gradcbookfina2copy

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Thank you, mother, I am what I am
because of your kindness and
genius mind.
Thank you, all family members, mainly
Prajakta Kulkarni (for the guidance),
friends and colleagues, faculties and
mentors, Kadam printers and binders,
the amazing Sikkimese, without whom
I would not have been doing what I am
doing today.

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“Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder.”
4 *(Quoting Game of Thrones)

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MIT institute of
design

I have been here for the last four years. The world seemed like a small place 9

until I went to ID. It was about unity in diversity. There were many of us who

bonded out of sheer angst towards the university. Nobody except the owners

have any power in how the system works which has lead to disparity among

all stakeholders.

When it comes to the absolute positive parts, Shantai will be missed, Shaahid

Mohammad was my institute mentor. Also, Kuntal De, Sidharth Pathak,

Sughanda Gaur, Amaranta Nehru and Madhusudhan Mukherjee were the

most inspirational faculty members. My college mates I would like to thank;

Akilan Nagarajan
Vrajesh Pithadiya
Raghvi Kabra
Savni Ranade
Janhavi Kulkarni
Kaushani Mujumdar
Rama Deshpande
Shivangini Dasgupta
Rama Deshpande
Mathew Samuel
Ashwin Suresh
Rohyn Rajesh
Advit Mohunta
Murtaza Bookwala
Jishnu Chatterjee
Rushil Bhatnagar
Kritika Jain
Shonika Mundra
Ritika Punna
Kshitija Gurav
Aishwarya Jare
Chitwan Patel
Veersingh Gaikwad
Ulrika Gaitonde
Kajori Das
Yashna Soni
Vijay Ravi
Madhushree Kulkarni
Sanika Barve
and many more I have not mentioned!

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sikkim

Sikkim, in 1975 became India’s 22nd State. It is located in the North-east part
of India, surrounded on three sides by Nepal, Bhutan and China. Nepalis,
Bhutia and Lepchas are the three main communities residing in the State.
The royal family still resides in Sikkim.
Lepchas reside in Zhongu. Sikkim has managed to secure its culture, being
inaccessible because of its mountainous location. I was living in Gangtok.
Gangtok is the capital of Sikkim. It is a city, unlike most of Sikkim. There are
four districts; East, West, North, South. Sikkimese are extremely helpful and
kind. Also, they love football. They are dedicated followers of football clubs.
Music is a valued art. People often go abroad to finish their studies. Cost of
living is low compared to other metropolitan cities. Farming and tourism
are main public activities of the population. Over construction would be an
understatement to the condition of tourist led areas. The ground is becoming
weak and Climate change may affect the rainfall in time. Measures when it
comes to Policy changes on a Government levels are necessary when it comes
to population control. Sikkim received 14.5 Lakh tourists in 2018 while the
population is approximately
7 Lakh. Buddhism is the main religion followed in the State. Monasteries are
built everywhere.

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echostream

Echostream is a Design studio trying to solve problems related to environment
and socio-economic development. Kuzu, Tapestree and La are three parts of
Echostream. Kuzu innovates with textile products while uplifting the local
weavers. Tapestree is striving towards creating a creative mountain economy.
They are working with artisans over the north-east. La is a product design
studio working towards sustaining craft in the future.
In my four and a half months in Echostream I was working as a mentee for
Agya Tenzing Ninzey. He gave a me a great opportunity in the form of an
internship to understand how system or service design works. I have a learnt
a lot from Echo people. It is a place of perpetual inspiration
and learning. Lastly, I want to thank Agya Sonam Gyaltsen, Harshi Rambhia,
Deergha Joshi and Chitrupi Eswaran for their much needed guidance
throughout my project.
Working in Echostream returned me my lost hope, that I can at least try to make
the world a better place.

