Reflections from the RoadJourney Agents
April 10
I arrived home today. I am safe and in one piece. It is nice to be home. I miss the sounds already. If I close my eyes I can hear the horns alerting me of their pressence, the people greeting me in the street, the strange bird that sang outside my window at sunrise.
Now I am tasked with putting together a final report of our findings and answering some tough questions. How can Western institutions partner with these innovators? What is it about this area that makes it so innovation rich? What lessons can we learn from these visionary and creatively-driven people? What is next?
The project has brought me back to the University to continue our work, but my adventure with India has only just begun.
April 9
Today started early again. Nicole, Gregg and I rented a car and headed to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and the Fort. It was a 200 km drive each way to Agra from Delhi.
We had a luxurious ride in an AC car. What an improvement from the trains and rickshaws that we have come to take for granted. We found a hotel in the book that could organize cars and called them to book. What a smart thing, since the price we were quoted at the hotel was 9000 Rupies, and ours was 3000. The car was new, nice, and the driver was kind quiet and cautious. What more can you ask for?
Agra is a former capital of India and was ruled over by Shah Jahun (aka Shawn John to us). He had 14 kids, 4 of which were boys. His wife died giving birth to the 14th and he was devastated. He began work on a memorial to his beloved immediately. Begun in 1631, worked on by people from India and all over Asia, and finally completed in 1653--the Taj Mahal is stunning. It sits out on a plateau overlooking the river and the fort where the Shah Jahan lived on the hill. Originally the river stretched from the edge of the fort and Shaws' residence all the way to the Taj Mahal. Shaw Jahun's third son had his eye on the kingdom and like many people turned sick with power, he killed his two elder brothers and imprisoned his father in the fort. Jahun was confined in his own home and never got to visit the Taj Mahal. Instead in his confinement, he was able to look over every day to the beautiful testament to his lost love.
Structurally speaking, it sits at the end of a long horizontal garden and then is built atop a big marble platform. The only thing you can see when you look at is is sky behind. This afternoon sky was and there were these horizontal stripes of whispy suggestions of clouds. Suggestions that the Taj Mahal was actually floating on its own platform of clouds. That its place is not on earth nor in heaven.
Semi-translucent white marble covers the entire structure. It shines in the afternoon light and must store some of the sunds glow to radiate out and back. It just had this glow about it. Its stunning. Add to that the teardrop shape of its dome, the dripping spires and the incredible detail tile work.
The detailed marble inlay work at the Taj Mahal and both the forts in Delhi and in Agra is so rich. 
They start with marble and then chip away at it in the form of these intricate floral patterns. Filling in the inlay with precious stones like Carnelian's and Agate, Lapiz, Onyx and Jasper. The result is a shimmering design that has a feel of stained glass or mosaic, but appears to be painted on the surface itself.
The Taj Mahal and the forts at Delhi and Agra have all been plundered and pillaged many times over the years. People have chipped out pieces of the gemstones, parts of the stonework has run off. It still stands proudly after so many years. Monuments are interesting like that. People care for them for generations. Long after the people who built it are gone, the legacy continues and the sense of ownership shifts through the years.
Driving back from there was great. I slept the entire way. I'm at the airport now about to board the plane to Amsterdam and then from there back to Detroit and then to Ann Arbor. I can't believe that it is time to go home. I am looking forward to compiling our report and our findings and figuring out where we as a team can add new value to the ideas that are being kicked around already about working with the BOP market. One thing I do believe is that the only way to make it work is going to be based out of win win win win situations. The trick will be stretching my brain to think about trade offs and incentives and motivations and winning in new ways.
What a three weeks this has been.
Steps 11323
April 8
Delhi. What a large city this is. Unlike Kolkuta, unlike Ahmedabad. I am staying in South Delhi. We arrived last night around 2am. In the morning we went to the red fort and then wandered around the old city for a while searching for jewelry and trinkets.
There were so many incredible ornaments available for purchase. If I had a thousand dollars, I could easily spend it on a few necklaces in that market. There were collars of silver chain linked and adorned with drops dripping down off the collar to the chest. They were so elegant and beautiful. Many had gems, many had pearls. There was gold and silver and rubies and diamonds. I got very beautiful and modest one. I wasn't ready to splurge on some thing like that. Perhaps when I finish grad school I well feel differently. From now I will admire from a far.
