Interview | Wednesday, 16 July 2008

Bamboo man in tip-top shape

To the contempt of the more conservative members of the local business community, TipTop director Joseph Xuereb hasn’t had a proper haircut in more than twenty years. He seems to be more concerned in establishing himself as a pioneer in Maltese eco-trading rather than giving up his Rastaman image. By DAVID DARMANIN.

Four years ago, Joseph Xuereb left to Thailand after deciding to retire at the golden age of 40, but his plans failed. Some time after settling in the outskirts of Pattaya, Xuereb invested in some 10,000 bamboo-groves, planted coconut trees and built a number of multipurpose water reservoirs, and before he knew it, he was back in business. Throughout his days in Asia, ideas on how to force-feed eco-products to the Maltese market nagged him to the point where he packed up and came back to the rock.
In less than two months of his return, TipTop Group managed to enter an agreement with Gaia Foundation to plant a tree for every product sold at their five sports equipment showrooms and two furniture centres.
“If a customer buys 100 items, that customer will own 100 trees. Each tree will bear a personalised plaque and any fruits borne will be owned by the same customer,” he said.
The idea is mind-blowing, but would this actually mean that in a matter of a few years our country might grow more trees than children with unknown fathers? Do we have enough space?
“There should be. We manage to find space for everything on this island, so I don’t see why we shouldn’t find space for trees.”
Trees do not come cheap, and the initiative goes beyond creating customer incentives to visit TipTop shops more often. Clearly, this work is not being done merely in the name of marketing.
“Every item we sell has a carbon footprint,” Xuereb explained. “We plan on planting enough trees to take in more carbon than that emitted in the manufacturing of all of our products sold. We also hope the idea is taken on by other businesses in Malta.”
Maltese businessmen risking their money in eco-business investments often admit that such initiatives rarely bear attractive profits, if any at all. Why is TipTop interested in this line of business? Or rather, why is Xuereb a businessman anyway?
“In life, the most important thing is the world we live in. We live to leave the world in a better place than the way we found it, although we’re generally doing the opposite. If we are to really improve our environment then the only way to do this is through business. Environmental problems have often been left to scientists, who are, by the very nature of their work, not marketers. All they speak of is doom and gloom.
“We operate in a diverse number of sectors and yes, it’s hard to generate profit from our eco-trading side, but in general terms green business is really improving. It’s the only way forward if we want every player to be a winner,” he said.
Nicknamed “Toshiba” due to TipTop’s long-standing sole agency for the Japanese brand, Xuereb is probably the only established Maltese businessman sporting dreads. In many business cultures further west, presenting oneself in Rastafarian attire is rarely problematic.
“But in Malta it is,” he admits. “If I had to make a rough calculation, I’m received negatively 98 per cent of the times. On the other hand I have been involved in the business community since I was 20, and by now most people who matter know what lies beyond the way I look. But then a lot of new people I meet are sceptic and it takes me longer to convince people, but it is this barrier that has helped me become so perseverant.”
Not just perseverant. Xuereb is an entrepreneur first and foremost. He has been involved in business long enough to develop solid acumen and a reliable business instinct. But he is also downright eccentric, and it is the way these characteristics intertwine that makes him an interesting character. Interesting as his ideas are. Next up is a way with which bamboo may be used to develop the African subcontinent as well as source out new forms of alternative energy.
The idea has been brewing in Xuereb’s mind for the past 25 years, since the time he worked at a laundry facility in the Sahara desert back in the early eighties.
“When I used to chuck dirty water out on the desert sand, I was fascinated to see that after a few days the areas around the laundry became full of life… there were plants everywhere. I guess bird droppings helped to fertilise the land, all it needed was water,” he started.
“Now, six months ago, I caught myself thinking about the environmental impact I would be responsible for if I had to export my bamboo from Thailand to Europe. So I thought, why not grow bamboo in the desert? I can assure you that with the right setup, the desert could offer an ideal habitat for this type of cultivation.
“The way this could work is by means of national, or perhaps EU investment in desert areas. There will of course have to be some sort of arrangement for jurisdiction. Asylum seekers crossing the desert would be offered the opportunity to work the land, grow bamboo, build their own bamboo houses and create their own desert villages using bamboo. Their own waste will serve as a land fertiliser – resulting in a win-win situation. Growing bamboo is already eco-friendly as it absorbs CO2 emitted by the industry. Furthermore, we could bring in the excess desert bamboo to Malta to produce charcoal, which will in turn create an alternative source of energy for our power station. The other side of this is that we can use this project to offer a meaningful and safe life to asylum seekers running away from the dangers of their home country.”
Seems far-fetched, but to his credit, this man has already gone ahead with his decision to cover Malta in trees… pave the way.