The Mission: Design a Better Oil Extraction Unit

So in addition to trying to “become Indian” and exploring different parts of India (I went to Agra and saw the Taj Mahal this past weekend!), I came here to try to make a difference, so I should probably blog about that too! 

The Taj Mahal - Awesomest Burial Chamber Ever!

I've been spending the better part of my time here working with International Development Enterprises (IDE) trying to provide a sustainable income for village farmers.  Before I started, I was told that my project was to develop a low cost method that farmers can use to extract oils out of plants (the type of oil you might use in perfumes and medicines).  After a whirlwind first few weeks on the job where I (along with a person from IDE to act as a translator) visited numerous government labs and spoke to several experts, I learned that a low cost method for extracting oil from plants already exists, and is being used in villages throughout India.  In fact, the current system is cheaper than our initial target.  “Great!” I thought, “Mission accomplished.  Time to go back home!”  The good people at IDE already knew that villages are using a cheap system, so honestly I was a little perturbed that they didn’t tell me that a cheap system existed.  “Why was I spending my time trying to reinvent the wheel?” I thought.  

Ram Kumar, a villager who has been extracting oil from mint leaves for over 15 years 

However, before proclaiming victory, my co-workers here told me to visit the villages.  They said there I would learn about any problems that the farmers are experiencing.  I visited a couple villages this past week, and from the information I gained from the research institutes, I immediately saw a variety of small design changes as well as things that the farmers could do differently that would produce more (and higher quality) oil, have less impact on the environment, and cut the already low operating cost.  One example is simply drying the crop before extracting the oil could lead to 6 times as much oil extraction.  However, when the sun isn’t out, they don’t have a way to dry the crop.  So now my work has evolved into designing these changes to the oil extraction unit and process.  This will involve more visits to villages and research institutes, and thinking of creative cheap ways to implement these changes.

Without my having said anything about why I wasn't told about the cheap village systems, my boss here later told me that he planned all this on purpose, so that I would go into the research institutions to learn the theory without any preconceived notions of how to design a cheap system. Then I could independently try to design a cheap system, and when I visited the villages, I would be able to notice improvements.  “Oh!” I thought.  “Genius!”  It seemed to have worked, and after all, these people know how to innovate since they've designed an assortment of very clever and super cheap irrigation technologies. 

Apparently, my boss said he is going to give me even more vital information when he thinks I’m “ready for it”.  While I should probably trust his judgement on when he wants to give it to me, I’m going to ask him for it first thing tomorrow  ;)