Part II - The Work Part Has Begun!

When I was looking into volunteering in India, a friend of my sister’s who deals with funding social causes in India helped me find the right fit.  When I mentioned that I wasn’t sure what I had to offer, he mentioned that Americans in general tend to bring innovative ideas and a strong work ethic to the table.  The first I could believe, but when I heard the latter, I thought surely I misheard him!  All the Indians that are my parent’s generation are the hardest working people I know, and most Indians that are my generation are also pretty hard working, so I was surprised to hear that many Indians in India are rather lazy (hey, maybe THAT’S why they were so pacifist against the British!  Ew, too soon?).  I later heard similar views from several other people, which made me wonder if it was going to be a struggle to actually get something accomplished during my short stay.

Well, I just completed my first week on the job (yes, on a Saturday.  Apparently working at least 2 Saturdays a month is the norm with most companies in India), and already I feel like everything has moved at an alarmingly fast pace. This is only because everyone at IDE-India has been super on top of things on making sure that I have access to the people and information I need to get the job done. On Day 1, I went on a field trip to their Research and Development center to see how they test their innovative designs (see picture below).  I also found out that they had gotten me a plane ticket to leave the very next day to visit Kannauj, which is a place in India known for distilling oil from various plants for use in perfumes.  After a 1 hour plane ride followed by a 5 hour drive (where I probably inhaled more dust than a camel in the Sahara), we arrived in Kannuaj.  Here, we visited a government center that researches different aromatic compounds as well as a few farmers’ villages.  Everyone was excited about the work we’re doing and was really excited to collaborate with us, which is also apparently quite unusual!

So now I wonder how IDE has been so successful in providing over 1 million village farmers the ability to irrigate their fields in water scarce areas (IDE’s primary area of work).  Maybe it’s that they are a small group of very motivated people who believe very strongly in helping others.  And I’d like to believe that when others hear about a noble cause, they respond well because deep in our hearts, we all want to help others.  I guess we’ll see how far this trend continues past Week 1.  But so far, I’m becoming more and more convinced that people will continue to be helpful and that we’ll get something very valuable accomplished.

Demo of IDE's low cost "treadle pump" at their R&D facility