Marley’s Reflections

Marley Lubin
Reflection Paper

It seems like just yesterday when we all found our luggage and congregated in the Chennai airport, receiving a warm welcome from K.V. amidst the loopy haziness that comes with severe jet lag. To be honest I wasn’t sure what to expect on the trip: family and friends had prodded me for descriptive clues into how I would be spending two weeks in India, yet all I knew was that we’d be reuniting with our classmates and traveling to various governmental, non-profit and research institutions. Looking back, I’m glad I had an open outlook and modest expectations (at least for accommodations) because everything on the trip exceeded what I had imagined. We not only stayed in beautiful resort-like hotels and consumed five-star Indian cuisine throughout our trip; we had the opportunity to form new relationships with like-minded students, staff and faculty. Although it was a short time, I truly feel that the group quickly came together as a family – I depended on my Indian classmates to manage my way around India and met many Cornell students from various educational backgrounds. I am so happy to have made such positive relationships and although quickly formed, I am sure the friendships will be long lasting. Furthermore, I had a firsthand peek into an intricate and mesmerizing culture, with local friends to guide my way.

Although each day was interesting and significant in it’s own way, a few of the lectures and trips really stick with me. The day we met Vanya at the outlook with the misty mountains in the background was very special. Clearly older than her sixties, Vanya was so charming and down to earth, I felt she was an excellent guide and lecturer. The non-profit she founded, Earthtrust, is a unique organization that targets a small indigenous population in the Nilgiri Hills region. I felt that her NGO was great because it aims to increase the education and health of Indians without many modern resources through utilizing their own traditional knowledge. It spreads an empowering message that western culture can learn from more frugal livening situations. As resources become more scarce in the developing world it seems important that less intensive lifestyles are made more standard. Earthtrust is about being self sufficient and environmentally responsible. Another aspect I really loved was the all-encompassing nature of the organization – she tackled many different development issues using very organic and sustainable methods.

Another field trip that I found impressive was the Indian Rural Development Institute. Touring the park, which was filled with exemplary sanitization facilities and housing that fit the extremely diverse cultural and ecological dimensions of India. Everything at the center was so orderly and professional, the faculty seemed very friendly and the focus was on sustainable solutions. On another note, the pearls were very cheap. All in all, it was a great stop for the Rural Infrastructure group.
The last memory I wish to bring up was the Farmers Market trip, in Coimabatore. At the time I was still trying to adjust to the time-change, weather and environment. My experience with open-air farmers markets in developing countries tends to conjure images of overcrowded stalls, an uncomfortable shopping atmosphere and unpleasant smells. However, the farmers market in Coimbatore was nothing of the sort – if anything it most reminded me of the famous Ithaca’s Farmers Market. The food looked clean and fresh, the vendors had great working conditions and the prices were transparent and fair. For me, the Farmers Market symbolizes many of the programs and institutions in Southern India – efficient, sustainable and forward thinking.

Although I’m somewhat familiar with living and traveling to the developing world, the IARD 6020 field trip in India was one of a kind. We were given a well-rounded itinerary that had enough flexibility to accommodate personal needs (such as stopping to dance and socialize with local villagers in Ooty). I’m so happy that I chose this trip and hope to return to India in the near future. Lastly I miss my Indian friends and wish they could all come visit!

My reflection paper for IARD 6020

 

IARD 6020-REFLECTION PAPER

I should say the best part of my dual degree program was IARD 6020. It was a real practical learning in all sorts of activities such as industry visits, institutional visits, cross-culture interactions, etc. During the course of IARD 6020, we were taken to different places such as TNAU Post harvest technology centre and business incubator, coimbatore farmers market, Suguna poultry, Mangala marine exim private ltd (seafood processing unit), Central coir research institute, Synthite (spices processing unit), Mars pedigree (pet foods processing unit), ICRISAT, and Pochampally handloom park.

From these visits, I could see the state-of-the-art technologies, R & D labs, value-added products and other facilities in different industries. I was totally amazed when we went to central coir research institute, Kerala. They make a variety of value added products from coir fibers and coir pith. A few examples are instant lawn, coir jewelry, coir geo-textiles, organic manure, coir fiber drainage filter, foot mattresses, and coir jackets, etc. I have got a chance to see how they extract fiber/pith from husks of coconuts and transformation of fibers to various products. Their laboratories are equipped with scanning electron microscope, gas chromatograph and other latest equipments. However they still use some of the old traditional methods for value addition. To commercialize their technologies, they are also involved in incubator concept and conduct training programs.

