Empowerment

I have to admit that I like to work with my hands.  I derive satisfaction from a finished project.  And if tasked with a project of tearing something apart . . . well, I've taken pride in work like that since I was three years old.  Last week when I was in the village, I noted that a neighbor was tearing down a house with nothing but a crowbar!  I was a bit jealous.  But I wasn't the only one.  A seven-year-old also helped out with his hammer.

As a toddler with Lincoln Logs I thought the repeated cycle of building and toppling was great fun.  And seemed that the parents wholeheartedly approved, pointing to abstract child development principles like autonomy and empowerment.

In arenas where ideas and solutions to poverty are discussed, the topics often include notions of empowerment, which usually means that individuals and communities have been granted autonomy to utilize resources according to their own preferences.  Building a new house with your own hands, after first tearing down the old one with your crowbar, gives evidence of an empowered people who can shape their own destiny.

But doesn't the picture of the man with the crowbar also reveal vulnerability?  After all, whatever can be torn down with a crowbar can also be demolished with a small earthquake.

With regard to processing mangos in village areas, if empowerment was the only objective, we would have designed the dehydrator, devised the systems, trained the farmers, . . . and then left.  Doing so would have granted them autonomy, leaving them with the resources to shape their own destiny.  But both the group leader and the village participants have unanimously voiced an appeal for continued involvement with us, who are village outsiders, tackling the matters of process improvements, product development and marketing.

I have received both criticism and commendation for our continued collaboration with the farmer group.  On the one hand, I have been criticized for insulating the village workers from challenging matters like marketing.  On the other hand, I have been commended for the ongoing improvements to the production process.  But no one has mentioned the matter of vulnerability, which I think is the matter most on the mind of the village participants, who have indicated that all production would completely stop if we ceased our involvement.

I don't blame them.  Food manufacturing is a complicated undertaking that requires knowledge, skill and care in all aspects of production.  Understanding the magnitude of the risks, the farmer group would choose to forego production, opting instead to return to the menial tasks of small-scale farming and gravel-making.

As I "build people to build a nation", my objective has shifted away from the granting of resources that can bolster a fragile sense of empowerment.  Instead, my aim is to address remaining areas of vulnerability, like technical competence and management capability.  More than just increasing assets, meaningful community development has to do with improving human capabilities that reduce vulnerability for individuals, families and communities.

You probably didn't think that a bag of dried mangos contained abstract ideas, like empowerment.  The next time you taste the sweet, natural flavor of the slices in a bag of Java Bite dried mangos, know that the product was produced with a view to building the people who made it.

Social Entrepreneurship?

A year ago I had never heard of the term - social entrepreneurship, which was first introduced to me by a professor at Iowa State University after she had given a presentation on entrepreneurship.  As I explained what I do - i.e. develop technologies and processes for mango products so that jobs and incomes grow in underdeveloped areas - she said, "Oh, you're talking about social entrepreneurship, which is another huge topic that I didn't have time to address."

Not wanting to look stupid, I didn't ask her to define social entrepreneurship.  After all, if it's a huge topic, I should know something about it, right?  Especially if it's what I do!

It turns out that I'm not the only one who needs some help to understand the term.  Fortunately, some smart people have responded to requests for clarification.  Here are some of their thoughts. . . 

"I think social entrepreneurship is a business built around the objective of solving a social challenge."  -Dina Sherif, Associate Director at John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement, American University in Cairo.

"Social entrepreneurs are addressing specific social issues and doing something about them to solve those problems and rally support for that cause through various tools." -Fadi Ghandour, Founder & CEO of Aramex.

"Social entrepreneurship is about building systems for changing local solutions to local problems. Social entrepreneurs are committed, unique and creative individuals who are obsessed with finding structural solutions to problems." -Iman Bibars, Regional Director at Ashoka Arab World.

Java Bite products exist as a solution to a social dilemma.  Mango trees are being destroyed.  Unemployment in rural Indonesia is high.  Investment is low.  Average incomes in the area range from $2 to $3 per person per day.  By creating technologies, refining processes and developing markets for dried mango products, we are addressing critical issues faced by tens of thousands of people who depend on the mango industry.

