Another Story of True Success..........!

More than Ambanis, Tatas and Birlas, I would say that this is 'true success'. One starts with nothing but a Vision, one adds to that hard work, determination, selflessness and a keen desire to succeed. What you get is Success and True Innovation. I really wish that Mansukhbhai gets the break that he deserves. Please read till the last line. Image: Mansukhbhai Prajapati with APJ Abdul Kalam. Former President APJ Abdul Kalam called him a 'true scientist'. Mitticool, a clay refrigerator that works without electricity had turned the world's attention to its creator Mansukhbhai Prajapati, a craftsman based in Gujarat .    Presenting the national award to Mansukhbhai in 2009, President Pratibha Patil appreciated his work and asked him for a Mitticool. Scientists and journalists from across the world have visited his unit to see how he makes eco-friendly products at a low cost. A school drop-out, he has achieved a feat that many in the world envy today.  The simple and unassuming Mansukhbhai is not keen on money. His ambition is to make more low-cost and eco-friendly products for the masses. "A good majority of Indians cannot buy a fridge as it is expensive. Besides this, electricity bills and maintenance cost is also high. Mitticool is an eco-friendly product which has no maintenance costs. It also retains the original taste of vegetables, says Mansukhbhai who has sold 1500 units so far. "I failed in the tenth standard. But I was not disappointed as I knew that I was capable of making something new," says Mansukhbhai who holds a patent for Mitticool. People who considered him as incapable, now look up to him. They say, "you are the pride of our community!" He has been popularising earthen products since 1988. The only drawback for him is the lack of stores to sell them. The products are mostly available in Gujarat and in some stores in Mumbai and Pune only. Besides, the low-cost fridge, he has developed a water filter, non-stick tavaand a pressure cooker all made of clay. And he has many more innovative ideas. Image: Mansukhbhai' s father at work.  The beginning Pottery has been the Prajapati family's traditional business. Mansukhbhai' s family belonged to Morbi in Rajkot district.   However, his father gave up the profession as it was not getting them any money. It was all hard work without much gain. He being the only son was sent to school on the hope that he would do well in academics and get a good life. However, he disappointed them when he failed tenth standard. To make matters worse, he refused to take up construction work which his father had started doing. He was however forced to do all sorts of odd jobs. He even injured an eye working in a brick factory. "I was fed up. I wanted to start my own factory. But there was no way I could do it without resources. I joined a tile factory. I worked there for sometime. This was a turning point for me," he says. He found that tiles were manufactured at a fast pace with a machine which was quite expensive.  Mansukhbhai receives the National Award from President Pratibha Patil.  However, Mansukhbhai knew he needed to think differently and make innovative products. He took a loan of Rs 30,000 and started a small factory. At the age of 18, he made a machine, which could make 600 tavas a day instead of 100 tavas they used to make manually. This gave him lot of confidence to explore and innovate. He got the idea to make a machine for about Rs 4,000, which could help him manufacture more tavas than was being done manually. His initiative to restart the pottery business was not taken positively. But he went ahead despite opposition. "Now all my family members actively take part in the work. They are very happy with what I have achieved so far. I owe a lot to my family. I am happy that my elder son is doing an engineering course in ceramic engineering. " Image: Water filter.  His only regret is that because of poor marketing his products are not reaching out to many people. He, however, makes it a point to parcel products to people who are willing to deposit money in his bank account. The business It was a great beginning. "I also made a clay mixing machine. Till then, clay used to be missed with the legs. This machine also reduced the workload and improved the efficiency." By 1995, he realised the need to build a water filter. The market had steel filters which were not very efficient. After months of research and hard work, he built a water filter. Luck favoured him too. "A person who had settled in Nairobi heard about my project and approached me for 500 units. I was excited. I sold it making Rs 100,000 on the first sale. It was a good start. The product I developed was sold in Nairobi even before it sold in India ," he says. The water filters priced at Rs 350 to 400 are quite popular. Image: Non-stick pan. Later in 2005, he started the non-stick tava (pan) business. "My wife could not buy a non-stick