Evening brought a fantastic trip to the lotus temple, the Bahai Temple. It looks like a white lotus opening up to the sun high up in the sky. The structure itself is covered in white marble and stands atop a hill surrounded by manicured grounds. We basked in the warmth of the temple and joined the throngs of visitors paying their respects and sending out their own private wishes for universal peace. The Bahai faith is an interesting on and welcomes people of all denominations into their temple.
I felt lighter as we finally left there and headed through Delhi's grand promenades to the restaurant to meet Sachin. We had a lovely dinner discussing the nature of life, namely life in scarcity. We recounted our stories of meetings with the innovators in Gujarat, and then attempted to contextualize our experiences in broader terms.
What is so different between the explosive innovation that happens there and that in Silicon Valley? What happens to people if they just receive aid? Where does this problem of poverty begin, where do we start to fix it. Does it ever end? Some interesting points on selfishness processed. I like the notion of incentives. Well designed systems have something in it for everyone and must provide a win win win for all the parties to continue to stay happy and invested.
We met some lovely MBA admits later in the evening and then I rolled into bed dead tired with a small (read:high) fever.
Steps 15230
April 7
Today was one of those incredible days. We went by train to the countryside of West Bengal. Green as far as the eye could see. We went to see water filters in use that filter out arsenic.
Arsenic is naturally occurring in the water in West Bengal. If you ingest it, you are slowly poisoned and eventually die. It affects everyone differently but generally first shows up on the skin and then later affect sight and then the use of your limbs is limited. One of the innovations we encountered was a woman who developed a way to filter out the arsenic (as well as flouride and bacteria) from the water at a very low cost. The filtration process passes water through a sludge. At the end of 18 months, the sludge is replaced and discarded of in the form of a brick that will not leech arsenic back into the ground. The filter also needs a monthly cleaning and chemical treatment.
The woman who innovated the technology opted out of being and entrepreneur. There is an NGO that is currently manufacturing them and selling them to villagers in West Bengal. We spent the day with Dr. Basu, head of that NGO: Save the Environment.
Dr Basu met us at the Sealdah Station and we boarded the train out to the countryside. We rode for over two hours out to the village. West Bengal is very lush and there is water everywhere. On the ride we passed rice patties, banana trees, and lots of lush farm lands and small villages. The train was packed and it was hot.
We traveled with Dr Basu, his wife, and a colleague who runs a different NGO working on the same issues of getting clean water to those in arsenic affected areas. When we arrived we were greeted by two more men who work in the villages, on on arsenic related issues and the other running self help groups and acting as a liaison between them and the banks. Our car was full of people who dedicate their lives to improving the quality of life of not just themselves, but those around them as well. I was in the presence of true leaders.
The first village we went to recently began working with Dr. Basu. Their village head noticed that many of the villagers were developing the first sign of poisoning. Unfortunately, to the signs only develop after seven years of drinking affected water. And once the poisoning has occurred, there is no reversing the damage.
The village knows about their problem and wants to fix it. The government does nothing and they have no money to buy filters. Even at a small sum of 20 USD per household filter. They are putting all of their trust into Dr. Basu to raise the money needed to supply every home in the village a filter by the summer.
We arrived via dirt road. As I got out of the car, I was greeted by chanting and the entire village had come out to meet us. We were given garlands of marigolds and then welcomed by the village leader. We were then walked to the center and given a demonstration of fabric weaving by two young women. They were working on looms with two pedals. It was pretty amazing.
We were shown many of the affected peoples ailments and listened to their plight for help. Their hearts were so pure and their request so simple. The villagers brought us coconuts to drink from and continued to talk. I was so moved by the generosity of those who have so little. It is such a humbling and inspiring experience to be given someone's last resource out of kindness.
At some point, Dr. Basu suggested that I try the loom and so I went over to the women and they taught me how to use it. It was not as easy as it looked. I finally got the hang of it, coordinating my feet and my hands together. They all got to laugh at me and my beginners clumsiness and it was all great fun. They make about 40 rupies per sari they weave. There are 45 rupies in every dollar. I would like to set up a ebay site and sell saris for them. They were so beautiful and colorful. I was imagining not just saris, but they would make wonderful curtains and perhaps table clothes too. As we left the village they gave us each a sari.
