Some challenges and looking forward

In various classes I've taken back home, I've repeatedly read that development work really isn't as easy as it looks. Of course, coming into this experience, I didn't expect it to be a cake walk, however, I did not really foresee any of the obstacles we've faced the past few weeks. It's been a bit difficult keeping up with this blog (not just because of the internet problems) because it's hard to put into words just what we've been going through here. There are so many factors that need to be taken into consideration when implementing any sort of development project anywhere in the world, and each of those factors has played a role in the challenges faced.

Primarily, the different culture of the gypsy colony has been hard to cope with. There are many cultural differences between what Angela and I are used to from American culture and the norms of the gypsy culture. For instance, the women are used to being employed by themselves when making their jewelry for their personal businesses, and are not comfortable working for other people. This factor has come into contention multiple times during our stay here, most recently with the Yala order I've spoken about previously. There is little desire from some women to actively work on something that is not their personal business. By working on this order, they are not able to make necklaces for their own use. While they are making a high wage from working on the Yala order, it's hard for them to see that they aren't losing money in this process. No matter what we say, it is ingrained in them to see things this way. For that reason, it has been really difficult to get some of the women from the cooperative to come and work on the order. Not only that, it's been difficult to pull them away from their activities to attend our lessons as well. At first we were extremely saddened and frustrated by all of this but it's something we have now come to accept. It's part of their lifestyle and we have no place to correct it.

The gypsy culture is also very fluid and, as they are gypsies, nomadic. Often times we have had to rearrange our plans last minute to accommodate the women either not showing up because they've left the village to travel, or because they decided they needed to go to the market for something. While the fluid schedule is a bit of an Indian norm as well, it has been difficult to grasp because of being used to the American lifestyle that is so heavily based on appointments and making it to meetings on time. Known as Indian Standard Time (yes, it even has a term!), having a laid back schedule and being late to appointments and meetings is just a way of life here. It was so frustrating at first to really get used to, and is still a bit hard to cope with. Yet, we've managed to work around it and get things done.

Another challenge has been teaching the Nest business curriculum to the women. Besides not having a set number of women coming to lessons every day, it has been challenging to get them to understand fully what we are trying to explain. The curriculum is designed to inform the women about business practices in Western markets and have a better understanding about the Western customer so that they can have a better sense about the products they are making for Nest. Additionally, it will help them come up with designs that are geared towards the Western market. One thing we noted is that it's really difficult to get the women to think hypothetically. When asked to think about their ideal customer to make a product for, it was very difficult for them to really get in depth with their answers. Additionally, it is hard to explain things to them about Western markets because they feel that since they haven't had a first hand experience with them, they can't fully grasp what they are about. It is nice, however, to hear the things they feel that they have learned from the experience. They really valued learning about colors and customer service, and have said they will apply them in the future.

With only a little more than a week left here in India, and so much to do, everything is starting to feel a bit overwhelming. We had a problem with the translator, as he is a professor at a local university and now has to start teaching more classes so cannot come regularly. Thus, we still have 3 lessons to teach as well as a slew of control group surveys to complete. On top of that, we have now received an order to complete 8-10 samples for American Eagle! Yes, American Eagle! It is so exciting yet so much  more work to complete, there just aren't enough hours in the day. It is a bit odd to think that our work here is almost done. It seems that just yesterday I got off that plane at the Trichy airport after 48 hours of no sleep and wondered just what I'd gotten myself into as I took in my surroundings. I'm really looking forward to this week, but I know it will be such a bittersweet ending come August 11th.

Work work work!

As previously promised, here is that video! I apologize for the delay as I forgot to put the video on my flash drive before coming to the internet cafe on Monday.

It's quite an odd feeling to think that we only have 2 more weeks left here in Trichy. It seems that just yesterday we arrived here! While the end is quite near, we don't really have the time to fully think about it as we have so much work to finish. We are still in the process of completing the business curriculum, and Angela is busy surveying the women while I am putting together some marketing pieces that the cooperative and Nest can use for future clients. It turns out that these pieces will be used sooner rather than later. After discussing marketing with the women yesterday, we gathered that they don't have strong local market connections. This is not ideal for a business, as it is always good to have local connections as a supplement to international ones. Angela and I have known a little about this for a while but got all of the information yesterday. We also have been brainstorming ways to help fix this.

One such way is the cooperative's connection with the local rotary club and an affiliated business. There is a factory just near the colony that employs thousand of people in the surrounding area. Every year they give gifts to their employees and are thinking of including an item from Chidiya in their next gift process. We are supposed to come up with a pricing sheet and provide samples for them to review before making the final decision. This will be a good way for Chidiya to get the word out.

We are also going to go to local 5 star hotels and see if we can get the Chidiya products in their gift shops. Many of these gift shops have Indian handicrafts in them, as they attract the foreign tourists that stay in their hotels. Angela and I are hoping that we can build some connections for Chidiya through this process. Additionally, since people from all over the world stay in hotels, we think this will be a good way to also create awareness for the cooperative. They will be able to simultaneously reach local and international markets. One particular hotel, Breeze, has a restaurant that Angela and I ate at a few weeks ago. We noticed that local residents come to eat there and use their facilities, such as the pool, and many foreign people stay there. Thus, we are hoping that we have success with this!