tava as it was costly. So I thought many people would be facing the same problem. That's when I designed the non-stick tavas, priced between Rs 50-100." It took him an year to research and experiment -- testing the material for the non stick coating etc. The food grade test for the pan was done by Tata Chemicals in Mumbai. Mansukhbhai has sold more than 50,000 tavas. He had to make thousands of tavas before he made the perfect one. He thanks the Gujarat Grassroots Innovation Network and professors at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and the National Innovation Foundation, who extended their help in the form of grant and guidance for getting the patent, making the packing box and lab testing of products. Image: Mitticool fridge.  "When a foreign delegation came to meet me, we cooked food in clay vessels and served them in clay plates. They were very impressed and happy with our healthy approach." In 2009, he made the clay pressure cooker. "It comes with a whistle too," he remarks. About 500 cookers have been sold so far. The idea behind Mitticool During the 2001 earthquake, all earthen pots were broken. Some people told me the poor people's refrigerators are broken. They referred to the 'matkas'(pots) as refrigerators. It struck me then that I must try to make a fridge for those who cannot afford to buy a fridge. The patent winning Mitticool has been the most challenging product for him. It needed a lot of experimenting. He started work on it in 2001, the product was finally ready by 2004. It took him almost four years of hard labour and an investment of about Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million). An engineer who saw the fridge asked him to make 100 units. This was a great morale booster. He had to take a loan of about Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) for the Mitticool project. He is still repaying the debt.   Image: Mansukhbhai with his products. It takes 10 people to make a fridge in one day. Made from clay, the refrigerator can store water, fruits, vegetables for 8 days and milk for one day. The upper part of the refrigerator stores water, while the bottom unit has space for fruits, vegetables and milk. At present, he sells the clay fridges at Rs 2,500, at his unit. Most of the sales outside Gujarat are done during exhibitions. In Mumbai and Pune, some of his products are available. Every year he takes part at the international trade fair in New Delhi in a bid to popularise the products. Image: The popular clay pressure cooker. "I have also been getting lot of calls from the US . It is amazing to see so much interest from abroad," he says happily. Mitticool was showcased at a conference organised by the Centre for India and Global Business, Judge Business School , University of Cambridge , UK in May 2009. Bosch and Siemens Hausger te (BSH), Germany , has also showed interest in Mitticool. About 20 units of Mitticool have been exported to the UK , Africa and Nairobi . He has now been invited to Africa to set up a unit there. "I have not committed anything but the most important thing is the soil. Gujarat has the best soil for pottery," he points out. Image: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi checks the products.  The recognition  Mansukhbhai had never imagined that his products would win him so many accolades. Nothing can be as rewarding as such compliments. Money is nothing compared to people's appreciation. "Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi knows me by my name. He has been very supportive and told me to approach him for any problem," he says. He says well-known activist and performer Mallika Sarabhai recently remarked that he should be made Gujarat 's brand ambassador. Image: Mansukhbhai to be on Discovery Channel  He also enjoyed doing a shooting for a programme which will be aired on Discovery Channel. "A team from the Discovery Channel took me around India . I enjoyed the trip. It was a wonderful experience. I had never imagined that I would ever be able to fly in a plane," Mansukhbhai says. The media has been very supportive. It feels great to see my products on television channels, newspapers etc. Image: Clay artifacts.  His goal  Mansukhbhai wants every Indian to have access to his products. There is very little awareness about the products though I try to participate in 2-3 exhibitions every year. "I wish I could strike a deal with a retail store like Big Bazaar to get better visibility. I am sure if more people use our products, it will create more awareness about such low-cost products that are a healthy and cost effective alternative in the long run." Advice to entrepreneurs His advice to budding entrepreneurs is: Never think about failures. Never give up. Put your heart and soul into what you want to do. Always follow the right path and have patience. Keep working hard. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Sent by: Sanjeeve Batra (Jalandhar)

