Back Home and Over the Jet Lag

WELL, IT LOOKS like we made it back without anyone getting too ill--more or less--and more importantly, I think we delivered on adding value to CORD and the many villagers, shopkeepers, farmers, and local volunteers who so graciously hosted us. I was on the vermicompost team (see my earlier post, pre-departure), and I'll give a summary of what we did...but first, I want to share an image that made a strong impression on me in person:

Pretty cool, huh? This is the little airport up in Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh. Stepping off the plane into fresh, warm air with incredible mountains silently looming behind us set the tone for what was to be a rejuvenating adventure. Between the simple (but delicious) vegetarian sattvic food prepared for us at CORD, early bed times, watching the sun rise over the mountains from the roof (chai or Nescafe in hand), and a hike that brought us from 1800 to 2500 meters above sea level, we lived a great week up in the north of India.

As vermicomposters, my team made well over 20, maybe closer to 30 separate visits to the homes of farmers in the local villages. We saw the government-subsidized vermicompost pits that many of the farmers had invested in, and we heard from them first-hand how vermicompost increased their crops' disease resistance and yields without depleting the soil. By carefully pressing for data points, we were able to work out a model by which an entrepreneur--with non-financial support by CORD--could buy excess vermicompost from farmers. He or she could then bag and transport this excess and sell it wholesale to local nurseries that cater to a less rural clientele who want to grow vegetables or flowers at home for their own use. Working out the details (cost of the bags, cost of bulk transportation, price sensitivity of all parties involved) was not easy, and it left a very small margin in which the entrepreneur could profit. Because of that, and because of the limited capital an entrepreneurs in the area are likely to have at first, we specified a pilot test zone for the concept. We wanted an entrepreneur to not have to risk too much until they are sure the numbers will work for them (and as we've learned in our entrepreneurship classes, being an entrepreneur is all about minimizing your risks).