Life-Work Balance: Custard Apple Update

This year has already provided me with adventures traveling throughout India, new friends through AIF and in Udaipur, and plenty of time to reflect. Alongside all this personal growth, I feel lucky to have Seva Mandir to learn about the NGO/development sector and an outlet to focus my work energy. As I mentioned in an earlier entry, I am working on two projects at Seva Mandir and continue to make progress on both. I will write more about the SHG project later but wanted to provide an on the custard apple livelihood project.

I am not sure where the initial idea for the custard apple livelihood project originated within Seva Mandir but I assume it was based on similar programs that have been implemented by other NGOs. We found one such NGO in the neighboring state of Maharashta. BAIF-MITTRA, the Maharastha arm of a much larger government development organization, created an umbrella brand to market a variety of fruits and vegetables, including custard apples in certain areas. Before Diwali, I contacted the program coordinator at BAIF-MITTRA, explained our plans to implement a similar program, and set up an exposure visit for Seva Mandir staff to learn about their NGO and program. A couple of weeks ago, I traveled down there with Sunil (my mentor) and five Seva Mandir staff members for an exposure visit.

After a very long voyage to the middle of nowhere in Maharastha, we arrived at the BAIF-MITTRA office and were given a brief introduction to the NGO, their constituency, and the projects they have been working on. The presentation materials were in English but the discussion was in Hindi so though I was unable to follow everything, I got the gist of what was being discussed and was free to ask questions.

The next day, we went into the field to visit a SHG that is currently participating in the custard apple project. One SHG member walked us around the forest area surrounding the village to show us their custard apple trees, how they marked which trees belong to the SHG, and how to know when to pick the custard apples from the trees. We then went to a meeting where the women showed us how they grade custard apples and pack them into the boxes for shipping.

After leaving the villages, we were taken around to some of the other projects that BAIF is working on in the area. We visited a wadi (orchard) where villagers grow fruit, vegetables and various spice. We also had lunch at the training center where they provide education on various agricultural issues such as water irrigation.


The trip was a great opportunity to learn from an NGO that has already implemented a custard apple marketing program and also provided me with additional exposure into the development sector. It was great to see the level of help that BAIF provided in sharing their expertise, the lessons they learned through execution, and the overall level of cooperation between the two NGOs during the exposure visit.

Unfortunately as winter approaches, it looks unlikely that we will be able to implement a pilot program during this season. For the custard apple project, I will be primarily be involved in planning for next fall (after I have left). Although it is disappointing that I may not be here to see the actual implementation of the program, this project has been instrumental in teaching me about the development sector and how success should be defined when working at an NGO. Where I once viewed success to be based on the completion or results of a project, I now see the value in the process of capacity building through training and spreading awareness.