Compost revival sprouts a new industry
Take two problems facing modern India: the mounting volumes of food
waste and the decline of traditional crafts. Put them together, and
create one big, sustainable business opportunity.
That's the thinking employed by Poonam Bir Kasturi and her
mischievously named venture, 'Daily Dump'.
It began when she started using matka, simple traditional earthen
pots, to convert her kitchen waste to compost, rather than simply
throwing it out, as is the usual way in urban India. Family and friends
were impressed, so she started exploring how to finesse designs to make
composting as simple and effective as possible.
She worked directly with artisan potters to develop the three-tier
design, and soon her pots were selling across India, thanks in part to
some slick marketing using the latest in social media. A witty website
uses cartoons to dispel people's typical objections to composting
("It'll take too much time...", "My kitchen will smell...").
Enough have been persuaded that sales have now reached 12,000, with
pots sourced from Shillong in the north to Pondicherry in the south.
Clones have been set up in the US, Brazil and Malaysia Interest from
overseas, including America, led Kasturi to consider exporting - "but
the whole idea is to encourage local employment for potters". So instead
she set up a so-called 'clone licence': effectively a franchising
system.
In return for a licence fee, the clone company gets detailed drawings
and technical support, and is able to manufacture and sell the
composters locally as certified 'Daily Dump' products. So far, clones
have been set up in the US, Chile, Brazil and Malaysia.
The core company remains small - just six full-time staff and half a
dozen consultants - but many more are involved in clone businesses or as
potters.
Kasturi's particularly proud of her part in reviving the prospects
for the country's potters, who have been hit hard by the transition from
clay to plastic for items such as disposable drinking cups.
Providing an expanding market for their work is vital to ensure the
sector's survival, Kasturi explains, otherwise "the children of potters
do not want to become potters themselves". And if the tradition dies,
then there will be no alternative to greater use of plastics.
She's now planning to build a 'production-cum-tourism' space for
potters in Palamaner, Andhra Pradesh - conveniently placed on the
Bangalore-Chennai highway.
"Most importantly, this will be owned and run by the potters
themselves."
- GreenFutures |