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the climate crisis

Surely we hope, we misunderstand,
How come we are not free,
The world has outdone itself,
And only some us can see.
We thought it would be better,
That not much will be lost,
We thought gadgets perhaps,
Suddenly we knew lives have no costs.
What is it that we want, humans,
Happiness in the name of what,
Why do we chase it so much,
Isn’t earth just a pale blue dot.
-neeraja

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design

‘What is the definition of Design?’ Design has been recklessly defined using
many abstract and poetic words. The word means much more than when
we describe ourselves as ‘Designers’. I have often used the word, a ‘Design
Person’. Sometimes it is a matter of ego I guess to not have defined yourself
with one word. I am a human first, before anything else. We see the world
full of inventions, we also have seen the world full of crisis. Design, in the
world of hope for change is defined to be to solve problems bigger than
those of brands and products. We have seen reputed companies storm in
the market and make spectacular graphics which have led to behavioral
change, for the sales. In a way Design can be manipulative so that it can
increase profit margins for the top tier companies. Human-centred Design
has been introduced by several people and practiced to solve problems. In
order to address the need, than falling in love with an idea and then creating
a demand. It is defined to be an expanding and shrinking tool which can be
used to solve any problem to obtain a viable solution by recurring prototypes
for a target audience. Design hence, is for the humans. Numerous community
development projects have taken place to identify problems and encourage
communities to prosper. It is brilliant what people have been doing to help
these people. But doesn’t it seem selfish, to only think about ourselves. If we
can solve problems for humans, we ought to realize that these problems have
been created by humans.
We need to step up and help the people in need and also address
to the climate crisis.

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immerse

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1.

one week;
deep dive

A week long ‘deep dive’ took place. In this week, I was given an excessive research exercise about
‘Jodico’s Bread’ in Sikkim. In a span of one week, I had to come up with solutions for Jodico’s bakery
products in the form of a brand strategy. The first thing I did was I went to the bakery and interviewed
Jordan, the baker. I collected several findings and observations. In this case, I completely forgot about
the secondary research. I was quite ill-equipped considering that it is my last year of college.

About Jodico

-Jordan’s Confectioneries. It is a small bakery, in Syari, Gangtok.
-His father being a baker, it is almost as if the passion of baking bread comes
to him in hid genes.
-He owns three ovens, producing 120 and 80 breads in 45 minutes each,
at a time.
The third oven is a deck oven, smaller other things like Faleh are baked.
-40 l of diesel is used everyday to bake the bread and other things.
-He provides bread to 80-100 shops, In Gangtok.
-He distributes bread and other things in provision shops close by, and some
selective shops in distant areas.
-People generally like the taste of Jodico bread more than other brands.

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the competitors

Tripti’s
-Tripti’s is the largest bakery in Sikkim.
-If salt is TATA, bread is Tripti’s. During a government shift, it got a lot of
support,
hence most of the other bakeries lost market.
-In this way, it became a monopoly. They do not produce brown bread.
-This bread is mostly bought because it exists.
-In their 4/5 outlets they have a lot of other confectionaries,
though people
are not seen buying bread there.
-People trust in them as their major USP is ‘availability’.

Baker’s Cafe
-It started in the year 2000. There are 4/5 outlets in Sikkim.
-People go there to buy fresh and healthy, brown bread. There are no
bakeries separate from the outlet.
-The cafes have everything. The experience is warm and there is a lot
of variety in the ingredients to choose from.
It is the costliest bread in the market.
-Though, they are the only cafe that sells so much brown bread.
They do not supply their bread to any other shops.

Oven in the mountain and Cacau
-Both these are bakery outlets and the bread is produced in their own
factories, mostly in Deoralli. Cacau does not supply to shops while Oven
in the mountain doesn’t supply much.
-They sell around 20/40 bread loaves a day.

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stakeholders?

OWNERS/BAKERS/LOCALS/TOURISTS/SHOPKEEPERS/DELIVERY PEOPLE/
RESTAURANT COOKS/SCHOOLS/GOVERNMENT

consumers and users

- It does not matter to the consumers or users which bread they choose to eat. Mostly,
bread is consumed for breakfast.
-Consumers prefer healthier options like brown and multigrain. O ccasionally, their
favourite is Garlic Bread.
- Consumers tend to see less efforts to buy bread, often they buy the easily available one.
- Hence, Trupti’s white bread is sold the most.
People do not usually buy muffins in provision shops. Bakery outlets who have deformed
muffins are sold he most. The muffins look home-made.
- People pick up the topmost loaf while in a provision shop.
Users get paid Rs.3-5/loaf.

problems?

