Mitti cool... Clay Refrigerator which does not need Electricity

 I found this too interesting not to pass on.


Mitti cool... Clay Refrigerator which does not need Electricity : Acclaimed by APJ
A Kalam : Amazing true story and products from a simple Indian..!

Mitti cool... Amazing true story and products from a simple Indian..!  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 tava and 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.

Image: 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. 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.   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.    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.   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.

Thank you!

I was just thinking about all the help that I received getting the word out about this show.
There were many, many of the potters who posted it up on their blogs and Facebook.
Probably other places as well but I am not in those worlds yet.
But  I do have to thank my friends Tom and Linda Starland who helped me with ads for their publication, Carolina Arts.
We used one of their ads for the postcard and it turned out very nice with a photo from Hannah and Chris Luther.
How better to show the distance of the potters- then one from Seagrove and one from the UK.
Tom and Linda are those special people who work tirelessly to inform folks about what is going on and where for those of us who are in the arts or love the arts.
Tom post just about daily  on his blog Carolina Arts Unleashed .
He keeps us well informed about art events all over North and South Carolina and well beyond.
I have enjoyed his writing on many subjects.
He is well spoken, thoughtful and thought provoking.
And there is a keen wit there- something I really enjoy.
So I hope you will take the time to go check out his blog and send him an email to let him know how much we appreciate the work he does for all of us.
He is an unbiased opinion in a world where many writers and reports spend way too much time tellling us what to think and how to think.
Thanks Tom and Linda!
M   
  PS- I still owe you a pineapple upside down cake!

Sneak Peeks....

These are just sneak peeks as pots are being placed around the Campbell House- more later.

Monday Teasers

Linda Starr and I unloading our kiln on Saturday- I think I am going to keep her!
Just in from seeing the start of the show going up!
I am very excited at the work and how it is all coming together.
There will be more pictures to come.
And, yes, I saw two red dots already and I think ,if I have my way, there will be more.
To be continue........

Friday nibbles -Clay and Blogs:Telling a Story

Judy Shreve

Judi Tavill

Renee Margocee

Annie Singletary

A week out from the opening of the show!

Time somehow has crept past us all like a thief in the night.

I find it hard to believe it is all coming together.

Pots are in and coming in to the Arts Council, blog post are printed- in your dreams, remember I need ink-

And October is peeking around the corner.

I keep stealing looks just like I do when a kiln is cooling.....

So sit back and get that beverage of choice and go read some blogs.

Cheers,

M

The before

Yesterday was another long day as we made the decision to keep pushing through and get the kiln loaded (feel the burn....).
Today I am feeling that push with some tightness in my back and right shoulder ( work with me- feel the burn).
Remember how you could get up and push all day and then get up and do it again?
Yea, me too.
Now I am thinking- this pottery making is not for sissies.
Mark is out there firing, just a little windy, but I think we will made it through.
Yesterday while we were loading-no wind. Isn't that just the way things go?

And I am out of black ink again.... just a few more pages to print and the black is out.
Oh, I pushed it past its limits and now it wants to look like ghost writing.
you know the story - one more page you think as you ignore the low ink warring.
Just one more page you think as you ignore the NO ink warning.
And then you look at a page and think- darn you!
You 20 minutes away to the ink store and 20 minutes back- Just darn you for not having bought two inks last time you were there.
Oh, well I have until Tuesday next week.
I will come up with a reason to '"go to town" soon.
Maybe I best check the beer situation in the house.
It use to be the main reason to go to town was we were either out of beer or cat food.
No cats any more.... the beer took over.

Here is a picture of one of the brother cats- Pudge  was his name because he loved to eat.
His best moments were standing guard over the food bowl.
He would take on any stray cat, opossum or raccoon just to keep them away from his bowl.

 His brother we called Rover because he loved to roam all over the farm.

Which is why I don't have a picture of him- but you can just imagine a tad bigger and a white dot out in the fields.He was the mighty hunter.
Rover lived to be 13 Pudge made it to 15 and our female cat of no relation to the boys made it to 22.
What were we talking about - long day like I say.
Let's go check the beer...

A long Monday..

Boy things are hectic around here!
You can tell that we are covered up in the studio trying to finish up the glaze and put it all in the kiln.
Delay has become my middle name!
But maybe that is better than being dead in the water!

Today was finish up the glazing and hopefully tomorrow is loading day.
This pottery stuff is hard work!

I have the blog entries pretty much put together.
It has turned out real well as you leaf through the pages and look at the different entries each potters chose to have put in the book.
I think there are a few more I have not received.
I'll just have to see if I can pry those out of the last of the potters.


Also with folks coming in I just might have to break with tradition and dust the house!
I am busy chasing out the spiders, but I can tell you that is an all day job.
Tonight as we came in from work in there was one as big as Texas- I kid you not- in the front room.
 She and I came to a quick understanding of whose house it was.
I think I won on that account.
No pictures- it was not a pleasant end.

I am off to just relax after a long day.
Cheers!
M

Friday nibbles -Clay and Blogs:Telling a Story

 Cindy Shake

 Chris Luther

 


Po Wen Liu 劉博文

Emily Murphy

Where did it go?

Where did it go?
When we came back from the trip across Virginia I looked at the Tomatoes and knew the season was done.
So sad you just want to cry.
I enjoyed every tomato I could gather this summer and I feel the need to wear a black arm band now that they are gone.
Mark pulled these out yesterday but was very careful with the two girls who had been living in the tomatoes.
They both had spun their webs and were more or less carrying them om their backs.
We have found if you make these girls happy they will show up the next year.
Well probably not the same spider but one of the offspring.

I have one last thing blooming for the butterflies and bees to enjoy and the blooms were just covered with activity.
Of course as soon as I snap a picture they all change positions.

