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Published: January 14th 2013
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10 January 2013
The traditional industries of Mangalore are clay tiles, cashew nuts and beady (not sure if that’s the correct spelling!) which we are told is a form of cigarette, rolled in a leaf. Apparently many of the men in the families used to spend their weekly wages on alcohol so the woman would roll beady at home to sell and support the family while she cared for the children. Today we are visiting a tile factory and cashew factory to learn more about them.
Ramkrishna has been looking after us for the past few days and we visit his family tile factory, UMA Tile Company, which opened in 1947. Ram used to work here when he was younger during his school holidays. He knows the business inside out and runs it now with his father. The first tile factory in Mangalore was opened in 1930 by the missionaries. Mangalore has much lighter clay which is used for roof tiles and building blocks. At one point there were 60 factories here but now there are just seven left. Tiled roofs are much less popular now as blocks of apartments with flat roofs are popping up all over the
city. Ram has 30 products and his main market is in Mumbai and Bangalore and he mainly deals with direct customers and end users. Each tile is worth about 15 rupees (not much) and tiling the roof of a large house would cost around £300! The factory is impressive and I still can’t believe that we can come into these places and look around without any worried about health and safety. We even stand on top of the kiln and look down into it! The process is good to watch and one member of staff taps and looks at each and every tile to mark it into one of 11 classes. How he manages this I have no idea. They all sound the same to me! Poor quality tiles won’t pass the test as they will crack when exposed during the hot sun and then the rainy season.
Randomly, Ram tell us that the workforce in India sometimes choose not to turn up to work. All of his staff have to be trained in every area of the factory so that it can still operate when staff fail to show up. It seems that this is common and at
the Cashew factory, owner Prakash tell us the same thing. He employs 225 people but on any normal day, around 200 will turn up for work. Employment law here always works in favour of the employee so this is acceptable it seems!
Cashews came to India from Brazil when the Portuguese wanted to test the quality of the soil. Not so long ago, the nut industry was struggling as people were worried about the fat content of cashews. Now, people are realising the benefit of snacking on them. Before the trip, I didn’t really like cashews but I have to admit that I’m a convert. We tasted around four flavours here, including honey, roasted and black pepper and they are all fab. I have lots to bring home!
Again, the process is amazing to watch and although the factory is modernising and new machinery is visible in every department, most of the work is still done manually. One cashew only has a 22% yield but the shell is never wasted and the oil is extracted to be used as fuel, which Ram uses in his tile factory. It is a seven day process from cooking the nuts to
packaging and distributing. Again, nothing is wasted as the broken nuts are used in food and sweet products. Prakash sells his products mainly to Indian markets and the Japanese as they like quality rather than quantity. His business is booming but labour costs are increasing quickly and competition is rife in Vietnam and in India too. In the state of Karnataka alone there are 400 cashew factories.
After lunch, where we see a tattooed man (very rare to see here) and hear some English music, (old, but still, it’s music!) we head to an artisan village where we see people making traditional items using a hand loom, a pottery wheel and bamboo. It’s also a chance to buy some traditional gifts! I buy Dev and Rahul some traditional wooden toys which are good for hand eye coordination, so maybe I’m supporting the Indian cricket team of the future!
Back at home (it feels like home!) Punit and Rupal take me out to their favourite drive in restaurant. It’s strange to see people with cups and saucers in their car rather than disposable coffee cups. They are right though, the food here is delicious. Can’t believe it’s my last
night with them here in Mangalore. It’s a lovely modern and vibrant city and I really like it. We have our second Rotary meeting tonight and we deliver our presentation which is received well. We also get a chance to meet two of the Indian GSE team who are travelling to Cumbria and Lancashire in April/May. They are both lovely and we offer them some advice about the weather! One man also approached me and Di to tell us that his brother works in the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle and he has been there for 30 years. Amazing!
Punit takes me for one final drive around town on the way home and we discuss the city, the fact that I am learning my way around already, and we have a discussion about the differences between Muslims and Hindus. I think that most people at home in the UK don’t understand the difference and associate all Asians with the worst side of the Muslim religion we read about in the press. Punit shows me his old family home which is now surrounded by towering apartment blocks. However, it seems that the house has also been sold for development land and
it is in the process of being demolished.
Tracy x
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