Post from the Field Interviews in Uttar Pradesh

Back in mid-March Catherine, Hari, Crystal, Deeraj, Fidah, Pete and I drove a hundred km or so from Delhi north into the state of Uttar Pradesh, home to 186M people and lacking in paved roads. We took a video camera along on the trip to use as a backup in case the video team cameras went down/ ran out of tape (really, the video crew was comprised of teenagers who would set the camera up and then wander off, coming back to check that the interview subjects had not drifted out fo the frame) and then we decided to start filming of our own accord. Out of 2.5 hrs of tape, 2.3 hrs were pretty miserable: shaky camera work, excessive use of pan and zoom, detailed shots of the lens cap, lots of shots of the ground from awry angles as the camera dangled from a bag, and tons of tooth rattling vibration from the cars. The whole effect was very Blair Witch project without the production values.

After coming back, we recovered some of the material and added a mild soundtrack to cover most of the static and noise. Here's the video:

Blending In

So, I realized today that I need to stop teasing my colleague John about sticking out like a sore thumb. I found out today that I am no better. I thought that just because I am Indian, don't dress all that well, wear sandals which are made in India no less, and have given up smiling at random people, I would blend in. But no... not even close. On the walk home from a local coffee shop today, I was stopped by seven different taxis who all asked, "ssaRR.. auTTO?." ("auto" is the local name for a three-wheeled taxi in India.) SEVEN different people were able to pick me out of a crowded street.

I am going to grow a mustache (which almost 90% of the local men sport), lose about 30 pounds (men here are really thin), and try again... on second thought, I am not sure how good a idea that is. It will take me well over 6 months to grow the mustache ... and the weight I am not sure I can lose at all... maybe I should develop a new strategy to "blend" in... speaking of which, suggestions anyone?

Suguna Chicken Farm

So we saw a pretty cool concept in Chennai. A company called Suguna has come up with a way to make a profit as well as help the poor.

It works follows:

• A land owner agrees to set up a chicken raising facility (~2400 sqft) on his/her land. This usually involves building a covered structure with watering and feeding stations for the chickens
• Suguna then agrees to deliver chicks to this landowner. Suguna starts with an 'experiment' of a handful number of chicks and scales up to 2000 chicks if the person shows competence. Suguna provides the chicks as well as the required feed and medicine.
• For the next 6 weeks, the landowner tends to the chickens - feeding them, etc
• After 6 weeks, Suguna picks up the grown chickens and pays the farmer ~Rs 2 per KG of chicken
• The landowner takes the next two weeks to clean up the facility and get it ready for the next batch of chicks

That's it. Suguna gets access to labor and land at village prices, both of which would be much more expensive in the city. The landowner gets a great and regular stream of income. The primary alternative for the land would have been farming which carries with it a great deal of risk in terms of bad weather, disease, etc and doesn't provide as high an income as chicken raising does. Beautiful, isn't it?









Pic 1 & 2: Chicken farm








Pic 3: Feeding station
Pic 4: Chicken feed