We drove through other small villages and saw a communal pump in action as well. This pump filters a much higher volume of water, but takes about 6 people to clean it every week. There is a major commitment needed on the villages part to maintain the community filter. Dr. Basu gets grants from the WHO and must also collect money from those using the filter. It creates an incentive for them to take ownership over their health and well being. This village pays 10 rupies a month for upkeep and cleans the filter.
On the way home, I stood at the open door of the train watching the lush fertile country side fly by. 
How does a place so beautiful have bad water coming from the ground? How do we get this 20 dollar filter into the homes of everyone in that region? No one should be drinking contaminated water in 2006. It is on the UN's Millennium List of things that need to be fixed in the world. We need more people like Dr. Basu out there, devoting their lives to solving this pressing problem.
April 6
I traveled all day to Kolkuta. Connected via Mumbia and it took a long time. There seems to be a lot of jobs for people at the airports. One person to put tags on your bags, one person to put them on the baggage line, one person to check you iin, one person to check your boarding pass before you enter security, one person to tell you which line to go to, one person to hold the curtain while you enter the little screening area, one person to wave the wand around me, one person to watch, one person to move my bags off of the x-ray belt, one person to check, and one person to smile and say goodbye.
Whatever it is, it works. Jet Airways is the best. They give you candy before take off, there seems to be a full meal on every flight, and they are so stylie. Always with lots of purple make up and rich blue tones. I like all of their packets of sugar, the shape of their bowls, and the weave of their cloth napkins. Everything oozes with style and they really make you feel like you are part of the jet set.
We arrived in Kolkuta in time to check in and have some dinner on Park street at an Indian chain Kwality. It was nice. They have alcohol here. After three weeks in Gujarat, a dry province, we have arrived in the land of liquor. Ironically, I have had a fever for the past 24 hours and am not able to eat nor drink. Life is funny like that.
April 4
Today began with a conference call at 8am. It was really interesting and informative. We spoke with a man who is working to fund start up businesses in India that are looking for financing somewhere between the small amount Micro-finance groups loan and the large amount the traditional VCs loan out. He is very committed to filling this need he sees in the market. In India there is not a culture of bank loans the way we have in the US. There is a lot of private lending between those who have money. This man is trying to help companies with innovations develop strategy and get the right combination of talent and partners.
This was the first person we have spoken with outside of GIAN who has also identified and taken action to help train innovators in business skills. He spends a lot of time with each of the companies he funds and they are all still alive and profitable. Pretty impressive. Where are innovators to go if they want to learn about cash flow, supply contracts, marketing channels, and the like? How do you run a business with no experience and no training. Do you get any business training in school, before the 4th standard?
Steps 5489
April 3
We set to work today. There are so many ideas and reflections and directions to take all that we have seen. At times I feel aboslutley overwhelmed and at times I have a vision and feel total clarity in what I have to do. It flips back and forth. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have my world flipped around like this. I am stretching my brain. I feel it.
I finally made it to the tailor and am getting 4 shirts sewn, 3 pants, 2 skirts, and one dress. We will see on Wednesday how they turn out. I am looking forward to them. I picked out all the materials and they should be beautiful.
Evening brought more work and more productive hashing out of ideas. We spoke to Mike, our professor via skype since he is now in Ghana. Amazing this technology thing. Amazing.
It has come to that time in our journey where we just want a pizza. I love Indian food and love trying new things. I especially love the fresh juices and nan. But, I am a product of my environment and have been craving American food. We went to a diner tonight and I got a garden vegetable skillet. It was not good. I should and will stick with my trustee palak paneer and aloo gobi (spinach with cheese and potatoes and cauliflower).
Steps: 1179
April 2
8am walking tour with a guide! it was great. Walked through the same exact places that I walked yesterday. It was kind of erie. But good to know that I had found the right spots. Weird. The walk was great though, the guide talked a lot about reading the signs and the neighborhoods in the area and how they worked. It seems there are these little culdesac-esque "pols" in the city.