Besides that, we are still busy at work on the Yala order. One of the difficulties we've had with the whole process is the lack of women showing up to complete the order. There are 4 that regularly come to work on it, while the rest just don't. One of the problems is lac of materials, as we still don't have all the beads necessary to complete the order. The other reason is cultural. We have come to learn that in this colony, it's customary for the people to want to do things on their own accord and not work for anyone. While it is a great opportunity, they still don't fully understand how working on this order can help them. It's one f the challenges that comes with development work, and as much as Angela and I try to get them to understand, it will take much more than that. At this point, we've been looking for other people in the community who are more dedicated and understand how working in this cooperative will help them in their lives. Having such people will make membership more regular and provide people to complete such large orders in the future. The lack of participation has also affected our business lessons, since it's very hard for us to teach when no one is there (or few members). However, we are working around it and realizing that there is not much we can do except work with those who are willing. By working with them, we can slowly make a difference, as opposed to a large impact at once. Isn't that the way development work occurs in the first place?

Crunch Time

As of today we have only three weeks left here in Trichy. It seems like the time has flown by, and I don't really know where it's gone. Sure, I can think of all the work we've done so far, but the amount of work that lies ahead just seems like so much more. Yesterday, we received news that Yala has added 400 more necklaces to the order they placed last week. This brings the total to 900. The women (as well as Angela and myself) are ecstatic about this. It is wonderful for them, and we're so happy to be here to initiate this partnership for them. However, it is not without some hesitation. They have two and a half weeks to complete the order, while simultaneously completing business training and being interviewed by Angela for surveys. We are a bit nervous that they will become exasperated and tired by everything, however at the same time, they have assured us of their joy for all of the opportunities they are currently getting. It seems to be a new turn for Chidiya, and one in the exact direction they wanted!

This morning, Angela and I took a trip to the local internet cafe so we could get some work done with emails and communications, as well as take a quick stop to a little shop to purchase some snacks. We have run out of the supply we brought over from the states and wanted to get a taste of Indian ones. While not completely traditional Indian snacks, we purchased various flavors of Indian Lays Potato chips (with flavors such as Indian Magic Masala and West Indies Hot and Sweet Chili). Those were the two bags we opened today as well :) While different than the flavors we get in America, they were delicious!

Today was also Angela's 21st birthday! While we did not have a huge celebration, Angela was surprised by a cake and gifts from Seetha and Mahendran. The hostel children also put on some dancing for us, before it turned into an all out dance party in the open area outside of our hut. It was quite the show. The children are terrific dancers. Also, when you play a song for them that they know (and almost always love) they all start singing in unison and let loose like there's no tomorrow. It was amazing to see and nothing I'd ever experienced before. Angela and I also got in on the action and tried to dance with them but it was quite obvious we were not as good as the children. I took some videos of the action, which I will post early next week when we get back to the internet cafe, and faster internet. Until then, more work, which will result in many more photos!

In the nitty gritty

This week has really blown by so fast! Angela and I can hardly believe it's already Friday. We've been hard at work teaching the Chidiya women the Nest Business Curriculum that is part of their loan process, and it has been an interesting task. We realized after the first lesson that the women are illiterate, so any ideas we had regarding translating worksheets and writing on the chalkboard in Tamil (with the help of the translator of course) went completely out the window. We've had to work at adapting the curriculum for this group of women and so far it seems to be working. We asked the women yesterday how they felt about it, and to be honest, and they stated that they were able to understand our explanations and were interested to learn more. One of the best things, I think, about this community, is that they do not hold back. When we ask them to be honest about something, they are. It's a great feeling knowing that we can evaluate everything we are doing here without worrying about whether or not we are being told the right information.

Because we are on a bit of a time crunch, it seems the next month is going to go by so fast. Yesterday we received an order for the women to complete for a company called Yala. I'm not sure if I mentioned this previously when the women were making samples, but something Nest does is called Ethical Sourcing. This program is where Nest reaches out to companies to offer ethical sources of products for them to sell. In this case, Nest has created a partnership with Yala and Chidiya, where Chidiya is going to be their ethical source for jewelry. This is really exciting, as the women have dictated to us the need for more frequent, larger orders. If this first order goes smoothly, Yala will continue to order more from the women. Angela and I are going to do our best to ensure that this goes perfectly because we want the women to really benefit from every order they get. The upside to this order is that there are more pieces being ordered than their usual orders include, and it is considered a "small order." Angela and I will be overseeing the entire process of this order, as it must be shipped out before we leave Trichy. It is all very exciting! I will be sure to post some photos of the process once we get down to business.

Here are some photos!

Some of the beads used for the Yala samples

2 of the boys from the hostel being naughty!