Jodico wants to expand, but needs to invest.
It might not be relevant to the people of Sikkim, because it is new.
Tripti has a monopoly in the market. In order to beat it, or even stand as a competition,
Jodico will have to be disruptive (be seen).
Either that, or it will have to be as available as Tripti’s, unfortunately, Jodico is extremely
small, and hence it can’t expand in a day.

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probable solutions

- Jodico needs to come in the market in a way that is seen.
Even though it says, ‘Himalayan Bread’, it is not known enough.
The idea is to make Jodico, Gangtok’s bread. The population of Sikkim is
7 lakhs, but, 12 lakh tourists arrive every year. Gangtok is the capital of
Sikkim, every tourist who visits Sikkim, visits Gangtok. Tourists prefer local
food. ‘BAKED IN GANGTOK”, “ONLY IN GANGTOK”, “FOR GANGTOK, OF
GANGTOK.” Because, Jodico does not even have the capacity to produce for
entire Sikkim and compete with Tripti’s.
- The packaging. Before plastic, bread used to be packed in Paraffin Wax
Papers. The Government could(made in India) fund Jodico, if by changing
their packaging they are reducing plastic. Also, it will seem more delicate,
it will be kept on the top of the bread pile, it will be easily accessible.
-The other thing observed is that loaves are stacked in a way that only
the bottom part is visible. There needs to be some kind of branding
on the bottom part.
- To bring in the “made in Gangtok” thing, the colour of the packaging
can be green (Fresh and healthy is the tagline of Jodico). The logo and
all does not need to change. If cost of production is not interfering, puzzles
(crosswords, colouring area and riddles based on Gangtok/Sikkim) can be
put on the bread. This will encourage the users to take
the packet and discuss about them. ‘Word of mouth’ is the most
effective way of communication. In this way, an emotional value
can be created for the brand.

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what went wrong?

- Instead of doing something for the people, the brand was
given importance
- Empathy was displaced with uncertain assumptions.
- The cultural value was not considered, it should have reflected in
the interview questions.
- The questions in the interviews were not deep/strong enough for
them to tell their stories.
- A target audience was not determined.
- Analogous brands/products were not taken into consideration,
the solution was biased into being a communication solution.
- Existence of a problem statement is not specified.
- The question ‘why?’ Should lead to a deeper and deeper abstract finding
which later can or can not turn into a valuable insight which respectively
should be validated with the users.
- If the insight is that local things are preferred, then, Jodico
innovating his products made a lot of sense.
- Faleh and Namastey are two of the inventions by Jodico, only
made by him. Insights are different than findings.
- Probable solutions were too basic. No breakthrough innovation solutions
were brainstormed.
- Design is an ever-expanding/shrinking process, findings to
turn into insights have to be validated after testing again and again
with the users.

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2.
two months;
deep dive

A two-month long ‘deep dive’ took place. An extensive secondary research took place in
this time period. All the ‘Wh’ question about Farming in Sikkim, perhaps on the surface
level were to be understood. This can be also called a context study or desk research.

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sikkim organic

Sikkim turned Organic in 2003, as Pawan Chamling, the Chief Minister passed
a law that prevented chemical fertilizers entering the state. The farmers
had to pay fines if they were caught using chemical fertilizers/pesticides/
herbicides. Sikkim is at a geographical area to have abundance of good soil
fertility. Tropical, Sub-tropical and Temperate are the three zones present in
Sikkim. The state has been traditionally organic. The recent floods led to an
increase in the awareness of Climate Change. The Government of Sikkim
realised the harmful effects of chemical fertilizers on the locals. The amount
of people having cancer increased eventually. Locals therein realized they
were letting chemical effluents in the river Teesta. The Government realised
that the market for Organic Produce is increasing. Sikkim turning organic
would be profitable for the overall economic condition of the state, thereby
would also encourage tourism. For a state, Organic is sustainable, and hence
rewarding. They also wanted to improve biodiversity.

“What we eat?
What we drink?
What we breathe?
Matters.”

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Why not conventional
farming?

