Today is the first scheduled visit to Sintex. I thought I'd best make an early start and had another interesting breakfast some of which involved potatoes. A text from Manish informed me a driver would come for me at about 11.30, and as my body thought it was only 4 in the morning I reckoned a bit of a doze wouldn't come amiss. Mid-doze the room phone rang and the car had arrived. It was 10 am.
Sintex Industries is massive. I was beginning to realise its impact on Indian society when I saw the number of water tanks bearing the name on the roofs of so many dwellings which I passed on the Karnavati.
This company, which also has a textiles side, makes everything from plastic buildings to plastic buckets. They export all across the globe. It is also very 'corporate'. Signs, in English, strategically placed on corners, remind staff that a good idea may well lie just around the corner; you are reminded in the mess that thousands are starving and not to waste food; others extol the virtue's of the 5 Ss - one of which was safety, and one self discipline, but I'm ashamed to say I don't recall the others. I suppose I need to walk past it on a daily basis. The factory itself is massive. When I was shown round, we had to go by car. There are workshops where they extrude, workshops where they mould, where they make puff insulation, where they mould GRP tanks. They are all made of corrugated iron and are hotter inside than Hades.
Manish, their exporter, and Vishad, their engineer, showed me the biogas demonstration site. Here they experiment with designs and monitor the gas outputs. The feedstock was all food waste started on fresh cow dung. It was 37 Celsius, and there was no smell. None whatever.
Back in the cool of the main building, Prashant, the projects DGM popped in to talk about my plans and whether they would get any feedback from my trip. Then the biggest and most unexpected wow, S B Dangayatch, the MD himself came to give his blessing. He would assist me 'totally'. Totally, I am finding, is a good word in India. That and 'Kem cho'
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Hi Ma, great blog so far, hope you've got some good pictures so I can slot the images into how I imagine it to be whilst reading this. Just got back from Heathrow.... only joking but I will be making some comments as to the lack of directions on the confirmation for that hotel!
ReplyDeleteSounds as if you are in another world, (literally) but getting some inspiration from what you are seeing. Bagsie my house not being the guinea pig for a pit filled with cow dung... I volunteer Alex :-)
btw Biryani + crisps for breakfast = awesome.
I look forward to hearing more about turning cow pats into a thing of beauty later.
Speak soon
xx