Me with Nivesh, the baby boy of one of the Chidiya women. He may just be one of the cutest babies I have ever seen

This is our new friend! She has been following us everywhere this week. Angela decided to name her Dobby since the new Harry Potter film was released in the States this week.

Cultural Differences and a bit of Rain Dancing

Currently, Angela and I are in a bit of a limbo period. We are preparing to teach the business curriculum to the Chidiya women, however, it's turning out to be a bit difficult. Not only are there difficulties organizing the women together, we have sensed that there could be a better way to run the cooperative to make it more beneficial for the women. However, implementing our views on how it should be run is not the way to go. We have to remember that we are foreigners coming here to observe their culture, and we need to make sure that anything we do keeps their gypsy culture in mind. Thus, trying to find solutions to some of the inner problems of the group has been a challenge. We want to make sure that we help keep the cooperative sustainable for the women while also helping to provide them with a beneficial income.

We have been having various meetings with the facilitator and her husband, as well as members of the group to see how they feel and where they would like to see the cooperative go. Today we will be meeting with everyone to just see how they interact and get their final opinions on everything. We are hoping that this will bring some regularity to the group and establish a path forward.

Besides the work with the women, we have continued to bond with the children at the colony. Yesterday, around 230pm, one of the little girls came into our room to call us outside, as it began drizzling. We went outside and playing hand games with them. As the rain came down a bit harder, they would get more excited.Yet, it was very sporadic and they would get disappointed when the rain would stop. All of a sudden, however, it started to downpour! We began dancing and playing and just goofing off with the children. Additionally, it was around the time many of the kids were coming home from school so there was a steady stream of kids running to safely get their book bags in dry shelter. It was quite a sight and a wonderful experience. Dancing is a huge part of the gypsy culture, so the children have been trying to get us to dance since we've been here. It was fun to finally share that with them!

Here are two photos from the trip so far, as promised!

This was taken on our first day of work. This is one of the Chidiya women, who, as you can see, decked me out in various pieces of their work!

These are two of the girls who live in the children's hostel that is in the colony. The hostel houses children who are here to attend school and get an education. If you couldn't tell, they are sisters, and two of the sweetest girls I have ever met.

Rain!

For the past few days, Angela and I have been helping the women complete an order of 42 samples for a company. The company had specific requests for certain pieces, as well as lengths for each necklace and bracelet so we had to ensure that everything was to their desire so they will hopefully place an order in the coming weeks! One of the things we've really come to learn from the women so far in our time here is that they would really like to increase the amount of orders they receive each year. For this reason, we were really strict with them when it came to completing these samples because we really would like for them to receive more orders. Hopefully everything will go according to plan and this will work out!

Last night, we went to the DHL office to ship the samples to the states. While we were there watching the woman bubble wrap and duct tape the package SHUT, we looked outside where a torrential downpour, thunder, and lightening had started! Within 10 minutes the streets were completely flooded and everyone outside was looking for shelter. We decided to brave mother nature and head to the car so we could go get dinner. Within a minute we were soaked. On top of that, we were standing ankle deep in water in the street! It was quite an experience. The best part was that about an hour or so later after eating dinner, we walked outside where the rain had stopped and streets were completely clear of water!! It was completely eye opening, as we had never seen anything like it. Unfortunately, or fortunately for my camera, I do not have any photos of the experience.

Now that the sample order is completed, we are going to start administering the Nest business curriculum to the women and begin taking the annual Nest loan survey. The biggest obstacle is getting all the women together. This is a persisting problem the cooperative has had since its inception a couple years ago, so we are hoping to get all the women together and really educate them on the Nest process and why we are here. We hope that if we continuously emphasize this, they will begin to see what the entire mission is all about and get on board. In the meantime, though, we know this is a large hurdle for us. However, we are hopeful that we will get over this!

Unfortunately I don't have any photos this time as I forgot to put them on my flash drive before heading to the internet cafe. But, I promise extra photos next time!

Initial Meetings

I was able to finish the look book yesterday, and now Angela and I are diving into the rest of our work. We've created a weekly schedule for the rest of our time here and have outlined everything that should be done before our last week here. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, we have set up very casual sessions with the Chidiya women so we can get to know them before we start teaching them the business curriculum and taking surveys. We wanted them to feel comfortable with us, as well as with the translator, so we thought this would be a good way to meet them and just ask them questions, and vice versa.

In our first session yesterday, we were able to hear what they had to say regarding us being here and working with them. They are all so open to us, and are hoping that this experience will help increase the work that they get because they are so eager to improve their livelihoods. Hearing just this basic information about how our work can help them was inspiring. We are hoping to go deeper and hear more of their stories and backgrounds to get a better understanding of where each woman is coming from.

Other than that, we haven't done much else. We are still playing with the children and getting to know them. They LOVE pictures. Looking at them, taking them, being in them, you name it. Anything having to do with a camera, they adore. It is quite adorable. They are so friendly and sweet too. It's a joy to be around them.

This is a photo I used for the look book of all of the products the Chidiya women make for Nest. Below are a couple more:

Until next time!