During our visit to Synthite, a spice processing industry, I recognized the huge business of spices in India. They contribute the maximum share to the spice industry in India. At present, their main focus is on chilli, ginger, pepper and turmeric. They procure their raw materials from the local farmers through contract farming. Some of them are being imported. They extract active ingredients from spices such as paprika, pypyrin and oil, etc and supply it to big multinational companies which will be further processed to produce flavor compounds. They use solvent-extraction, supercritical carbon dioxide and thin film technology for extraction of active ingredients from different spices.

Besides, I have got an opportunity to visit a shrimp processing unit in Cochin. This unit is mainly concentrated on exports. Since this unit is located close to sea, it helps them to get good quality shrimp locally. They do some chemical processing of shrimps and freeze it and pack the final products. The main importers are Italy, USA, France and Germany. Similarly, we went to Suguna poultry where chicken meat is being processed according to the needs of markets. For e.g., lolly pop chicken meat is supplied to KFC. They are also involved in exports mainly gulf countries. Apart from these, we were taken to Mars Pedigree, a multinational company manufacturing pet foods. Being a veterinary background, I was really very happy to see such a unit combining both veterinary science and food science. This is the unit where they could integrate veterinary graduates, management graduates and food science graduates. I came to know the different opportunities around a food science graduate.

At last, we have visit International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad. ICRISAT is the pioneer institute for Agribusiness incubator in India. In addition to this, they also have their main research activities on 5 major crops in India such as chick pea, pigeon pea, pearl millet, sorghum and ground nut. Besides, they have developed a separate wing for nutriplus and agri-science park where they conduct research in developing value added products from orphan crops (millets).

IARD 6020 is not only about educational activities but also helped me a lot to interact with my Cornell colleagues and make me aware of their cultures and systems. We had lots of fun and celebrated birthdays and had parties, group sightseeing, etc. It was a great opportunity for me to be a part of this team and I wish that this program may be extended to 3 or 4 weeks to explore the opportunities in northern part of India.

Reflection Paper

Value addition group made the IARD 602 trip a wonderful, unforgettable memory. The trip started with visit to TamilNadu Agricultural University. The extension work going on through the E-extension center in TNAU is appreciable. The AgriTech web portal is a knowledge base to the farmers and provides a wide range of services. Post Harvest Technology Centre in TNAU has a very well equipped laboratory for research purposes and contributes to value addition of the agricultural produce and entrepreneurship. We visited the farmers market in Coimbatore, which is not new to me, but American students were excited and happy to visit the place. Uzhavar Sandhai does not involve any middlemen therefore farmers enjoy the full profit for what they produce. The cold storage facilities at the farmers market are available to all farmers to prevent post harvest losses. We visited a poultry processing industry in Coimbatore. There I learned about slaughtering of poultry and hygienic practices need to be followed to produce safe poultry products.

Then, we visited Cochin, the best part of the trip. We stayed in Marine Drive very close to the Cochin backwater. The view from the hotel was fantastic. We visited Mangala marine, a fish food processing and exporting industry. There I understood the whole processing and packaging involved in export quality fish foods. It was very informative. Coir research institute was the best place I visited in Cochin. There they train people in processing coir fiber into yarn and make many products. They had wonderful jewelry and many other hand crafted products, they were amazing. After that, we visited Synthite, one of the largest spice oleoresin manufacturing and exporting industry in Kerala. I was very much fascinated by the industrial plant and the R&D facilities in the industry.

Then, we travelled to Hydrabad. There we visited MARS, India in the out skirts of the city, which manufactures pedigree pet foods in India. We saw all processing units and packaging facilities. The quality control was very good and the whole industry was maintained very hygienic. We tasted dog food! It was not bad. We visited ICRISAT, Hydrabed. ICRISAT aims to serve the tropical region through its research on crops such as pigeon pea, chickpea, small millets and pearl millet. Scientists at ICRISAT explained the activities of the researchers to improve the previously mentioned crops. The food at ICRISAT canteen was good. The agri-business incubator at ICRISAT facilitates business trainings, entrepreneurship and trade expos.  To conclude, the trip was a wonderful experience. I got so many new friends. I would like to thank KV, Ajay, Visha and everyone involved in this trip to make it a wonderful experience.