I didn't know the word a year ago, but "social entrepreneurship" indeed describes what we do when we fill up a bag of Java Bite Sweet Dried Fruit.  And the social impact of our business is so important to us that we refer to it on the back of our package.  Visit the online store and purchase these delicious products!  When you do, you will be part of the solution to social dilemmas that exist in Indonesia.

* Quotes are from "Social Entrepreneurship vs. Social Activism: What is the Difference?", http://ht.ly/eCcgG

Talk About Variety

Did I mention that Indonesia has over 200 documented varieties of mangos?  In the markets of Indonesia you might be able to find five or six varieties that have commercial value.  So, 200 hundred varieties seems like a lot, doesn’t it?

So, how does 14,000 varieties strike you?  That was the number of apple varieties in North America in the 19^th century.  Tim Hensley writes,

“In the 19th century, apples came in all shapes and guises, some with rough, sandpapery skin, others as misshapen as potatoes, and ranging from the size of a cherry to bigger than a grapefruit. Colors ran the entire spectrum with a wonderful impressionistic array of patterning—flushes, stripes, splashes, and dots. There was an apple for every community, taste, purpose, and season, with winter varieties especially prized. Apples were used for making cider, baking, drying, eating out of hand—even as livestock feed.” (from “A Curious Tale: the Apple in North America”, Tim Hensley, Brooklyn Botanical Garden,  http://www.bbg.org/gardening/article/the_apple_in_north_america)

Currently in North America about ninety varieties are grown commercially and a host of other heirloom varieties live quietly in the private gardens and orchards of hobbyists.  While they may cultivate apple trees as a hobby, such people are not novices.  Folks like Tim Hensley have an exceptional grasp of genetics, horticulture and grafting techniques.  They are the volunteer guardians of the apple species.

In the village of Tiron, where we are beginning another season of mango drying, recent research revealed that 36 mango varieties exist but only three or four varieties are grown commercially.  The other varieties have lived in quiet neglect in the same mango groves that are being threatened by mining concerns.

In an effort to encourage cultivation of mango trees and preserve existing varieties the national government has recruited the help of Mr. Jem, who has worked with me for six years.  During the past year, Mr. Jem has grown 5000 seedlings to be used for the grafting of underrepresented mango varieties.  Local farmers are expected to take home a seedling, choose a variety to graft, plant the tree on their own land and care for the grafted variety.  Not all of these farmers will have the same motivation as heirloom hobbyists.  “If there is no real commercial value to the farmer, why would they want to care for the tree?”, remarks Mr. Jem, stating an obvious fact about people who live on $2 a day.

An optimist would expect Mr. Jem to become a legend like Johnny Appleseed, propagating mango varieties in a way that preserves biodiversity.  A pragmatist would expect an economic version of natural selection to take place, resulting in a relatively small set of commercially viable mango varieties. 

The researcher in me wants to know how well each of these varieties dry.  Finding some with attractive taste and texture characteristics after drying would allow us to develop markets for previously unknown varieties.  I could be busy for many years to come!

  

Alongside "Johnny Mangoseed"?

Mango Manager

Mango season has arrived!  It is now time for me to roll up my sleeves, adorn a face mask and sit down in room full of women with knives!

Every year we face a new set of challenges.  In 2008 the fabricator of our dehydrator made some major errors, preventing production for that year.  (We now have new design that works much better.)  In 2009 we researched, devised and applied new procedures to improve the texture of the final product.  (Our product development efforts have succeeded in making a dried mango product that has a texture as good or better than every other similar product on the market.)  In 2010 unexpected and frequent rains during the dry season hammered the mango tree flowers resulting in a 30% drop in mango production that year.  (This year the expected harvest appears to be in the normal range.)  In 2011 collective methods of work- i.e. equal payment for everyone, regardless of individual abilities- was showing signs of needing reform.  The proficient workers correctly voiced concern that the system didn't reward them properly.  So this year we embark on the necessary reforms, which represents another healthy step toward the goal of establishing a village enterprise, which is sustainable and efficient.

