Dinner with the team

What an amazing evening as we invited the SMS team and their families to share dinner with is at the Utkal Hotel!
Our guests were honored to be joining us and the children obviously on their best behavior as they each thanked us for inviting them upon their arrival. As usual we had gifts for the kids, dolls for the girls and a motorcycle for the buy. Canadian pins for all the adults. It was fun to see their excitement and they have us a gift of flowers on an elephant styles vase. Trying to hell with the ordering out host spoke with the waiters and placed the order for the entire group. However we were concerned they were concerned about the expense and wouldn't order enough, which they didn't so we needed to take matters into out own hands. Nobody leaves hungry! The staff understood and the food kept arriving. Soup, chicken, pander and a few other items I am not sure what they were, followed by Ice cream.
Now we have come to learn that even in fancy hotels the use of utensils is very different than at home in Canada . Basically they don't use them. Until the arrival of nan bread on the table no one would start their entrée. Scooping the food up with their fingers and the bread is the method of choice. Finger bowls for everyone before the ice cream arrived.
Not being to keen on spicy they ordered me a special dinner, chicken stroganoff on a bed of rice. It was delicious, again not helping my diet plan.
For entertainment one little girl sang for us,and another asked me to dance as her father played music on his cell phone. Turned out after she asked me she turned terribly shy so out little singer, dances for us. They were both so cute!!
Pictures were taken with everyone, pins exchanged and the young men of the team tried very hard to carry on English conversations with me. Turns out everyone likes to look at pictureds so we had taken the iPad loaded with pictures of out family from home.
A fun night, with lots of laughs and smiles. At 111pm everyone was ready to leave and we had fed and entertained 19 people for less than $200. Amazing!!!

720 rupees

We have experienced a multitude of wonderful things during our travels so far. First being the hospitality of the Indian people. Everyone one we meet goes out of their way to ensure we are happy and have whatever we need. Almost to the point of driving you crazy. Every night a representative of the hotel comes by to check if everything is ok about 9:00 pm. Don't they know we are usually asleep by then...lol. Kidding aside they are amazingly friendly and helpful. Second, my plan was that the trip to India would serve as a forced diet and I would come home hungry and thin. Well so far that isn't happening! The food has been great and while I am somewhat careful on what I eat, so far no problems. Touch wood! The first night in the Utkal hotel we went down to the restaurant for supper. Being the only guests in the restaurant we had four waiters to ourselves. What they might have told us was we were ordering way too much food for two, hoping to get skinny Canadians. Grilled chicken that came with rice and vegetables (we thought it was just the chicken), the best nan bread I have ever had( thin, crispy and covered in garlic butter), an order of pineapple rice, and paneer. All extremely tasty!! Then we got the bill. 720 rupees and Randy thought maybe a bit too rich for our blood, until we did the conversion. All that for a total of $12.54. We might eat here every night! Third, getting your laundry done, by placing it in a bag in the morning and having it delivered back to your room a few hours later. This is the life. I really need to explore this option at home, but then again I couldn't afford it there. The next morning at breakfast we had a small communication break down as we ordered two eggs for me and an Indian breakfast consisting of a huge Dosa, some type of donut and a rice puff for Randy. What we got was two orders of two eggs and the Indian breakfast. Then we wonder why the diet isn't working. They even have the nerve to give you a weigh scale in our 5 star room. Of course we ate ever bite. A day at the office is just like a day at my office, except: -the CEO office shown in the previous post is very little with room for two small desks, a laptop and small book shelve. No filling cabinents, no pictures from home, no phone(although everyone carries a cellphone, which they even answer while in meetings),and no stacks of papers or books. - the finance office consists of four desks, a computer, passbook printer and binders of records, and a big general ledger. Between two and four people work in this office, the finance maanager who is responsible for all the books, tha analyst, who updates the savings passbooks and outstanding loans for every cooperative member daily, and two field coordinators that come and go. - the board room is a small long room with two thin desks pushed together and a third desk across the top serving as the head of the table. Over the last two day we have spent over seven hours discussing the vision, goals and mandate of the organization and plans to convert it into a self funding business by March 2013, when their current funding expires. What are the immediate actions they can implement? How can building a spice processing plant help and if so in what time frame? Where can they get more funding and for how long? What happens if they don't for the coop members, the current employees and the coop as a whole? This is serious business as it affects over 1270 families and their livelihood. - the official address of the company is; "behind the government high school near the Patel hotel". No street or house number just a description. - on your way to work in the morning you will probably pass at least one random cow sleeping or walking down the middle of the street. They seem to lie down anywhere the mood hits their fancy often at the side of the road but sometime right in the middle and the cars just maneuver around them. The cows don't seem to be bothered by the traffic, the horns(although no one honks at the cows) or the bikes racing by. Today was a research day. We met with two separate store owners that sell spices in their outlets. Each one shared their ideas on what works best, why they buy from certain wholesalers versus others, what we would need to do to get shelve space in their stores and what clients would be looking for to try our product. Then we went to a wholesaler's outlet to get his perspective. He works from a small cubicle about five feet by eight at the back of his home. During our visit his son served us water, coffee and cookies. Again the hospitality to perfect strangers was outstanding. What we walked away was several different ideas on what might work. My head continues to spin on how to keep the project on target and not let it get too big. As another day at work In Calgary there are tonnes of great ideas, but you need to keep focused. To finish the day we went to a local grocery store and then an Indian equivalent of Walmart on a much smaller scale just to get a feel of how the spices are displayed. Yes we bought a few things. Spices as part of the research, a shirt for Randy and gifts for the kids. Tonight we are taking the entire team to supper. Ten men, three wife's and four children, our treat to our wonderful guests. I am thinking maybe 7200 rupees but we will see.....