 

Reflections on India

It had always been a dream of mine to get to travel to India, and I could not have asked for a better way to see it than with a class of awesome people, both from America and India.  Not only did I learn a lot from our visits and lectures, but also from the students.  They taught me so much about the culture and the rest of the country that I could never have found out traveling on my own.  Some of my favorite memories from the trip were actually from bus rides just chatting with all of the other kids.  Being with a group with so many different backgrounds and interests was awesome in bringing different perspectives to the same situations.

 

The site visits and lectures also were an important part of the trip.  There were a few of these that stood out in my mind.  First, in Coimbatore we visited a Farmer’s Market.  This was particularly interesting for a number of reasons.  The primary one, of course, was to see how the majority of the population buys their foods every day.  But another aspect that struck me was the number of reporters that were there to record our visit!  They were all so excited to have Americans at their regular market, and all of the stall owners were very generous as well.  The food we got there was also SO much better than in the US, and much more varied.  The next important stop (chronologically) was the visit to the village by Ooty.  The villagers were so very welcoming and even taught us to dance like them!  Similarly, it was awesome to see how the schools worked in the villages, as well as learning about the school lunches and seeing their garden.

 

In Hyderabad there were several good places to visit also.  One morning, we got up early and went to the local kitchen where they make the lunches.  It was cool to see how the children of India eat in that state, and fascinating to learn that they actually have a healthier program than  we do in the United States despite having less to work with.  The Watershed visit was also interesting in that we got to talk with the villagers and learned more about rural culture.  One thing that really hit me was the fact that most of the girls in the village got married before they even completed the 12th standard, and were having children within a year or so.  I also stayed behind when we were out in the fields and learned more about how the villagers eat, which was mind blowing to me.  Due to the watershed, they were able to grow some 3 times more crops  they had before, but rather than improve their own nutritional status they sold the extra in nearby Hyderabad.  Most of the women, who were in charge of making the food, had never even had nutrition education, so did not know that the vegetables that they grew in the third crop were important for a balanced diet.

 

Now this short paper does not even begin to cover all that I learned or experienced on the trip to Southern India.  There were so many wonderful memories that were made with my new friends in one of the most beautiful places I’ve been.  I miss this time so much, and all of you!

 

~Elizabeth

Sandeep Singh Tomar-Reflection paper

Reflection Paper –IARD 6020- Sandeep Singh Tomar

When I returned from USA there was a lot of confusion in my mind. I was not sure at that time why India is developing nation? At that time I believed that due to corruption India is lacking behind in development. But after my IARD trip I have some different views. Some other important things that are effecting India’s development are lack of passion for work in government sector, lack of confidence among Indian scientists, poor infrastructure, bad politics and the top most laziness in people’s working in government sector. Bad mentality is another common practice in most of Indian’s as no one want to take responsibility that I should help my country to become developed nation. Another important issue is that India is divided on the basis of caste, culture, language etc. Regionalism is important issue which is effecting India’s development. Indian’s have to understand that India would be developed nation only when development will take place in all aspects in all states not in 1 or 2 states.

India’s future is in hand’s of peoples like us .India would be developed nation if peoples in their respective field work efficiently and give their 100% to the work they are doing. They will also have to take responsibility to solve problems in respective field without involving themselves in corruption and bribes.

I have visited most of these places in my previous visits during my undergraduate. So, I did not get lot of new information. Most of trip was boring for me. Only thing that I experienced good with this trip was I got chance to see India through the eyes of US students.  Our IARD trip started from Chennai on 5^th January. There we stayed for one day. I went with US students to Marina beach and then to market. During the whole trip my room partner was Andrew .His family background was farming. I made good interaction with him on farming in US and India throughout trip.