I guess I've become a mango manager.  I guide our dried mango production in such a way that economic principles (like individual pay for individual work) find application in specific cultural contexts.  I don't know exactly what the new system will look like yet.  But ample discussion with the group leader, my local staff and the workers themselves, should result in a new way of working that will satisfy everyone.  I try to make everyone happy - particularly the room full of women with knives!  ;-)

Plural forms

Here's a confession. Every time I write the plural form of the word 'mango', a surge of paranoia comes over me.

"Do I use 'mangos' or 'mangoes'?"
"If I use 'mangos', will people think I'm stupid and illiterate?"
"If I use 'mangoes', will people think I'm indecisive and wishy-washy because I usually use 'mangos'?"
"What if someone asks why I use the spelling 'mangos'? Should I contrive some etymological reason?  Or should I be honest and tell them I just want to save a keystroke?"

My palms are sweating even now.

You may be wondering why I have never let the dictionary settle the matter for me. Well, I tried. And my paranoia persists. Here is the entry.

 mango.  |ˈmaNG gō|.  noun.  (pl. mangoes or mangos )  
1.  a fleshy yellowish-red tropical fruit that is eaten ripe or used green for pickles or chutneys.  
2. (also mango tree ) the evergreen Indian tree of the cashew family that bears this fruit, widely cultivated in the tropics. 

So, now you know that you can spell the plural form of mango EITHER way! Instead of eliminating my anxiety, it gives it another twist.

"Which form is most popular?"
"Which form do my readers prefer?"
"Which form makes me look less stupid?"

Please help me put an end to my quandary.  Write down in the comment below the plural form of "mango" you feel most comfortable with.  In that way, I will at least know the preferences of readers of this blog!

Start with "why"

 I'm not an inspiring leader but I am motivated by the "why" question. Simon Sinek explains the reason that each one of us derive energy from purpose. Determination, persistence and perseverance all come from one place . . . knowing why.

As we make Java Bite Sweet Dried Fruit, our aim is to infuse hope in underdeveloped areas by creating opportunities, positively impacting individuals, communities and the broader local economy. We envision employees equipped, families nourished, communities enabled and lives enhanced with new products.

What is your aim? Share it here!

Dehydrators and people

 In the village of Tiron, natural resource extraction has become a way of life. Agriculture provides the largest amount of community income.  Mining in the village is a close second.  In both agriculture and mining the tools of the trade are very simple - hoe, plow, hammer.  Low technologies present very limited opportunities for personal development.

To be sure, swinging a hammer takes some skill.  And farming requires intuition acquired from years of experience.  And some people I have met in the village genuinely like the freedom and unstructured lifestyle of independent manual work.  But most people, including those who shape public policy, regard development as that process that equips people for better jobs.

Resource Exchange International, Inc. makes that process happen in the village of Tiron.  Dehydrating technology, which represents a higher technology than hammers and hoes, facilitates development of individual competencies.  REI has invested in the research and development of dehydrators that have been successfully deployed in village areas, including the village of Tiron.  Through the introduction of these technologies, people are built and the prospects of community development are enhanced.

Building people to build a nation . . . one dehydrator at a time.

Yummy Scones

You have already figured out that Java Bite dried mangos have a cool story.  But if you are from North America, you may not know exactly what to do with dried mangos.  As a snack, Java Bite dried fruit is an excellent choice for health conscious consumers.  And you like having a nutritious snack with a cool story.  Now you want to venture out and explore other ideas.  Here is a winner . . . Mango Scones!

The experienced baker will take note of step 3.  An inexperienced person, like myself, will think that it really doesn't matter how you cut butter into flour.  Wrong!  Be careful to keep the flour from caking together, which is the purpose of the knives.  Applying the proper technique will yield a light, fluffy result.

Give it a try!  And post your comments here!

Pivotal Moments

The pivotal moments of one's life are not always recognized as such.  There is no doubt that a moment like September 11, 2001, for it's horrific magnitude was certainly recognized as a pivotal moment.  But perhaps not in the way that most people think of pivotal moments.

Nationalism changed.  At least for a while.  At the time, being an American evoked emotion and devotion unlike any period I had lived through.

International warfare changed.  As Americans, we knew we were hated more than we knew the reasons why and more than we knew the identities of those who hated us.  National security required new tactics.