They are all entered through a gate that was watched by a doorman/guard. The people inside the pol would share a water tap and courtyard. The men would go to work and the women and children remained in the pols during the day collectively preparing grain or washing rice or making food and clothes.
They would try and coordinate their efforts to maximize the pols efficiency. Each one had its own temple and sometimes they would have secret entrances and exits to other pols in case of an attack.
We had lunch at a nice restaurant near the market and then later in the day I went to the market again, which I am not doing any more because I keep spending money there on clothes Im not sure I'll wear! The mission was to find the tailor. He doesn't work on Sundays.
It was Gregg's birthday so we had been sort of celebrating all day. In the evening trip to Kankaria lake for a Sunday stroll around this man made lake that has 36 sides of even length. It was great and apparently we were not the only ones who thought so. There were tons of people out and we stumbled in to a lasar light show. Complete with dancers. Once in a lifetime.
Gregg and I went to dinner at this swank hotel that wasn't all that. It was a nice rooftop restaurant, but way over priced and not even outside. At least we know now. I had 2, yes 2 non-alcoholic beers to celebrate the birthday.
Upon returning home to the House of MG, we mixed up some proper rum and cokes on Gregg's terrace and talked about our project, commerce, and saving the world, one innovator at a time.
Steps: 10216
I was also hit by an auto-rickshaw. It didn't hurt, but it happened.
April 1
I spent the morning at the Green House cafe drinking coffee with scalding hot milk. I am getting used to it at this point. I even like it. The outside cafe is downright dreamy. The breeze blows gently through and there are outdoor sinks and people to bring me food. The other day they even had cabbage on the menu.
This afternoon I went off on an urban hike around the city. This time I was headed out toward the shaking minarets. 
The afternoon I walked around the city towards the shaking minarets. Found the book part, old pols, and lots of interesting doors.
In the evening we went sightseeing and I will elaborate. Suffice to say that there are these things called step wells that are ridiculous and rocked my world.
Swaminarayan Temple and dinner at this western place where I ate pizza
Steps: 9877
March 31
The project I am working on is rewarding on so many levels. We have been out everyday conducting interviews with people in villages and in town to find out exactly why they developed a new solution to a problem. Was it a new problem? Was there a problem with the solution everyone was using? Were people already using this and this person just tried to take it to market?
It is extremely humbling to immerse myself in the culture of this region. All of the people we have met are so extremely generous and kind. I am somewhat ashamed of my own hospitality when I think of how many times we have been invited to dinner and tea and coffee. I have had two days off since I have been here. Today being the second. I should count yesterday as well as a 1/2 day... so 2.5 all together. Our team works really hard and luckily, some of them shares the same sense of adventure as I do, so we have negotiated these few days off.
I feel very safe in this city and have just taken this week to sneaking out for walks alone (everyone would prefer to work and save time with the auto-rickshaws, which are fun for sure). I was scared at first, since I was warned about it heavily. But I go during the day and wear a scarf over my head so people don't notice I am "different" immediately. It helps.
The old city is full of mosques and temples. I have gone in to one mosque and many temples. I haven't figured out yet how welcome I am in the mosques. But at the temples, the women wave me in and the other day when I went back to visit the Kali temple before we went on a 3 day trip to the province of Gujarat, some woman gave me a red dot on my forehead. I guess I need to learn more about what that is called and means. I'm still troubled by the lack of travel that this trip is and hope that my work is worthwhile in a larger picture. It would make it feel better since we are not exploring the culture or history at all to at least have the work make an impact. I will take what adventure I can get and am already schemeing about a return.
Today I went out walking in the evening when it was cooler and went a new direction. I walked through the small streets passing the people, the cows that are loose in the streets and the dogs running in packs. I walked down "shoe street" and jewelry street and didn't see anything I needed to buy. I kept walking and started to follow the crowds and stick to the streets that had the most people. I guess its a cross between curiosity and safety measures... but I keep following the masses. This was a new part of town to me even though it is less then a km away, it is more residential and less market, actually now that I think about it it was also less muslim and more hindi as well. I kept on, following the crowds and dodging the motos, auto-rickshaws and people on bikes all going both directions.
I was on a dingy street where all the buildings are in various forms of decay, dying a slow death since they were build in the 1500s. 
