Another Business Trip

I have just returned from my second business trip in India.  This time, though, it was through southern and central India and lasted for a week.  We all know how enamored I am with the Indian airport system, so I will skip the usual diatribe on the ridiculousness of having to show you itinerary to get into the airport or the incompetence of the India airport security and move right into the trip itself.  I will say that however ridiculous Indian airport security is on a typical day, traveling during a national holiday takes the idiocy to new heights.  

This trip we flew from Delhi to Chennai in the state of Tamil for a few hours of meetings and then jetted off to Alleppy in the state of Kerala in the evening.  Kerala is considered one of the gems of India (It is actually referred to as “God’s Own Country”) and I have been conspiring for a trip there for many months.  We only have one vendor there, but I figured that in order to be the most effective at my job, I have to visit every region and industry - right?

Kerala is located in the southwest corner of India and is unique in many ways.  Firstly, it is the only democratically elected Communist government in the world.  This makes doing business a unique experience, since the state does own a great deal of the process.  Secondly, it has 100% literacy which is great, but in a country like India, it is extraordinary (although business people in Kerala joke that there is such thing as too much literacy).  Lastly, the geography is made up of a beautiful Indian Ocean coastline complement by an extensive river system called the backwaters (not the best marketing name).   It is this river system that is the real attraction to the area.  You can rent a boat for the day, a week or a month and simply cruise the backwaters.  They have all types from small cruisers to super luxury houseboats made from converted rice barges.  It is very cool!

As you know, I rarely write about business specifics, but our visit to Kerala warrants prose.  We were visiting a vendor that makes coir mats.  These are the super thick, super rough doormats made from coconut husks that you get for your front door.  I have a very nice one that my sister Wendy sent me complete with my last name with on it.  Anyway, I wanted to see the entire manufacturing process, so after seeing the factory where they print on the mats, they took us to where they weave them. 

I was told the process was very simple.  Firstly, the coconuts are cut and the soaked for a very long time in salt water to make the fibers weavable.  Then, the fibers are spun the same basic way all fibers are spun and then woven into rugs.  Hum?  Pretty straightforward and since I have been to garment, towel and sheet factories in India that hugely automated and boring, I thought this was going to be your run-of-the-mill (bet you never thought you would see that phrase actually used in its original context?) production.  Oh, how wrong I was!

After a short drive into the pages of “Heart of Darkness,” we stopped on an empty road in the middle of the jungle.  There was a small house set back in amongst the palms, but it was hidden by the extensive and uncut brush.  The soil was white sand, but this was no beach.  Behind the diminutive main house, there was a long metal covered hut without walls. It reminded me of bars & restaurants that dot the tourist spots in Florida that try to give you the rustic, south pacific feel.  Here, though, there were no mojitos, just hard-working mat makers.  Under the metal-roofed shelter, there were several ancient, wooden weaving machines based on a design and process that had not changed in 150 years.  When they say their mats are hand made, they are not kidding. 

(There is something hinky with the videos, so you may need to move your mouse around the area of the play button.  It is like the actual place to click and the button are slightly off)

The grounds of the house with the workshop

The process of making these mats is actually quite simple.  The coconut fiber is introduced to the weaving process not as yarn, but as small bunches.  It is tucked underneath the yarn that is already in position.  It is then pounded tight and cut to size.  This makes the thick, strong and rough mats that prevent mud being tracked on your new hardwood floors.  I suppose everything is harder than it looks and I am guessing this work really becomes difficult as the summer temperatures crest 120 degrees.

These are the weavers making the mats.  

(Please note the ever evolving blogging talents - I have discovered how to put music to video.  

Skills I image every 6 year old in the world has mastered)

The finished mat

Behind the looms, there was another metal-topped shelter, but this one did not have any equipment under it.  There was a small motor at one end and the rest of the hit was for walking. This was the spinning area.  The woman would attach two strand of the coconut fiber to a wheel that spun in a circle and would walk backwards feeding more short strands while the spinning wheel combined the short strands together to make one long one.   Then she would put the two long fibers in a type of skate and combine them into one larger stronger strand - All done the way yarn has been spun since man began to spin yarn.  The most interesting part of this is that they were not showing us the remnants of a declining industry, but truly how the majority of coir mats are made.

The spinning of the coconut husk into yarn

We left this small operation, to see how coir products are made on a larger scale. Being a communist state, there are Cooperatives that combine the power of several families into one larger operation.  These Coops are where larger products are made that would not be cost effective or efficient to make in the home production.  Here we saw huge handlooms being run by two people using levels of dexterity usually reserved for the circus.  The two workers in an aerobatic dance ensured that the weave was perfect and the skate continued to shoot back and forth without interruption using all limbs.  I was thinking of turning this into the next big exercise phenomenon.  Pay me $1500 a week to come to my compound and make mats and I guarantee you will lose 30 pound in one month (and I will make a lot of money on both you and the mats!). 

After a day a trudging around the jungle and other assorted factories, we decided to unwind with a backwater cruise.  Through our local guy, we were able to arrange a houseboat, some snacks and some beers and spent a few hours cruising through the river system of Kerala.  There is a lot said about this region, I mean “God’s Own Country” is a pretty strong recommendation, but I can say that it absolutely lived up to the hype.  Motoring slowly through the canals and lakes of Kerala is as tranquil as it is interesting.  The shore is dotted with small settlements, as well as huge rice fields.  The water is calm and there was a cool sea breeze that floated over the evening air.  If you ever get India, this is an experience not to be missed.  I can’t say I would want to spend a week doing it, but a few days would rejuvenate for sure.   

A view of the backwaters from my hotel room

A beautiful evening on the Kerala backwaters

A large lake onto which our tributary spilled

Fishing the traditional way

Green, lush rice fields

The evening commute

Traffic on the backwaters

Working hard in India!

The next morning, we scurried to the airport for an early flight to Jodhpur, the blue city.  It was Republic Day, the day that India was officially declared a republic, and that made for an interesting flight.....