I reached Coimbatore with my group on 6^th January. On that day we visited millet breeding station, farmer’s call centre and finally we made tour of centre for plant molecular biology (CPMB) facilities. Most of US students saw millet crops like sorghum first time. They got practical experience of weeding operation in sorghum field. They also visited red gram and maize fields. In evening time we went to Ghandhipuram market. Most US students liked colors, designs, prints and hand work of Indian cloths. They did lots of purchasing in Chennai and Coimbatore. On 7^th morning we went to farmer’s market in Coimbatore to got information about how farmer’s market work’s in India and what is the advantage of these markets to farmers in India. There one US student (James) went to one of the shop where one woman was selling Poovan bananas. He asked me to purchase for him. I asked that woman and she gave one dozen bananas without charging any money. But James was not interested to take banana without paying money. He took out ten rupees to give to that woman but that woman refused to take money and told that you are our guest and we don’t charge any money to our guest’s. I explained to James that in India we considered guest equivalent to god. So, that woman will never take money from you in any condition. Same thing happened with other US students. They were wondering on this behavior of Indian’s because they never got such treatment in US. Most of them felt that these peoples are poor then how they will accept anything from them without paying money. I explained to them that even they are poor but they are the happiest person in the whole world because they live peaceful life and help each other in their good and bad time. They don’t have any jealousy with other peoples. They have the biggest thing i.e. satisfaction which is must to live happy life and at present most of people in world are unhappy because they are not satisfied with their life and work. On same day we attended graduation ceremony of first MPS students at TNAU.

On 8^th January we reached Ooty. We stayed for three days. On 8^th we visited horticulture research station where Dr. Sevam gave Power point presentation on organic farming. In evening in hotel Fortune Mr. Sri Ram gave power point presentation on tea. Next day we visited tea museum and got detailed information on tea manufacturing. In afternoon we visited floriculture unit. In evening time we went to nearby village where owner of that floriculture unit was staying. Villagers did warm welcome of all students. There students did dance with village peoples and children. That was fun and everyone enjoyed the dance and hospitality of villager’s. On 10^th we visited Earth trust and got information about their activities in India. In evening we visited Forestry College and research institute in Mettupalayam. There US students saw sandalwood tree. They wondered to know that sandalwood is the most costly wood in the world. On 11^th my agriculture system group reached ICRISAT and we stayed there for two days. Staying at ICRISAT gave good time to me and other member’s of my group to make good interaction with each other and it made my bonding with US students more strong. During two days we visited fields and different labs of ICRISAT. On 12^th we visited Kothapally watershed shed and saw how ICRISAT played active role in changing this village‘s economic condition.

Last three day i.e. up to 17^th January we stayed in Hotel Taj and visited different places like Fort, Chaarmenar, and Shilparaman etc. On 15 January Dr.Vijay Mahan gave lecture on microfinance and Mr.Gopalakrishna on input retailing in India.

This IARD tour to India was not only memorable for US students but also for us because during these days we have good interaction with US students. By the end of this tour our bonding with US students became strong. Everyone was sad on last day. Everyone was wishing that if this tour would be little bit longer then they will get more time to see and understand India and Indian culture.

Every US students liked hospitality shown by Indians and Indian colloquies. I think Indian culture is the most important factor that impressed my US friend’s .Hospitality shown by all Indians during this tour made US students to think why their friends who ever visited India told so many good and strange things to them about India and promote them to visit India. As Indian I have proud on my culture and hospitality that we always show to our guests whether they are from other country or from our own country.

Before trip my view was that we waste lots of time in hospitality and in respecting others. In place of this we have to give only importance to work. But after my IARD trip I have different view for my country. Now I believed that it would be good if India will become developed nation like US but not on the cost of destroying his culture and tradition. We are the follower’s of oldest culture in the world that is more than 10,000 year old and I am feeling very proud to say that.

Although many Indians accepted modern means of living but our values and beliefs still remain unchanged. A person could change his style of clothing; way of eating and living but the rich values in a person always remains unchanged. The reason is that these things are deeply rooted within our hearts, mind, body and soul which we receive from our culture.

Due to our good hospitality that we shown to US students most of them became my good friends and many of them invited me to visit their homes. They told me that whenever I will come to US their houses and hearts will always remain open for welcoming me.

Many US students felt bad about their behavior during IARD classes at Cornell. They felt bad why they didn’t made more interaction with Indian students during fall semester. Many of them believed that if they made more interaction with Indian students during fall semester then this trip would be much more enjoyable.

IARD – Magical Memories..

The IARD trip will forever be remembered by each and everyone who participated in it. The visit to the best educational institutions and industries gave me an enriching experience on issues like capacity utilization of processing industries,product diversification and quality control regulations.I wanted to gain an insight into the food processing industries in India which have a huge potential in uplifting the agricultural economy.Hence by joining the value addition group in the IARD 6020 programme I was able to analyse and learn about the various key opportunities in processing sector.The visit to various institutes and industries covering a wide range of products was a worthwhile experience and would like to elaborate on it.