Public policy changed.  A sympathetic view emerged that supposed that anti-American attitudes originated from constrained economic opportunities.  A fresh agenda emerged that attempted to address economic underdevelopment in countries that had anti-American populations.

I changed.  Although I had already focused my attention on the economic development of rural areas in Asia, a new demographic captured my attention.  Countries where Islam is the majority religion got on my radar and stayed there.  As I probed villages in Indonesia, it became clear that natural resource extraction, rather than innovation, drove economic development.  Although agricultural research and development has improved productivity, the gains from those efforts have not exceeded the returns to labor of rock extraction in locations where suitable construction materials can be obtained.  In places, like rural villages in Indonesia, where extraction dominates innovation the local economy abandons value creation as a driver.  Consequently, their economic prospects diminish.  I didn't fully grasp these notions eleven years ago when my life direction shifted unnoticeably.  

Eleven years ago I never imagined I would be championing products from rural Indonesia.  I never imagined I would be promoting value-added technologies and processes that could double the annual incomes of those who participated.  I never imagined that I would be training a group of villagers to acquire skills and abilities that help them do more than just extract rock from the mountains and streams in their area.

On September 11, 2001, the direction of my life changed.  It wasn't because of nationalism or international conflict or public policy or anything else that might have changed on that day.  It was my own pivotal moment, which was hardly recognized as such.

Site Search

Near the production location I surveyed this piece of land as a possible factory site.  But I went in disguise because my white skin literally doubles the price!  Land acquisition is tricky business in a densely populated, developing area.  So, off I went on the back of a motorcycle with my skin cloaked with a jacket and my face covered with a full face helmet.  Accompanied by an ally - Mr. Jem, the farmer group leader we have equipped and trained- I discreetly walked through the property, keeping my helmet on so as not to reveal my features.  Mr. Jem explained, "If anyone sees you, word will spread quickly through the neighborhood and the price will go up a lot."  

His point was illustrated perfectly the previous day, when I visited a different site.  The person who met us in the field was not the owner but a village leader who apparently had enough clout to insert himself in the middle of a land transaction that included a foreigner.  We previously received information from the owner, indicating that the land cost was within our budget.  During my discussion at the site with the village leader, the price had clearly doubled, with you-know-who getting the difference.  I'm pretty sure there is a less expensive way to build a friendship with this guy!  So now we simply walk away from that option and look into something else.  So many twists and turns as we build people to build a nation!

Casting the Vision

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarokaatuh.

These are the Arabic words I used to begin a presentation to a group of government officials last Tuesday.  The words convey warmth and spirituality as they express not just a greeting, but also a blessing.

The meeting gave me a chance to present the vision of building a foreign-owned factory that can facilitate the adoption of fruit-drying in the area, potentially creating thousands of jobs.  I was pleasantly surprised that a meeting that often concludes after an hour, continued with a long string of questions for three hours.  As we carry out to bolster economic development, I find that our model generates engaging discussions and bolsters our influence in the area.

If you can speak Indonesian and want to know how I explain our work in that language, check out this video

http://youtu.be/UJ8ynFgt3pY

If you just want to see what I look like in a Batik, you can stop the video after a minute or so!  Leave a comment if you like my look!

Aspirations

As you read these blog posts you get my perspective of our attempt to create sustainable jobs among low-income communities.  But what do others think?

About thirty villagers participate directly in the dried fruit enterprise, which we have developed in stages over the past five years.  Recently, my field manager interviewed several of them to solicit feedback about our efforts.  Here are some of their comments:

Partiyem, age 37, married female - "The wages give me money for my children's school."   "I hope that production continues so that more people can work."

Gunawan, age 26, single male - "I'm glad that I can have daily work."  "I hope that we can process more types of fruit."

Yatini, age 39, married female - "I'm glad to get money that meets our daily needs."  "I'd like to work here every day throughout the year, not just during mango season."

Jemu, age 48, married male - "I'm glad that this program helps the community by creating jobs and by generating favor from the local Agricultural office."  "I hope we can make the production run throughout the year."

These are the testimonies of those who have become beneficiaries of our particular approach to build people to build a nation.  All of these people earn income that is less than $120 per month.  All of them have participated with us for more than three years and have seen their income double during the time that we are in production.  And all of them hope that our fruit drying enterprise results in sustainability, expansion and broadened impact.  

