma went on to become a designer and innovator in the US. But none of it came easily or at once.  Before Ma joined the elite teams design teams that young minds only dream of he taught himself English while attending school, excelled in sports, admired the design sense and sensibilities of Michelangelo, Da Vinci and Frank Lloyd Wright, was inspired by US commerce, and maintained an academic passion only superseded by his love of family.

This leads us to what Michael is first and foremost: an innovative and creative thinker with a passion for the underdog. Motivation and dedication to applying the principles of improving quality of life, reducing waste, being environmentally sound, and utilizing sustainable products and practices in both personal and professional aspects of life are mainstays for the man who once was unsure where or when his next meal would be but now marvels at the benefits of organic products and nutrition.

Part of what attracted Michael to the front-runners of design that embody his resume and them to him, was his fascination with the future-minded aspects in his field.  What can we do better? What is more efficient? What will promote change without sacrifice? What will make life better and how can we evolve? We as human beings probably ask ourselves these questions throughout our daily lives.  The unique advantage that these and other organizations marvel at is that Ma asks these questions and before there is even a discussion – even a complete thought – he is already sketching, morphing, creating, and designing.  His wife, Valerie, jokes that the dinner table in the Ma home is equal parts for the palate and of the palette (a notepad, sketchpad or IPad never too far from Michael’s reach and his pencil used with the same reckless abandon as his fork).

Michael and his work have been featured in Time Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, Sunset Magazine, Mercedes Design Magazine, and more.  In fact, those that revere his designs from the technical standpoint, are further moved to know it was a drive to make them useful, multifunctional and universal ahead of aesthetically pleasing and technically dynamic; such as the Smart Car, a collaboration between Mercedes-Benz and the Swiss manufacturers of Swatch watches to make a small, energy efficient car and for which Ma designed the interior.

 

 An artist at heart, Michael launched Blossom Cross in 2012, a labor of love he shares with his wife, Valerie, and their three children.  Conceived out of his awe-filled admiration for the lustrous flora of Southern California and its innate ability to motivate and inspire, the idea for the artistry was an epiphany that so moved him, he simply had to act on it.  The results are his original renderings of visceral imagery, as abundant visually as they are spiritually - evoking the timeless message, and the company’s tagline, of Love, Hope and Faith in bloom.  Nature, nurture, design and the divine inspire the artist every day.  His hope is that his art may elicit in others their own powerful perspective so they may in turn share it with loved ones and strangers alike.

A true visionary ….

Deforestation and the declining respiratory health of Africa’s citizens were two primary concerns for Michael as he became more familiar with and impacted by the African food problem through his wife, a longtime volunteer in Africa and proponent of resolve to feed and sustain her.

His empathy growing deeper as he did his own research, baring witness to the devastation to the forest cover and the health of a nation, once he met with Shimelis to discuss NutrAfrica’s proposed design and development of new technology to accomplish the end result of the efficient production of food sources using sustainable energy sources, it struck a chord with Michael to say the least. 

NutrAfrica’s goal to produce an injera product that is less expensive, nutritionally superior, acceptable from both cultural and consumer viewpoints and amenable to large-scale production encompassed all of Ma’s passions, technical savvy and creative mindset.  It also ignited his affinity to marry form with function and it wasn’t long before the initial sketches for the injera machine took shape, just as his life had the moment he realized the potential that lay before him so many years ago.  Hope for something great in a foreign land.  History repeating itself.

 

According to Ma, there is an innate spirituality and humanitarian in each and every one of us, a resonant conviction that moves him to action.  Ma approaches the Nutrafrica project with the same fervor as his many other endeavors. That is to say, at the center of every project he aspires to take on there is a core – a core of values, a core of giving and of sharing, and a core of pure adrenaline to turn a vision into something tangible, something with working parts that will become a mechanism of change. And the core is what makes it strong, what makes it work.    As if the core itself is Michael Ma’s personal mission statement – make something good for the good.  In this case, the greater good.

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