Another day at the office!

Just like any other week a day at the office consists of planning, meetings, more meetings, a quick lunch and visits to partners. The only difference is the country, language, premises and surroundings.

The people we met!

The amazing ladies we met! While having experienced terrible hardship and poverty they have persevered becoming successful entrepreneurs and leaders in their community. Filled with passion and heart they welcomed is into their worlds with a huge smile. More than just a little emotional. I will never forget the president, her smiles and huh!!

The Visit with the Honorable Chairman

Our Introduction to Subhalaxmi Mahila Samabaya Ltd, started with the Chairman of Access Development Services visiting the company for the day. It would turnout to be an extremely informative, inspiring, interesting and long day. Initially we thought we were here to produce a business plan for a new spice processing company that SMS wanted to open as part of their social enterprise. However a few minutes into the chairman's opening statement we learned that the funding provided by Access for the administration costs of the organization is set to expire in March 2013. The purpose of the chairman's visit was to instill the necessity for the board and management of SMS to have a sustainability strategy. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that part of our assignment would be to include this strategy in the business plan. Did our workload really just double? The day's agenda started with Access team and SMS management team discussing options part in Hindi, part In English. Fortunately for us after ever Hindi discussion the Chairman would take time to summarize in English the just of the conversation. For the most part I think we were able to capture the essence of what had been said. Next we would meet the Board of Directors for SMS, which consisted of seven women, all dressed in saris. I was amazed how young the group was, but not at all surprised by the passion and confidence they displayed. They had started their own businesses, helped and mentored other women to start their own business and had built an extremely successful Cooperative, where women could borrow funds to get started, with a forced savings plan and optional monthly or daily saving plan. Funds were borrowed and repaid in record time with many repeat borrowers as the women expanded from having one business to multiple businesses. Diversification is a great strategy even for the very poor. The big question though was if the board was ready to take on the full responsibility of the organization without the funding from Access? Proud of what they had accomplished over the last 4 1/2 years, they spoke with smiles on their faces and confidence in their hearts that they were ready and they would succeed. The goal increase revenue, decrease expenses and maintain focus on the priorities. Sounds somewhat familiar to my world at home. As we left this meeting somehow I was able to connect with the group. The power of a smile is huge. I motioned that their saris were gorgeous and one board member shared that she could speak some English but mostly she read English books. Again I was amazed that women with very little, working long hours to help support their families still took time to learn. These young ladies are truly remarkable women, making a real difference for their own families and the families of many others. Currently the coop has 1265 members. That really is a lot of women that can now feed their families. Next we were off to meet 25 successful women entrepreneurs promoted by the SMS. One after another they each stood and told their story of why they got involved, what type of business(s) they ran, and how many times they had borrowed. The entire discussion took place in a dialect of Hindi so I didn't really know what was been said, but occasionally would catch the jest of it. What I did understand was how important the Project was to the participants. Their success was due to the support, training and self help peer groups the project connected them to. Plus having savings is a confidence builder in its self. Each women was dressed in a sari, some very colorful and ornate, other simple, made of plain cotton. What they all wore was a smile of pride, passion and respect. As they left the meeting room a smile and thank you was given to each women in my attempt to share my respect for them and to somehow share my appreciation for sharing their story with us. We were given a small handbook which tells the individual stories of many of the women we met on how they survived tragedies, loss of their land or loss or illness of a husband; all situations that put the survival of the family into jeopardy and how they rose above the situation and as entrepreneurs to help feed their families. Now I need to remind you that while they spoke of success these families are still extremely poor compared to anything I have seen before. An extremely successful business may generate $200 a month while others are lucky to earn $40. Living in adobe huts surrounded by mud, the families are proud, clean and full of smiles. We visited Sarojini who has opened her own beauty parlor in a small room attached to their house. Sarojini makes her living cutting hair, waxing eyebrows and arms and helping women with their makeup, especially in preparation for