Let the countdown begin...

There are currently only 11 more days until we board the plane, and start our adventure in India! Yesterday, we had our last class meeting, where all of the groups presented their research and recommendations to the entire class. This was a great opportunity for all of the groups to understand the intricacies of every project, and see the progress that everyone has made. It was also a great forum to give and receive feedback on the ideas that we have been developing. Every team has devised a plan of action for when they arrive to CORD, so that they can continue to research their project, and reinforce their recommendations or adjust them based on new findings.

As part of the retail team, we plan to spend a lot of time in the retail locations understanding the consumer's willing-to-pay, the competition in the area, and the recruitment process for women making handicrafts. Our main objective is to prove that production of handicrafts is a viable long term income generating activity, and to motivate more women to participate in these activities. Our recommendations focus on ensuring that CORD is targeting the correct women in the appropriate geographical areas, as well as improving in-store success to drive motivation to produce more handicrafts. Throughout our time in India, we will be able to get our final questions answered, and determine for ourselves if our recommendations are feasible.

The Asian MBA Association gave a presentation on 'how to survive India' with great practical travel tips, and suggestions for our time in India. One thing that they stressed is that India has a TON of amazing food! I am very excited to try parantha for breakfast (a kind of Indian bread made from wheat flour and cooked on a flat pan - various stuffing includes potato, onion cauliflower, cottage cheese, etc.), and jalebi for dessert (made from flour mix deep fried in oil and then dipped in sugar syrup - looks like funnel cake). Indians also love cricket, and is currently one of the hosts for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Hopefully while we are there, we get to see the true passion for the sport!!