What's in a bag of Java Bite dried mangos? . . . aspirations for a better life!

Sharing Life

I had seen weddings where fathers "gave away" their daughters in marriage.  But in Indonesia, fathers often extract a price for their daughters at the wedding.  I'm not sure which is more honoring for the daughter - to be "given away" or to be sold. ;-)

Not too long ago I was asked to participate in the wedding of Mr. Jem's son, as he presented the bride price to the family of the woman he would marry.  I was surprised to discover, however, that Mr. Jem himself was not planning to attend, expecting me somehow to represent him.  The gesture reflected trust in our relationship and it bestowed a special honor to me.

After the ceremony he and I talked about our growing history of working together to dry mangos, our many discussions about life principles and the great sense that he has that Allah has richly blessed him.  "I need to keep learning from you because the Prophet Sulaiman says it's stupid not to learn."

To get a glimpse of the wedding check out the attached photo and click on this link: http://youtu.be/CJR7xVhTjds

Yes, we dry mangos.  But people are the most important part of the production process.  Sharing life with folks in the village is just one more morsel that is in Java Bite bag!

No Longer an Academic Topic

Nearly six years ago I presented a paper (entitled "Stimulating Exports, Reducing Poverty") at a mango agribusiness seminar, where I publicized for the first time analysis that justified a new rural-based industry of dried mango producers.  (See the attached photo.)  I figured that I could simply put the idea in front of Indonesian businessmen, along with data and analysis, and they would create the technologies and solve the marketing problems.  It didn't happen.

At the time, a number of thoughts poured through my head, including:  "Is there no one who is both willing and able to develop dehydrators for village enterprises?" Someone had to learn how to do it and then teach others to do it sustainably.  Eventually, I accepted the fact that it had to be the man who I saw in the mirror.  As the title of my paper suggested, I believed (and still do believe) that exports can address chronic community-wide poverty.

For years we researched, designed, refined, adapted and deployed technologies that were utilized by people in the village.  When they started producing a high-quality, consistent product, I assumed that exporters could easily include dried mangos from Indonesia into their marketing plans.  It didn't happen.

Not too long ago I mulled over another thought: "Is there no one who is both willing and able to market dried mangos in the US?"  The man in the mirror showed up again.  The time has come for me to champion the high-quality products made in the village.  For their part, village residents I know rarely permit themselves to dream about a future in which their products are purchased in the U.S.  When they do, they regard it as an extraordinary blessing from Allah.

The Boaz Project aims to perpetuate and expand this sense of "rahmat Allah" (blessing from God).  By successfully exporting dried mangos to the US, we can offer hope of a sort that has spiritual implications.  Our first shipment of dried mangos is on the way right now to a warehouse in Iowa, where I will base my marketing operations.  The next step: develop multiple channels for the marketing and distribution of 2800 packages of dried mango!

What began six years ago as an academic topic for a paper has developed into an effort to grow an industry so that hundreds of families can export hundreds of thousands of packages of dried mangos!

Please comment if you have any ideas about marketing!

Mango Agribusiness Seminar, November 2006

Building People

"My life has changed so much since I began working with you!" - Pak Jem to me.

Pak Jem used to be a little regarded farmer in a little regarded neighborhood in a little regarded village. But much has happened in the last five years that has changed his status. He has earned the favor the local ag extension officers who regularly ask him how the government can help him. The governor recognize

d him with an award as an exemplary village leader. He was flown to the capital city to gain additional training in food processing. He was flown to Thailand to gain additional training in mango horticulture. And most recently he was recognized for his bee-keeping and honey production endeavors. (In the attached photo, Mr. Jem is on the left accepting the accolades.)

This is what I'm about . . . Building People to Build a Nation. . . . It's in the bag!

What's in the bag?

What is in a bag of Java Bite dried mangos? . . .

. . . much more than dried mango slices.

Here on this blog you will find stories, perspectives, facts and even a few opinions. ;-)  Each entry will represent another tidbit of information about the Java Bite product.  These morsels of knowledge will give our Java Bite consumers a broader picture of the product so that when they gaze into a bag of Java Bite dried mangos they will see much more than dried mango slices!