Initially in the early 1900s, DDT was introduced as a mean to kill the pests
and increase yield at the same time. It led to tremendous economic growth
and hence was celebrated. The success was a part of the second Industrial
revolution. Globalization led to every farmer using chemicals for a greater,
better looking and consistent yield.
After 20 to 30 years of urea and DDT’s excessive use, the side effects were
revealed; bio-accumulation led to increase in chemicals in one’s body,
cattle or human (deformities, cancer, hormonal imbalance, psychological
imbalance). The soil conditions were deteriorating. This led to decrease in
yields after the initial use of chemical fertilizers. Water bodies close by lost
their biodiversity. Ground water levels were disturbed. Burning of crops after
harvest led to air quality damage. Monsanto then started creating genetically
modified seeds which would prevent pests. This required Chemical fertilizers
made by RoundUp. The seeds lost their fertility in process leading to the
farmers getting exploited because they got stuck in an endless loop of buying
costly seeds and fertilizers. A lot of protests against these huge corporate
companies have been done to save the natural and original seeds. This led to
the extinction of insects influencing pollination. During the Green Revolution,
India as a nation tried to increase it’s yield by using Chemical fertilizers. Even
though the intentions were mostly to feed the population, it was an immature
solution as the motive also was to increase the economic conditions of
India. (The White Revolution was also similarly devastating and abusive to
cattle life.) Wheat became a major crop of production. Millets produce was
decreased. Crop rotation was halted. Traditional seasonal plantation cycle
was disturbed. Indian soil has been degrading ever since.

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the organic
sikkim transition

Soil is an element of nature. It lives and dies; is fertile and deserted.
Paganism over the world has been praying soil. Chemical fertilizers abused
the soil and the life inside soil. When people tried shifting from Chemical
fertilizers induced soil to completely organic way farming, it was similar to
a chain smoker not being able to get cigarettes suddenly. The soil cannot
suddenly turn poor. Even though the Sikkim Government announced the
arriving ban, it did not propagate and communicate the importance in
the needed way. It would’ve been better for the farmers to have reduced
the use of chemicals slowly over say a period of at least three years. The
soil would’ve been prepared of no ‘drugs’. The blanket ban would make
farmers give fines to the government. Hence, the farmers stopped chemical
usage suddenly. Even though various farmer training programs, awareness
campaigns, and subsidies were given to the farmers, the soil was not ready.
Yields obviously decreased and a curtained bitterness was created among
the farmer community. Eventually though, the yield increased and came to
normal. But, off-season vegetables and fruits are still difficult to produce.

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That is mostly because we got used to having everything everywhere when we
wanted it. Off-season vegetation was never meant to be produced ‘off-season’.
Abundance made us weak. Many times crops were not chosen according to
the land (geographically), only climate was taken into consideration. Hence,
the yield was less. The government wanted Organic Produce so that they
could be a huge player in the exports; farmers were motivated to produce
cash crops. Cymbidium Orchids are not indigenous. They can certainly be
called ‘Cash Flowers’ at this point.

2003 discourage chemical fertilizers
2003-09 formed 396 bio-villages
2006-09 8000 Ha, organic
2008-09 ginger unit, birdang farms
sikkim organic mission (SOM)
2010
2010-11 entire agricutural area
2011-12 claimed to be 100% organic
2012-13

2015
2016

Fig. 1

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the government

The Government was supposed to fulfill tasks for the farmers so that it would
have been a smooth transition. These tasks included - providing funds, water-
management, Certification funds, tissue culture management, financial
assistance, infrastructure development (storage and transportation), funds,
technological assistance, forming production clusters, conducting seminars,
farmer training programs, value addition activities, facilitating healthy seeds,
overall effective implementation of Sikkim Organic Mission, marketing,
post-harvest management, excerpts. It is a bit unclear how and where the
government failed to achieve its own goals. They started to inculcate cash
crops for economic growth, but if these crops were off-season they required
more efforts to produce. Even though a blanket ban of sorts was necessary,
the farmers and the consumers were not ready for the same. Export activities
have begun but the locals of Sikkim are still eating chemical produce from
Siliguri. If their aim was the betterment of public health, then that is not
happening. It is unclear what kind of people would be the right audience to
create impact and inculcate consciousness towards food choices. But, more
than that, availability of food is a major concern when it comes to Organic
produce. Sikkim being announced as a Fully Organic State in 2016 did not
tell people that only the produce is Organic. This increased the tourism and
the economic conditions of the state.