Ahmedabad is an industrial city with the world's 10th most polluted city ranking. Luckily there are sinks everywhere (including in clothing stores...) and you can wash the pollution off when need be. The streets were drab, but the people's colorful clothes provided an incredible contrast. I made a quick turn to the right and there before me opened up a giant arch and painted gate that lead to this incredible temple. It was painted in bright colors and in the cool of the evening was full of people sitting and drinking water and just basking in the community that was gathered. I am sure they were also basking in the gods that they were praying too there as well. The tile floors are beautiful and the tall arch after tall arch create this sense of space where there was none before.
I paid my respects to the alters and then joined the women sitting cross-legged on the marble floor. This was a definite highlight. I am going to go back tomorrow and sit and watch the sky change colors as well.
Steps: 9800 (finally!)
March 29 and March 30
rural visits
March 28
Today I had a work day with the team. We are so productive when we have a minute to synthesis what we are doing. I also had a minute to go and buy gifts for the rural innovators we are going out to see today. I thought wallets with chocolate coins would be nice. There is such nice leather here that is was an easy idea to implement as well. But... before I came up with that... I had to walk around and think about it for a while. I ended up wandering the old city, which is now mostly Muslim, and thinking.
At one point I was followed by a pack of screaming kids. That was the only time I thought "What the hell were you thinking going out by yourself?!!?" But when they finally stopped following me and screaming "hello, hello" and then "goodbye, goodbye" when I tried to end it, I felt in control again.
I stumbled through the packed streets and stumbled into a maze of coverep pathways lines with market stalls full of fabric and tin kitchenware, make up and baby clothes. It was amazingly vibrant and strangley foregin. People all yell hello to me and I stand out like a snowstorm at the beach. I found my way to the temple of Kali again and asked her to guide our journey safely and smartly. I was offered a red dot for my forehead by a kind older woman and then walked outside. I met some young women who helped me settle on the wallet as a good idea for the presents and take me to a shop right near my hotel to buy them. They were sweet sisters who were, oddly enough, both unmarried and 25. I was sort of surprised. It was nice to walk with them through the streets.
After coming back to the hotel I came for Swapnaa and we returned to the market. She helped me buy some shirts that we had tailored on the spot and then I went with her to a shop, next to the tailor where you buy material and the tailor sews it to order. You just hoosee a neckline (out of about 100) and then he takes your measurements, capped sleeves, short sleeves, no sleeves... your choice.
I couldn't decide. I will have to go back. Tomrrow I am off to rural villages to interview innovators there and stay overnight at someone's home.
Steps: 8890
March 27
We have been going non-stop interviewing people and meeting people here. The Indian way is to meet and talk and have tea after tea after water after coffee. Meetings run over by 3 hours and meals take 4. What a learning experience as far as patience goes. They are so kind, and generous. I think it helps that they think that we are coming here to help their businesses grow. I am sure that has something to do with it.
What a blessing our accommodations are. Most of my leisure time (about 1 hour a day) has happened at the hotel. The internet works. The staff is helpful and my whole team is comfortable.
Mike Gordon, our professor has been here tonight night and that was an incredible treat and rare treasure to get to interact so closely with a professor. We joked and talked and thought outloud together about all of the issues that are facing peole who come up with new inventions and how they are supposed to get their products out when there is no support. You can imagine. It's a lot like the creative geniuses we have in the us and don't know how to harness or help produce things of lasting and mass value.
steps: 7066
March 26
Sachin Rao came in for a meeting with us and Mike from Delhi. We met with him about the project and found out about his work interviewing women in Self Help Groups across India. He was very helpful with the focus of our interviews and our strategy. Sachin was extremely enlightening. We will try to meet with the people that he suggested would be interesting.
Sachin equipped us with tactics and strategies for driving the interview and for understanding what to expect a good percentage of data to be. It was a really good meeting.
We spent the evening hours with one of the innovators at dinner. What an incredible dinner we had at this restaurant turned village called: Vishalla. Yangnesh was an extremely generous host and we stayed out long past our bed time soaking in the village-like atmosphere at the outdoor restaurant. We ate traditional Gujarati food off leaves of lotus flowers sewn together to make a plate. The food was incredible and bountiful. I'm convinced Indian people are trained early on NOT to accept everything that is offered to them, as the ammount of offerings of food and hospitality are through the roof.