Media Shoots Imagery at Afghan Detention Facility

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:29:00 -0500

Joint Task Force 435 PARWAN, Afghanistan :  News media representatives were permitted to take video and still photos Aug. 27 at the detention facility here for the first time since it became operational in December 2009. An Afghan guard and a U.S. Army soldier work together at the detention facility in Parwan, Afghanistan, Aug. 23, 2010. On Aug. 27, 2010, news media representatives were permitted to take video and still photos at the facility for the first time since it became operational in December 2009. DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Adam M. Stump   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Coalition and Afghan military and civilian leaders, news media and human rights organizations have previously toured the facility but had never been permitted to shoot photos and record video because of a Defense Department policy, which recently changed. “The change in the documentation policy enables a level of transparency that did not previously exist, countering negative perceptions with truthful, accurate images,” said Navy Vice Adm. Robert S. Harward, Joint Task Force 435’s commander. The admiral has command, control, oversight and responsibility for U.S. detention and correction operations in Afghanistan. “Joint Task Force 435 is proud of the facility and the important mission our people areresponsible for doing every day,” Harward said. “We are committed to transparency at all levels of the detention operations mission and welcome the opportunity to show that we are conducting operations in accordance with international law and providing appropriate treatment and care to all detainees.” The Parwan facility will transition to the Afghans beginning January 2011. Some restrictions on photography and videography remain, officials said, due to security or safety considerations. These restrictions, they added, are in place to protect detainees, the facility and its personnel by not revealing security measures or procedures. Photos or video in which detainees are recognizable are not authorized and are deleted as part of the security review. “I am exceptionally proud of the work this task force does every day, providing humane, respectful care to those in our custody,” Harward said. “I welcome this opportunity to show what it is really like inside the detention facility in Parwan. These truthful, accurate images of our operations help to mitigate false accusations and perceptions that may otherwise fuel the insurgent cause.” The detention facility’s design allows for safe, humane and effective management of the population, and allows willing detainees to participate in group activities and educational programs, officials said. It is equipped with modern medical facilities, an on-site family visitation area, video teleconferencing capability, large recreation areas, vocational technical and education classrooms, and additional space to conduct legal proceedings. The detention facility was completed in September 2009 and became fully operational in late December 2009. The facility’s design accommodates detainee reintegration efforts and enables JTF 435 to better align detainee operations with the overall strategy to defeat the extremist insurgency in Afghanistan. The facility currently is designed to house about 1,300 detainees. Three additional detainee housing units are being constructed, with an expected delivery date of March 2011. These units will be completely staffed and managed by Afghan authorities and will increase the overall capacity of the Parwan facility by nearly 1,000. The facility is operated by more than 1,200 professionals from the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps with trained guards, expert medical personnel and legal support. More than 700 Afghan National Army military police soldiers are currently training to augment the guard force and more than 100 are fully trained and standing guard duty inside the facility with their American counterparts. JTF 435 is actively partnering with Afghan forces in preparation for the responsible transfer of military detention operations to the Afghanistan government . Once transferred, the detention facility will become part of a larger Afghan Justice Center in Parwan, which will become Afghanistan’s central location for the pre-trial detention, prosecution and post-trial incarceration of national security suspects. This transfer is consistent with the memorandum of agreement signed by the pertinent Afghan ministries on Jan. 9.

Biographies: Navy Vice Adm. Robert S. Harward Related Sites: Joint Task Force-435

Drop Shot Photo Contest

Posted: 27 Aug 2010 03:26 AM PDT

Via Schools Water Portal

We are organizing "Drop Shot" a photography contest for students in VIII std to XII std and in an undergraduate program (2 categories).

According to Pratham Books the themes for the contest are:

* Thirst
* What a waste!
* Water - our common wealth
* Drop the drip
* Fresh water, refreshing water

The deadline to receive the entries is 12th Sept 2010. For more information on the contest details, registration form and judgment criteria Click here

(Please click on the image for a larger view)

A Truly Grateful Nation

Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 8:06 PM

Good morning,

 This Tuesday, after more than seven years of war, President Obama will end the United States' combat mission in Iraq.

 While the war in Iraq has at times been a divisive issue for Americans, one common belief has always remained: Our nation has a sacred obligation to our troops and the families who serve with them.

 In his Weekly Address, the President discusses the end of the combat mission in Iraq and what his Administration is doing to support our veterans once they get home:

Since we took office, more than 90,000 troops have returned from Iraq, leaving a force of up to 50,000 U.S. troops who will support Iraqi Security Forces.  By the end of next year, all American troops will be out of Iraq.

These men and women have put their lives on the line.  They have spent months or years away from their families and homes.  Many have suffered devastating injuries. And some who left for Iraq will never return home.

Including veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there are nearly one million more veterans in our country than there were a decade ago. I can tell you that President Obama is 100% committed to supporting our troops and their families not only when they are fighting abroad, but also when they come back home.

That’s why the President has made one of the largest investments in veterans’ care and support in our nation’s history. Here are just a few things this Administration is doing to support our vets:

• Improving veterans’ health care by modernizing and expanding hospitals, cleaning up and simplifying the claims process, and directing significant resources into treating Traumatic Brain Injuries and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
• Giving nearly 300,000 veterans and their family members access to higher education through the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
• Devoting more resources to job placement and training, directing the federal government to hire more veterans and encouraging the private sector to follow suit.

As our brave men and women return from Iraq, it’s important that all of our veterans know that we are a truly grateful nation.  To all of our troops – Thank you for your service; you are true American heroes.  To all of our military families – Thank you for your courage and sacrifice.

Sincerely,

Vice President Joe Biden

P.S. Right now, Americans across the country are sending their messages of thanks and support to our troops as part of our Saluting Service in Iraq effort on WhiteHouse.gov. Take a minute to check out President Obama’s message to our troops and leave your own message:

 http://WhiteHouse.gov/Salute