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Horticulture in Sikkim

Gerbera Sikkim Mandarin
3 year life-span SIMFED1 950 Ha/ Exported/ Lot of Byproducts
Less Investment/ Quick returns/ Yeild increased after Organic Transition
1000 farmers
Bamboo - Green Gold
Large Cardamom Byproducts/
Sentimental Less Investment/ Quick returns/ Ecological/economic/secure
1000 farmers NABM - National Agro-forestry
Involved in Carbon Sequestration. and Bamboo Mission

Ginger Kiwi
West Sikkim/ 450 Ha Exotic fruit
1000 farmers Hobby farmers
High demand/Rain Fed Crop High income produce

Cherry Pepper Staple Produce
300 Ha Rice
Highly Lucrative/ Pickled Potato
Pungent - white seeds Tomato
Cabbage
Turmeric Cauliflower
Rhizomes are tuberous Carrot
1950 Ha Raddish
Birdang and Rangpo processing units Pea
Bean
38 Drumstick

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mountainous
farming

Mountainous farming simply refers to agriculture practices in the hilly
regions. The terrain is the defining factor when it comes to crops and water
management. Mountains provide fertile soil. Minerals keep adding to the
newly born streams as they flow. This makes the soil rich in nutrients.
Farming on such lands flourishes.
Water gets collected on the slopes of the mountains increasing the moisture
of the soil.
Mountainous farming is practiced in Sahyadri Ranges in the Western part
of India, but mainly in the Himalayan Belt in the North. Extreme climatic
conditions have made these mountains provide unique produce. It was
practiced for the purpose of self consumption as the population was low. Now,
this self-sustainable farming turned commercial with the rise in demand and
inflation. Although, farming in these regions is not as intensive compared to
the Western and Southern regions. That is because the land area is extremely
small. Farmers often cluster to grow a better amount of produce. Terrace
farming is practiced in these regions.

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organic fertilizers

Fertilisers are added to the soil to increase fertility of the soil. Pesticides are
added to avoid or terminate pests to the plants. Herbicides are added to avoid
unwanted vegetation in the plants. When these substances are made up of
organic material consisting of either animal or plant matter, they are organic.
Organic substances are indeed the original. As artificial chemicals entered in
the 1930s, all agriculture before that was organic. The sole reason why the
land all over the world is infertile after agriculture is inorganic or chemical
based substances. Often they use a mixture of Banyan tree soil, Amritpani,
cow dung, cow ghee and honey. Panchagabya Rishi is a combination of cow
urine, cow milk curd and ghee. Cow dung, cow urine, jaggery, pulse flour and
virgin soil combined makes Jeevamitra. These are some examples of Organic
substances, fertilisers or pesticides. Hence, it is crucial for farmers practicing
Organic farming to practice animal husbandry too. This also provides as a
secondary occupation.

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SSOCA

SSOCA is a short derivation of Sikkim State Organic Certification Agency.
The most accepted certification is USDA provided by the United States of
America. Marginal farmers are unable to afford certification. Also, every
region demands a certification according to their standards. Hence, Sikkimese
Governance bodies realized the necessity of a unified certification on behalf
of the state. Organic certification is a perpetual process. Farm progress is
recorded and analysed to understand if the farm has the scope of certification.
If by any chance, particular chemical substances are found in the farm area,
the farmer is barred.
“SSOCA will be committed to providing inspection and certification services
in a reliable, valid, non discriminatory and impartial manner without
reference to race, national background, religious affiliation, gender, age or
marital status. Its inspection and certification will be based on an objective
assessment of relevant factors, following documented procedures and
operates without undue influence from vested interests.”- SSOCA.
Once the certification is done, SSOCA can reach the equivalent of other
certification. The scope of certification is a tool used to store data about the
organic development. For now the Sikkim Government provides farmers the
certification with zero cost.