The restaurant grounds also housed a vessel museum which was basically a collection of thousands of ceramic vessels used for water, food, cooking, and storage of household items. We had a guide take us through the museum and explain about the different uses each type of pot had. The oldest was over 1000 years old.
There were really neat dowery boxes and kits for making this snack/treat/vice called paan. It is a beetle leaf that has all sorts of spices and syrup in it that you eat all at once at the end of a meal. I got one the very first day we were here from Juhu Beach in Mumbai. It is super sweet and has this anise flavored syrup in it that drips out of your mouth if you are not careful. They are a real traditional thing and people sit in these tiny stalls on the sidewalk to make them. They have "kits" that hold all the various spices and there were some of those kits at the museum as well.
Check out the restaurant Vishalla
March 25
I love our hotel. The House of MG is an old home of a very wealthy family in the center of the old town, turned muslim part of Ahmedabad. It has incredible floors with beautiful tiles. My room (see it) has high ceilings and wood trim. The architecture of the region is very airy and framed by giant wooden doors and doorways. In our hotel there are different levels of indoor and outdoor patios. The roof-top restaurant is lovely and decorated with lanterns and flowers. All the rooms have windows that have colored glass in them and open at the ceiling for air flow and natural cooling. I find it better then the air conditioning which is expensive, cold and loud.
Everyday they place new flowers in a large stone bowl full of water for me on the floor below my mirror. The family who owns it is one of the prominent families of the city and the region. The owner is on the cover of the Gujarat news papers and magazines. On the weekends this place seems to be full of locals, or at least Indian tourists having lunch and dinner.
Steps: 4230
March 23
Today I finally caught my breath.
Having time today to work made all the difference in my thinking processes and gave me some time to allow my observations to take place. I need to make more time for myself if I hope to do any analysis or strategizing. I know I need it, I just need to speak up about it more. With four/ five of us, it is so easy to just keep moving and working and listening… We are well on our way and I am very proud of how hard we have worked since getting here. We need to keep up a healthy pace. Taking time to work hard and time to walk around and process will lead to richer reflections and richer recommendations in the end.
I finally made it out of the work mind and went to the old town of Ahmedabd and walked around. I found a temple to the godess Kali, for whom my website is devoted to. 
I bought a lotus flower and left it for her inside. I left my shoes outside and entered to pay my respects and to solicit Kali for support in our project and in my journey.
As twilight came I walked more with the others through the crowded streets. We brushed elbows with bicycles, autorickshaws, scooters, and pedestrians. Traffic is extremely organic here, reminding me of swimming patters of individual fish within a giant school. Every thing moves around, regardless of formal organization to fill in all of the space and move forwards. Crossing the street and riding in the autorickshaws are the most scared I have been the entire time I have been here. After eating the most delicious food and sweet lime soda we went to the night market. Situated on the outlying sidewalk of a city park, the colorful clothes, bedspreads, and purses lined the street creating a multicolored moat around the outside of this serene open space. I bought some scarves and a purse.
Walking through the market was invigorating, bargaining was exciting, and of course the new items I got will remind me of this trip forever. Yet... my conscience is torn. On one hand I have more then these people and feel that I should buy whatever seems interesting to me. After all...a few dollars here goes a long way for them and is little to me. On the other hand... I do not want stuff jus to buy stuff. I also want to help in more meaningful ways then just spending. Poverty so abject is difficult to fully process with out breaking down and giving away everything I have.
Why is there such a big economic gap between India and the US. And even parts of the US and my life. How is it that my time is worth thousands more then theirs?
Meeting with these innovators is inspiring and shaping the way that I understand the human spirit. I know there is a way to spread around some of the world's power and wealth. I am sure this trip will bring about some shifts toward more wealth here in Ahmedabad.
Now if I could just get the images to work on my gallery.