I had my next to last day with PT today.
As I was riding the bike I notice the fine print written on the very bottom of the instruction.
It read- if you feel pain or faint stop.....
Good advice.

About those pots- they are being made, bisque fired and glazing starts Thursday.
I just can't get the energy to shoot pots when there are still bugs and flowers....
Maybe later this week.
Cheers!
M

Throwing in the towel

Do you ever have those times when you feel like throwing in the towel?
This week has my brain pinging all over the place. The show- you have heard about the show- is coming up so fast.
I have been spending some time trying to pull together the last element of the show.
A page from the potters blogs.
I really feel it would be hard to have this show without letting the public look at someone's blog, or at least a post from their blog.
Really this part has been fun. I finally figured a quick(?) way to do some cut and paste and I like how that has worked out.
It does not give the true blog page but it gives you the story, since that is what this is about, and some pictures.
I added in about me page that I am pretty happy with.
I grabbed (stole) what I thought I would like to have from potter's websites.
I have learned even more about the potters, who they are , where they studied and other quirky bits.
Now- don't get me wrong my mind is like a sieve these days and it will quickly drain away.
Someone will ask me where did such and such study, live, climb a big mountain, eat their first taco and I will have to say there is this nice book of pages over there to look at and I highly suggest you go look them up and read their blog.
There are moments like the past week where I love the tool the internet provides for us.
A quick search can give me good choices for material.
And boy you have to love cut and paste.

Then there are those pots to be made.
Mark is making the crown pots and this one was covered up waiting for handles.
I just thought - I know how you feel- a towel over the head would be nice right now.

I am making a few orders and some fillers- love those bottles.
I know I have said it before, but it is a favorite shape for me.
Comfort food maybe?
I know we all have favorite things we make bottles just grab me.
Comfort shape maybe?

This coming week promises to go just as quickly as the last.
I still have PT twice a week.
I think this will be it for me I am feeling tons better and get bored with going.
I think that is good.
And now that I have said green ball and my homework I usually toss myself on the floor and do my exercises.
Like I should be doing now....

Happy Sunday!
M

Friday nibbles -Clay and Blogs:Telling a Story

Barbara Edwards

Mel Robson

Hitomi Shibata

Takuro Shibata

9/9/2010
My eye lids are too heavy for deep thoughts- fall is at the door and bed calls my name after playing with printing blogs for the show.
So- good night all and enjoy some more reading....

Clay and Blogs:Telling a Story

A Lot- a lot has been happening around here and I am busy as this funny bug here flapping my wings as I try to finalize this show.
One of the things I asked the potters to do for me was to let me print a page from their blog.
How simple that seemed to me at the time.
Just click file and print!
Yea- there you go thinking again.
So here I am playing around with some cut and paste, don't you love cut and paste?
It means any fool, like me, can do things that only a professional could do many years ago.
Gosh these computer things are fun.
And to my astonishment- I am work this out!

So here is what's happening- the pottery has begun to arrive at the Campbell House Gallery, the blog post folks want to include are arriving in my in box.
I have started to play with and print them out.

My computer tells me I need a new color cartridge, add that to the list of things to do today.

And it is only September 9th!
I have high hopes that all will come together.
So stay tune----put the opening date on your must do list.
And, if you have not looked at the online gallery please do so by clicking on the link .
There are some fabulous pots there that are up for sale now.
All you have to do is contact the arts council and they could be yours.

Now -all I have to do is get some pots made for a gas load and glue some backs on tiles and get ready for the end of the month.

Cheers!
M

who wouldn't love

A girl with her own tools!
In Norfolk the theme is Mermaids and every where you drive you will spot them outside of businesses or homes.
This one is pretty simple compared to some of the others, but who would not love this one with her hard hat and cordless drill!
I might have pictures of others, I will have to look, but believe me when I tell you they are all pretty sepctacular.
Well you know I had to look and there is a Blog for the Mermaids.
Go take a peek!

Home

First off thank you all for comments and kind words as we were off on our trip across the state of Virginia.
We left the Norfolk and drove almost across the state to see my brother Jay.
On the last day we were there we were riding around just looking for some shade to park under and visit a bit more before we took off for the trip back across the state for the flat lands.
We spotted this "oak", next to a very nice body of water
After we parked under it Mark looked up to see it was not a large Oak ,as we thought, but a very large Sycamore.
We are quite fond of trees so this one was one of those worth an extra look.

While checking her out I thought- this must be a female -she appears to have some nice breast on her.

Then again it looks like there could be a face with eyes.......

Funny how objects take on different appearances depending on where or how you look at it.

It has been a long week and we figured we logged in about 1400 miles.
We are home now and just loaded up a cone 5 kiln of tiles that should start up during the wee hours while I hope to be sleeping.
After many days of many different beds I am going to be very happy to wake up in my own!
I am wading through emails and questions of this and that  and I noticed I missed  my Friday nibbles.
We were sitting in Norfolk waiting for a train to go by when I mentioned putting up the nibbles for tomorrow, Friday.
Mark gave me that look and informed me it was Friday- whoops!
Well hey- I was busy.

So sue me!
I will have to get one up for this week- the days are going as quick as that train....

Hey Tracey- could you work here?!

Yesterday we went out riding through the narrow back roads of Virginia with my mother and brother.
While out taking in the view we came across this great little place.
What do you think- a few windows and it could make a great work space for Tracey!

Then there was this place.
I love when you find the perfect place and then have to put up signs in case the bear, bobcat or others can't stay away....

But then this was the place I wanted to go in.
We did stop for a picture but I would have loved to knock on the door and invite myself in for a tall glass of tea.

and just for a wee minute I could see myself living here and getting up to this view everyday...

I feel home calling my name.....
Time to take the Queen Mum home and go back to the wheel.