Design Audit + Greenfield Business Model
A project to develop an inclusive and pragmatic greenfield business model for farmers of Almora district in Uttrakhand state under the Integrated Livelihood Support Project (ILSP)
Semester 3 | Design Project
Brief from Integrated Livelihood Support Project (ILSP) Team
The broad outline of the brief shared is “To create Strategic Design Intervention Road Map for Setting Up a Green-Field Business Model in Agriculture and allied sector in rural areas of Himalayas. It is to incorporate values and working culture of corporate, cooperative and government sector with an aim to improve livelihood of farmers in the Almora region of Uttarakhand.
Objective
_To understand "real life" organisations through relevant frameworks to identify opportunity areas for design intervention in a corporate organisation
_To learn methods and modes of enquiry into organisations through the process of design audit
_To frame complex organisational states into coherent problem definitions and opportunity areas
_To design tangible interventions that addresses the identified issues
_To study the process of developing new business model for the sustainable competitive advantage of the organisation
Advantages of the region
Agriculture is the only option. Supported by the quality of soil and the climate of the region.
78% population practicing agriculture for livelihood. It contributes to 27% of state domestic product.
Organic nature of the hill agriculture
Existing crops- Nutri cereals, red rice, indigenous pulses,chilli, garlic, ginger, coriander, colocasia, fruits (malta, apricot, lime), honey and Pahari aloo
Natural farming methods and processing methods
Rich Culture and History- Kumaon - artistic Capital.
Off season crop, nutrient -rich ,
High Valued by Society - Traditional Practices, human-touch and himalayan fresh natural resources.
High nutritional Value - Superfoods, organic/natural,
Groups: rural population closely knit personal relations - easy to use & form business/activity group.
Challenges of the region
Mountainous Region.
Difficult Livelihood - Land, labour & raw materials difficult to procure.
Not suitable for setting up industries because either the resources are not available or not cost effective.
Industries not suitable for fragile & sensitive ecosystem of hills.
Agriculture does not provide sufficient income.
Low & unstable income- reason for migration of male members.
Land- fragmented & small. 90% rain fed.
Difficult -seed replacement, limited scope for mechanisation: reason for low agriculture productivity.
Other factors: Absence of Infrastructure. High dependence of natural resources, lack of economic investment, lack of economic diversification, non market character of produce.
Research process
Organisational Structure
Field Observations
Gender Divide
Women are involved in most of the agricultural and household work, leading to overburdening of responsibilities
Men are rarely involved in agricultural activities. The society has a definition to what chores belong to women, hence creating a clear divide between their work loads.
Logistics
Terrain limits the ease of mobility and poses many time constraints.
Network reach in the area is also scarce and only limited to few pockets in the city.
This further hinders possibility of establishing a robust quick response systems in supply chain & the scope for digitisation.
Reach & Visibility
Hilans products are sold at the federation office/outlet which is located off the main roads, in the villages. (Tourists cannot reach)
The only cafe & outlet is in a corner of the city mall which not a popular attraction yet, amount tourists or locals.
Packaging
Packaging does not reflect the content Or Nutritional Value of the products.
For example these are biscuits made of Rava, yet the packaging and brand label has no information of what you are going to consume. (Cognitive Association)
Not very eye catching, neither represents a niche product .
Diminishes the ‘sustainable’, ‘organic’, ‘fresh’ attributes of Hilans brand by using Plastic Packaging.
No essence of the brand or mountains captured.
Branding Strategy
Brand is not communicated or differentiated.
Unable to narrate the Story of the people who are also part of the brand identity.
Not reflecting the authenticity / uniqueness of Himalayan produce.
The outlets also have poor space design and seem like a local store with unbranded products that does not register in the buyer’s mind.
Production Processes
Hilans lacks in terms of best practices being followed for recipes, production and quality
Food at the outlet was stale and served poorly, items were unavailable.
Inconsistency of taste across all batches - Bakery.
No defined Process flow leads to difficulty in following standardized methods and identifying error points.
Agricultural Practices
Hilly terrain results in fragmented land holdings and limited farm produce.
Uncertainty of rain fed farming poses a threat to the sustainability of the agricultural practice.
There is no assurity of consistent income from farming and every household needs to support it with other activities.
Aspirations of the Youth
The youth do not aspire to carry forward agriculture as a livelihood.
aspire to have better lifestyles, move out to the cities and pursue careers like medicine, engineering or tourism.
The lack of opportunities for them in the area have resulted in large scale migration to other cities, especially to metros like Delhi
Opportunities identified
Agricultural System
There is an opportunity to create an agricultural system to enhance the existing model and increase the job opportunities. ( packaging, marketing, infrastructure development technology)
Create opportunities to involve men so that they feel sense of providing.
ILSP - Sustainability
Identifying and empowering locals by educating and imparting skills.
Introducing a self sustaining economic system. (opportunities and return on opportunities) (A new model addressing their actual needs)
Product Range
Ensuring checks and measures for the product quality and production processes
Identifying target market and aligning the product range to it.
Focusing on products which give high return on low produce such as medicines.
Study target market and their needs. Identifying direct & indirect competitors. (Scope for Market Research)
Product Quality
Establishing standards and methods to ensure product quality, production and consistency. (life span,taste,etc)
Communicating the the same to the consumers.
Packaging
Aligning aspiring brand image its core values and packaging ( packaging as a mode of communication)
Catering different product segments ( gifting, corporate, festival, limited edition)
Sales & Marketing
Re-establishing core values, designing the brand, building the brand value.
Establishing market segments (local, urban, exclusive)
Increase the reach & visibility of the brand.
Supply Chain
Identifying and collaborating with existing channel. (efficient supply chain and aggregation network.)
Setting up a marketing chain and distribution channel. (for faster and larger reach)
__on-going project__
Stay tuned for solutions
[ The Team ]
Aswathy, Chirag, Vinothraja