Steps: 7880
March 22
After a leisurely morning we had a great meeting with Anil Gupta from the IIM-A and Members of NIF, SRISTI, and GIAN. Also in attendance was my TEAM and Mike as well. We covered on an extremely broad level... what happens to humans who are problem solvers when their solutions are along the lines of innovation. We discussed the social capital that any community/project needs in order to exist, and the windy path all great ideas follow as they mature and ripen. While there was talk of water and women, change and tradition, ethics and absolute invention--we also discussed the methods of our research and what we hope to find out while here in Ahmedabad. What a great thinker Anil Gupta is. He is a poet, teacher and visionary. I was impressed how quickly he grasped our framework for investigation and had insightful suggestions for improvement.
Meetings here are run in very different ways then at home. I felt like we were in a lecture, not a meeting and every time he spoke, we were all to just listen. Not many people actually spoke, or perhaps more accurate would be to say that not many people got words in at any point. I broke in a few times (surprised surprise) to tell how we were on the same page and explain how his perspectives and concerns and hopes were all tenants of our agenda. We want to understand the different paths to commercialization that might exist for different sectors, businesses, or community practices that will help establish an infrastructure on the ground here and leave wealth here. While the meeting was extremely different then they are at home, we accomplished a lot and things are moving forward with the blessings and input of the key stakeholders.
We settled that we would look into student involvement at home and keep this push going especially upon our return. Their innovators really could use our help with the nuts and bolts of supply chain, marketing, and general business strategy.
We left that meeting with ideas swimming around and our determinations even stronger to leave here having thought hard, long and creatively to deliver some lasting value to their community and to the practitioners and scholars driving models of social enterprise and serving society profitably.
We then met with Professor Rakesh Bassant who runs an invubatin center at the university. His work is primarily with technology companies and the center is a way for students to work on real projects as well as for him and his colleagues to incubate businesses that can have a mass impact on the world or are technology based.
After a surprise break (to catch our breath and take in views of the architecturally interesting IIMA) we met with Dr. Pralay Basu who runs an organization called Save the environment Calcutta. His NGO is making and distributing low-cost household size water filters for regions contaminated by arsenic. He estimates that there are over a million people in West Bengal alone that are drinking contaminated water. He also runs a clinic for people affected by arsenic and employs them to make the filters themselves. His mission and work were awe-inspiring and made quite the impression on all of us.
Time and time again throughout this project we have set out to solve social problems through commerce. Our goal is to make it a win win, to set up and develop a business that makes money and therefore sustains itself longer then NGOs are able to rely on grants and subsidies.
Listing to this man talk about his work and the people it affects and assists fused together all of the goals we set out for ourselves coming here. While we still need to understand the paths to commercialization and the various sectors that would most benefit from working with the West, if we could get this project to work as a business... It would be incredible. It would make a giant impact on their lives as well as the potential to impact the lives of people everywhere there is arsenic in the ground water.
Steps: 6660
Yoga in the morning in front of the alter overlooking the street in the hallway outside my room.
March 21
Today we started early as well. We are all so eager to get the most out of our experience here and speak to as many people as we can. We refined our scope and identified who our stakeholders are today and got a much better sense of what we are looking for here.
We met with both SRISTI and NIF today. We learned a tremendous amount about the organizational support that exists in Gujarat for innovators. Especially rural innovators. NIF is the National Foundation that supports innovation by scouting out innovators and their inventions (technologies) and documents them in a large database called the Honey Bee. The Honey Bee aims to act like a bee and carry pollen, or in this case ideas, from one place to the next, planting ideas like pollen all over the land. It is an inspiring metaphor for knowledge sharing that benefits all the players.
People were incredibly nice and intelligent and drive. The NIF staff works very hard and is dedicated to empowering rural villagers to keep inventing and solving their day to day problems through creative means. We saw many of the innovations and were overwhelmed by the resourcefulness that went into the design and manufacture of each.
After a lovely lunch we went to meet SRISTI and visit the lab. They are running a lab that tests herbal remedies to see if they can be reproduced. Part of the scouting efforts that all of the organizations are engaged in returns remedies using local herbs. SRISTI collects all of these herbal medicines and then documents them in a separate database, test them in their labs, and then translates the remedy into four languages. There are about 300 plant remedies in there that are all also in Honey Bee.
Incredible. By entering the remedies and technologies into the database, the IP of the innovator is protected and documented for future.