weddings. Now the beauty salon doesn't have the normal fixtures we would expect to see. No sink, no hair dryer, just one chair, a big mirror and a small supply of combs and creams on the counter, but her pride shone through as she showed us the room. You can tell her business brings her fulfillment and pride for what she had accomplished. Had we had more time I might have asked her to French braid my hair, but being the only women on the tour thought the men might get a bit impatient. Next we would me Sabita Mirig, who raises chickens in her backyard. With training from the SMS she learned the tricks of the trade and now raises over 425 chickens every 30 days. As she told us her story the entire family stood on the sidelines watching the chairman and the two white Canadians learn about Sabita's business. Mother and father-in-law and several children are dependent on her business for their livelihood. At one time she used to transport 200 chicks in a basket on her cycle every month to keep her business going in a time when it was very unusual for women to even cycle. Sabita's strength and heart shone through as she shared her knowledge and experience in her business. Then we were driving down bumpiest, muddy road I have ever seen as we made our way to Sabita Bhainsa's Puffed Rice unit. Having come through very difficult times she initially opened a small grocery store but had a dream of opening her own rice mill. Patiently she built one small business into another until she was in position to take over an abandon mill and reopen it. Today she is the proud owner of the lone puff rice mill in the area. Between the grocery store and the rice mill she now saves every extra penny to help with her children's future. On Our way to the Tailor Training unit we past the Vedanta aluminum plant which while not responsible for the poverty of all the members of the cooperative, directly impacted the livelihood of all the families in the surrounding villages when it took away their land to build the plant. While the families were given a small payment for their land what they no longer had was a way to replace the income they earned from their farms. The support, training and encouragement from the cooperative and it's self help groups has provided the women the courage to become entrepreneurs in the true sense of the word. In most cases for what ever reason their spouse was either unable to work, or no longer around and the entire responsibility for the entire extended family fell on the woman's shoulders. Even with a lack of education, or experience these strong ladies found the inner strength to find a passion and make it into a successful business. The president of the board, Siriapali and I somehow found a connection thru our smiles and bonded during our several meetings today. We tried to discuss my desire to obtain a saris, talked about the number of children we each have and just shared an appreciation for meeting each other. Besides being the president of the board she runs a tailor training studio for young girls. The room holds ten old peddle operated singer sewing machines and I am assuming that they learn their craft on these machines. The chairman gave the girls what appeared to be a motivating speech on the opportunities the world holds for them if they work hard. Lots of smiles and laughter was shared. Then off to the last stop for the afternoon. A Phenyl manufacturing unit. This was the most basic production line I have witnessed. Five girls produce a cleaning solution and bottle, label, and ship it to a wholesaler. Everything is done by hand including filling the bottles, capping and pasteing the label on the outside of the bottle. All for a profit of 8ruppes per bottle. The whole process is labour intensive but again they were proud to share their business with us. It was time to head back into twon for the evening and we were both extremely tired from the intense, emotional day. At this very moment we are extremely happy to be checking into the Utkal hotel and it's comforts of home, while thinking about the abode huts with no washrooms that the women we visited today would sleep in... Yes we are lucky to be born Canadian!

Treated like Royalty

While we waited for our host from Subhalaxmi to pick us up for a quick tour of their offices and their recommendation on a better (?) hotel to stay at we toured the grounds of our present hotel snapping a few pictures to capture our first accommodation in India. The next thing we knew the concierge was recommending spots and offering to take our picture for us. Then several members of the staff were peering around the corner watching. I don't think they see to many white people never mind white women as the girls would smile at me and then giggle, while playing shy. So their pictures we had to have too. The security guard, the waiters, cleaning staff and management all became part of our photo shoot. Everyone smiling, laughing and giggling. We felt quilty that we were even considering changing hotels. Yet we did. A brand new hotel, 2 minutes from the office, with WiFi, American style bathroom that includes toilet paper and an actual desk for Randy to work at. Yes we are spoiled but it is really nice for only $60 a night. We thought we might miss the hustle and bustle of the downtown market but after the first full day with the Subhalaxmi team we were so tired that the quiet was welcome!