MOVCD

MOVCD is Mission Organic Value Chain Development. The Government
of Sikkim made this document streamline the value chain process in the
decision making, when it comes to Organic farming. FIGs and FPO formation
was the goal (Farmer Interest Groups and Farmer Producer Organisations).

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irrigation methods

Water is the main ingredient when it comes to farming. A continuous and
reliable water source is crucial for a farm to survive. Irrigation methods are
based on the land slope and the distance of the agricultural land from the
nearest usable water source. Flood irrigation has led to water body depletion
in the main plain lands as it uses excess water. Drip irrigation works on
electricity. It is made sure that every part of the farm is receives enough
water. It does not work for crops such as rice who need more water. Sprinkler
method involves greater capital investment. It is a high maintenance method
used for high value crops. Rope and treadle pumps are used to extract water
from the wells. Buribo clay pots are buried in the soil near the plants to
restore the moisture content of the soil as they would hold water and let it
seep slowly in the soil. As maintenance increases, so does the energy usage
(fuel or electricity), and hence the capital investment also rises. Mountainous
regions mostly rely on rain-fed irrigation practices. Contours are built to lock
water for crops such as rice. Water is passed through open pipes through he
contours. Black Cardamom is planted on the slopes to absorb more water and
nutrients. There is no system of reusing this water. Although, climate change
can lead to unexpected realities. If the ground water drops, the moisture
in the soil reduces. This leads to depletion of yields. Also the mountains
become weak resulting in land slides. Hence, the Sikkim Government with
private participants has redirected water into the soil in the form of streams.
Many times, for terrace based irrigation systems, water is pumped to higher
grounds in a storage tank. Gravity lets this water flow through pipes all over
the land. The eminent future of mountainous regions in the North due to
climate change is, flooding.

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agriculture

Agriculture is defined as the science of cultivating crops. There are several
types of farming methods. The local economies depend upon farming on
a large scale. Biodynamics is a form of alternative agriculture similar to
organic farming, but it includes various concepts drawn from the ideas of
Rudolf Steiner. This was the starting of the Organic culture. Hydrophonics is
a way of cultivating crops in absence of soil. Water is used instead of soil.
Usually they use synthetic forms of compounds used in soil.
People have started farming in their elevated flats on a very low scale, most
of the times, it is for self-sufficiency. They often use their terraces and plant
inside small earthern pots. Polyculture is a method used to change the crop
every season. This helps the soil absorb different nutrients instead of only
particular ones. Agro-forestry is a practice in which farming is done with the
aforestation. This helps prohibit erosion therein. Heirloom is when farmers
produce indigenous crops even if there lies no market for the same.

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agrotech

There are more than five agro-climatic zones in Sikkim. The topography of
such a small state is different and hence agricultural methods often vary.
Mostly, farmers use only an electric motor for ploughing. Grinding or
pulverizing machines are used according to the produce(ginger/turmeric) It
is extremely expensive to get any sort of machinery uphill. Hence, Organic
farming is very labor intensive. This was one of the reasons why the land being
so above the sea level was almost free of chemical pesticides. There were and
are no means of carrying such machinery without capital investment. Small
tools used on the farm level are pipes, grafting knives, sickles, secateurs ,
power tillers and water pipes.
Infrastructure mainly includes polyhouses to have a contained or controlled
climate for crops which are delicate or not suited for the climate therein.
Cold storage facilities are required on a farm level to store produce during
the post-harvest period. Due to ill-equipped cold storage facilities on farms
all over India, waste of perishables is increasing leading to cost decrement
for farmers. Afghanistan farmers have been building mud underground
storage facilities to deal with the harsh climate therein. Seeds also need a
different kind of storage which is supposed to be moisture free. According
to the produce, the infrastructure changes. If it is mushrooms a need to
store the wooden logs or sawdust to get moisture becomes a task. If it is
Cardamom, a huge drying system is made to dry and crush the seeds. The
Government has built tissue culture labarotaries. There is a development
center built for research in terms of Cymbidium Orchids. Animal husbandry
requires infrastructure which includes; cow sheds, goat and horse stables,
chicken coops.

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