Professor Mike Gordon came today and we met him after our meeting at SRISTI at the hotel. After catching up we went to dinner at the House of MG. We ate on the roof, feasting on a traditional Gujarati dinner and loved the place so much we ended up switching hotels. It is a really amazing place.
Steps: 6030
March 20
I finally returned home to my hotel, absolutely exhausted after taking in all the ideas that surfaces and swam around in my head today. We began early, at 8am, meeting for a briefing for the day and discussions of our plans and goals. Our first order of business was to head to the IIMA. It is about ten minutes by autorickshaw and a thrilling way to start the day. The autorickshaws are amazing vehicles that are open-air taxis that carry two maybe three people.
More about:
the Monkey that peed all over the patio we were sitting on.
Library
Mess Hall
Meetings with Gupta
Meeting CIIE Folk
Camel
Phone
Chaat for dinner.
Steps: 6800
March 19
I woke up this morning to one of those wake up calls that must be the wrong number... but isn't. It seemed so early in the dark hotel room. I finally crawled out of the plus plush bed to draw the shades. As I peaked through the curtains... the scene was amazing. Just what Nicole had asked for, the sun was rising over the hills and the sky was a soft lavender. The sun was a golden ball that was overtaking the night sky. Slowly but surly I came alive, warming up as the sun turned more and more night into a glowing golden day. The hotels pool was below my room and the floiage of the grounds glowed like an oaisi in the already hot morning air.
Breakfast was also impressed with varieties and options a plenty. I ate more then anyone should, feasting on scrambled eggs, sausage, chicken meatballs, rice, fried cauliflower, and fruit fruit fruit. The juices were phenomenal as well. I drank three hotel juice glasses of a blend I made myself of beet, carrot, cucumber and orange.
We spent the morning at Juhu Beach walking on the sand watching people fish and soaking up all the colorful food stalls that are concentrated on the beach. 
Swapnaa and I both got mendi on our hands by a tiny little girl. It is beautiful and she used stamps and ink instead of the henna.
I ate a paan, which I will have to go into later. We flew to Ahmedabad and checked into our hotel.
In the afternoon, fighing the urge to drop down dead, we looked around town and visited some other hotels--just to see how ours fared. We finally came back and I fell asleeep immediately. I have been waiting for the sun to rise all night without any sense of how long I have been asleep or awake. Jet lag can be a bitch.
Steps: 10971
March 18
We were welcomed tonight by drivers at the airport who quickly charmed us and brought us to Le Royal Meridian Hotel Mumbia. After getting into our rooms and picking our jaws up off the floor, we settled in and planned for our two point five hours in Mumbai.
We decided to take a ride in the morning to the Juhu Beach. Apparently it is beautiful and busy. We shall see. There are also a lot of Bollywood stars who live there and whose homes we might see.
So it is official. I am here in India. When I got off the plane, it was dark. Air was hot and humid (I think 80 degrees) and the vegetation lush as well. Our hotel is fabulous. Marble floors, attentive staff, a lovely atrium with chandeliers and mahagony furniture. The bar was open enough for us to have one drink. Gregg and I sampled the "signature" whiskey---an Indian brand and it was delicious. There was a big group of flightattendents in the bar too who were quite generous with both their cigarettes and their attention.
I'm off to sleep now for four hours until we wake up and go to the breakfast which I can only imagine is wonderful.
Steps: not enough to count
New things: On the airplane they asked me if I wanted chicken or vegetarian instead of chicken or beef or pasta. I wonder if I will be seeing a lot more of that???
March 15
Preperations are seriously underway. I have packed my clothes, packed my shoes, and packed my books. I am ready for the adventure that awaits me halfway across the world. Sitting here in Ann Arbor with snow falling outside, it is impossible to imagine India.
The team is ready, we have put our time in and our brains together the past two weeks. Pooling our many talents, we have outlined an exciting path for ourselves in Gujarat. How else could it be when you are hunting for innovation and creativity in entrepreneurs living on less then two dollars a day.
Poverty, hunger, dehydration and sickness are all persistent reminders that many of us are not thriving in our global economy. Hopefully, finding the fortune at the bottom of the pyramid will also find a way to improve directly improve the day to day life of the billions who live with little.