The programme began with a visit to TamilNadu Agricultural University ,the premier agricultural university in the country .We were detailed on the Agritech Portal which was developed by the E-extension center in TNAU.The portal serves as a knowledge base to the farmers and provides a wide range of services .Post harvest technology centre in TNAU plays a vital role in value addition of the agricultural produce and is fully equipped with the necessary machineries for food processing operations.Trainings on value added products from amla,banana,processing of vegetable products are also offered to the farmers by the university.Visit to Uzhavar Sandhai made me realise the differences in the farmers market in USA wherein they sell only organic products.Uzhavar Sandhai does not involve any middlemen and farmers benefit totally for what they produce and cold storage facilities are made available to prevent post harvest losses.Visit to the poultry processing plant was rather an experience and this industry is one of the upcoming ones in India.I clearly got an idea about the slaughtering of poultry under the most hygienic conditions to extend the shelf life and to protect public health.

Visit to Cochin was all together a different experience and we visited many industries.Coir research institute dealing with processing of coir fibre into yarn and products and the fibre extraction machines fascinated me.Value addition to coir pith is done leading to the development of novel product lines based on market research.Visit to Mangala marines.forefront of the sea food industry gave us a vivid account of value addition of marine foods.The products are developed such that they reach both the wholesale and retail markets.Of the places I visited in Kochi,Synthite , largest manufacturing and exporting unit of spices and essential oils impressed me.The research work going on natural food color production to meet industrial applications was very much similar to the undergrad project I did in TNAU.I worked on pigment production from microorganisms especially spirulina and compare the stability of the different pigments under varied media conditions.

MARS,pedigree dog food aims at developing nutrient food that keeps the pets healthy and fit.Strict quality control procedures are ensured.ICRISAT(Science with a human face) aims to serve the poorest of the poor conducts research on crops like pigeon pea,chick pea,small millets and pearl millets.The agri business incubator in ICRISAT identifies innovative technolgies and products.It also faciltates business trainings and events and trade shows.

On the whole IARD 6020 was a total success and apart from the educational experience we had lots of fun.I enjoyed the cross cultural experience that we got during this trip and wish I had known them earlier during IARD 4020 course.My visit to the beach ,temples in chennai, shopping experiences,visit to Golconda fort and Charminar with the Cornell students will remain an everlasting memory.I enjoyed going to Kerala, Gods own country and was a different experience.I would like to thank the co-ordinators of the program and the sponsorers for providing me with this wonderful opportunity.

The most interesting reflection paper:

IARD6020 is one of the most educationally rewarding courses that I had ever undergone. IARD6020 is more than a course; it is an experience that can be only felt and words may not describe this experience precisely. Only the Cornell faculty team and Sathguru foundation can give students such an experience. The major advantage of this course is the freedom of learning that it offered. We learned from everything we did and saw. I am sure that my friends would agree with this; “even a short auto-rickshaw ride in Chennai had a lot to teach us about India!”

I can remember me shooting hundreds of questions to Max and Pilar during our bus travel to Ooty from Coimbatore. They answered each and every question and were very passionate to do so. The same is true with all the other faculty members. Each and every one in the faculty was very passionate in helping us gaining knowledge.  The trip also helped me to gain some self-confidence and popularity! I lived in the district of Coimbatore for more than 20 years. I didn’t realize that I knew a lot about Coimbatore and Ooty till my American friends shot me with their questions about the places. I think I cleared most of their doubts and answered most of their questions.  I enjoyed media coverage by several media in farmers market at Coimbatore when the team visited it to know about it, which wouldn’t have happened without my American friends. So I take this opportunity to thank all my American friends who helped me to experience and enjoy celebrity status for a day.

I was in the rural-infra structure group of the team. I simply loved the group. Everyone in the group was eager to know more and was very passionate in learning about India. The rural areas we visited were completely different from urban India. I guess at least 30% of Indian youth living in modern Indian cities are unaware of the rural life style of India. The most important thing that made me think in the rural areas we visited was the poor people in villages were always giving us instead of expecting from us. In one of the villages of Ooty they even entertained us with their traditional tribal dance!

When I heard that IARD6020 can give “life changing experiences” I had no idea what that exactly meant; but I understood it completely when I experienced the love and affection from innocent school kids in Ooty. Believe it or not; they still remember me and call me. I had never even thought of teaching Biology to school kids, but that is going to happen soon! I had registered myself in “Earth Trust”, an NGO that helped us visiting those school kids. I will get started with it from next month onwards. I think this qualifies as “life changing”.