And so the Journey Begins

Heading to India, the first stop is Montreal and as we leave the plane we are greeted by an agent from Qutar Air. Turns out numerous people leaving Calgary are headed to Doha. A place I had never heard of until we booked this trip. But there she is waiting to escort all of us to the Qutar Air Gates. This is service; first we have to check in. Our passports and flights are verified and we receive new boarding passes that will take us all the way to Kolkata. A 5 hour wait in Montreal and then 12 flight and we are in Doha. As we leave the plane the heat of the air almost stops us in our tracks. We hurry to the waiting bus to get back into an air conditioned space. I don't think I have ever experienced this type of heat. Doha airport is nothing less than spectacular! Pristine, modern and rich, but we only have an hour so a quick look around and we are back boarding the plane to Kolkata. It is 3:30 in the morning when we step off the plane in Kolkata. The airport reminds me of a Greyhound bus station. Old and dingy but at least it isn't quite as hot as Doha. Mind you it is 3:30 in the morning. Now to find a taxi that will take us to the train station. Randy finds the pre-paid taxi booth gets our tickets and in his excitement that we had actually figured this part out pays the agent and walks away without his change.Oh well part of the experience. Now the taxi ride is the first real adventure of the trip. The next 1/2 hour we navigate through town with the horn a blaring as we pass, pedlars pushing their wares thru town, cars, trucks and even buses. Everyone gets out of our way. I only yelled in fear a few times, mostly under my breathe. We both wondered if he had actually been a taxi driver for participants of the Amazing Race as speed was definitely is friend. The train station is a swarm of activity, as people hustle to get their tickets and find the right track for their train. Just like on Amazing Race, our ticket counter doesn't open until 5:00am. It is currently 4:30 am so we hunker down and wait, along with the growing line-up of travellers. Although there is also a group of men sleeping in the middle of the area. Are they in line? What happens at 5?. Eventually the ticket counter opens and Randy slowly, and not too pushy although that seems to be the actions of most,works his way to the front of the line. Tickets in hand we are off to find track 23. Now the great thing is that we have reserved seats on the Coach car. Otherwise we would be pushing like cattle into the regular coaches in hope of getting a seat, near an open window. However in the chair coach we have fans, somewhat padded seats and an array of pedlars selling food, beverages and entertainment. While we may have been hungry we settled with almonds and water from home. Just a little nervous and not sure where we were going we settled in for an 8 hour train ride. Sleeping off and on as we checked the name of each small town we stopped at on the express train to Jharsaguda. Express was surely just a figure of speech. Finally we arrive at the final destination for the first part of our trip. A taxi was easy to find. I am thinking we had tourist written all over our foreheads as the driver rushed to assist. Turns out we could have walked to the hotel as quick as the drive took as it was only minutes away, but at least the driver knew where he was going. Medhout Hotel would be our home for the next two days. At first they tried to talk us into a suite for a whole $58 a night but we really didn't need that much space so we opted for the regular room at $30 a night. What I learned upon viewing each room was the suites are probably a star 3 while the regular a star 2?..lol. Should we go back and upgrade? No we decided to stay put. Clean towels and shower curtains are highly over rated, however we did finally get towels and I think they were clean, although very worn out. It is 6pm and we were ready for bed. Forcing ourselves to sleep through the night would hopefully help us get adjusted to the time change. 11.5 hour ahead of Calgary. A good but somewhat restless sleep I wondered what the heck we are doing. Who travels 1/2 around the world, makes their way to a town where they know no one and plans to get up and go to work for a company they have only read about? I am somewhat unnerved to say the least? Yes but we will be fine. A quick cool shower, apparently hot water and toilet paper are a rare commodity. Mind you the cool shower felt good but it would have been nice to have a little more water. The sprinkle coming out of the shower head was a bit sparse. Time for breakfast and a walk about town. Ordering breakfast when you don't speak the language can be somewhat challenging so it was a good thing they were serving buffet. I settled for a piece of toast, a fried egg that was delivered to our plates, I think they were worried I wasn't eating enough, and an orange pop. The pop took a bit longer as they had to find the key to unlock the cooler. Interesting.. the two young men waiting on us tried very hard to make sure we were happy. So far so good. Walking up and down main street is interesting. Pedlars line both sides of the street in small kiosk,and stare as we walk by. In the meantime I am staring at the cows that wonder aimlessly down the street like they own the place. Then again maybe they do. Later today we will meet up with our hosts for a tour of the town. He is concerned we aren't staying in a better hotel so will include a recommendation and viewing of alternatives, in addition to visiting the premises of his company. I think I will check out the flow of hot water in the shower and quality of the towels. We will see....