Idea 486 of 500. Cluster 27: The north and the east
Palmyrah co-operatives owning the processing, the way the coconut list works for the south
The mechanism, from the book
The land, the lagoons and the savings of families abroad are waiting. What comes first is the small business.
Every idea in cluster 27 uses this mechanism.
A first step
Visit 5 palmyrah tappers or families in one village and ask what they sell, to whom, and at what price per litre or per kilo. Then buy a small batch of their jaggery or treacle, pack it simply with the village name on it, and offer it to 2 Sri Lankan grocers abroad through a contact abroad. The gap between the family's price and the grocer's price is the case for the co-operative.
- Who pays first
- A Sri Lankan grocer abroad whose customers ask for palmyrah products from home, and who would pay more for a named, trusted source.
- What leaves today
- Palmyrah leaves the families who tap it as a raw product, and the processing and the brand margin are earned by whoever handles it next.
The idea and the mechanism are from the book. The first step was written for this site as a suggestion; if you know a better one, say so.
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
The only test any idea on this site has to pass. The four rules that go with it are here.
In the book
- Ch. ThreeWhat We Have Already Built
Jaffna in what we have already built - Ch. SixteenThe Bridge
A nurse who comes home with a credential and not only savings
More from cluster 27
- 487Jaffna heritage stays in the old Dutch and Jaffna houses, restored by the families abroad
- 488Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu farm co-operatives with a cold chain to Colombo
- 489Batticaloa lagoon tourism: the singing fish, the kayaks, the prawns, sold as a week
- 490Technical colleges in Jaffna and Batticaloa funded by families abroad, with the employers at the table
- 491Trincomalee's Dutch fort and Koneswaram as one managed site, with a shop and a guide service
- 492Passikudah as a family resort town with the standard set by the residents, not the chains
Idea 486 of the 500 in the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? Every one can be started by one person, one family or one small firm.