Brooms, handicrafts and tender coconut water are the next three products I worked on. With this I have completed 10 pages, which is half of my booklet. I have decided to do one product or page per day. So, I should be able to finish my booklet within the due date (16^th January, 2015). Taking about brooms and tender coconut was pretty easy but, I found it hard to explain the handicrafts. Because there were so many of them made from completely different parts of three. I wasn’t exactly sure how to organize the page. There were also way too many attractive pictures I could put under this category. So, it was hard to prioritize. But, it was a new experience for me.

             All the information I collected so far had to do mostly with the first few pages. So, today I collected more information on each product specifically (their uses, how they are made, where are they usually made, why is it good for us, etc). I also worked on my first product in the book which was coconut oil. There are two pictures and two paragraphs of valuable information on this page.

           After two days, today I finally completed two more pages of my booklet. They were about the different parts of a coconut and their uses. I thought I would be able to squeeze it into one page but there were many different parts that had a lot of uses. I also had to put a picture of every part separately to make it easier for the users to understand clearly.

         Yesterday I worked on my introductory page. It has a basic summary of why I chose to write a book like this and include a description of what is in the rest of the booklet. Today I worked on the next page of my product which was background information. This page has a lot facts related to coconut trees. It is a very short description of all the information I have collect so far through the interviews and from the internet.

         Yesterday after a short break I started working on my actual product in Microsoft publisher. But unfortunately I am facing some problems and finding it hard to get my ideas across. So, today I am starting it all over again in Microsoft word. I have worked on the title and contents page so far. I have also organized the needed information to make it easier for me to use. 

          From the survey I did last week I have understood how aware the farmers are about coconut products. Most of them in the area only knew a few products that they regularly use for example coconut oil, broom, furniture and food items. They have no idea about products such as activated carbon and cosmetics. Here is graph that shows this information in detail.

      

      For the past few days I have been going around the Manjalar village interviewing different coconut farmers. I have collected information from exactly 10 farmers. The questions I asked them were quiet simple and easily answerable by a farmer. They were :

 1.  How long have you been a farmer  ?

2. As far as you know, what are the products that you get from a coconut tree ?

3.  What are the uses of a coconut tree ?

4.  What is the average height of a coconut tree ?

5.  How do you irrigate your coconut trees ?

6.   What are hybrid coconuts ?

7.   How many coconuts does a tree produce per tree ?

8.  What is the average lifetime of a coconut tree ?

9. Are there any problems that you face as a farmer ?

10.Is the government helping you in anyways ?

Following is a list of the names and pictures of people I surveyed.

Jayapandi

C.Perumal

Sadayan

Rajapandi

Kodalpandi

Gundumani

Katuarasan

Senthil

Raman

Shanmugam 

I really enjoyed interacting with these people. It helped learn a lot more about coconut farmers in the area.

         Even today, I started with some research about how the different parts of a coconut are used. But, most of all today I realized that making a booklet about coconut products will come under the global context “fairness and development” not “globalization & sustainability”. This is because, the reason I am making a booklet is to teach and spread awareness to the poor coconut farmers. They are unaware of the other products that they can make to gain a profit. So, I want to teach them new things they could do with the crop they harvest because everyone should have accesses to equal opportunities. I also believe, this way I am sharing finite resources with other people who deserve it. 

      Today I started my research on the internet. I have collect information and pictures related to coconut trees and theirs common uses. The information answers most of my research questions in detail. 

Having been to Woodstock on an Exchange program for about  20 days, I wasn’t able to work on my Personal Project. However, last Friday I met with Mrs.Zita regarding my personal project. She asked me a few questions about my project and how it is progressing.  She gave me some ideas and ways to improve my booklet. Later she also told me that I have come up with a set of specifications that I have to follow while making the product.

 Specification :

·        My product or booklet on coconuts and coconut products will be at least 20 pages long.

·        I will interview or survey around 5 people who are in this field of coconut farming or making coconut products.

·        It will include a description of 5 to 15 products that are made from coconuts.

·        The product will have a minimum of 25 pictures.

·        The booklet is going to be typed and printed as more than one copy of it will be needed.

·         All the important words and subheadings will be bold and underlined to make it easier for the  readers

·        The targeted audience would be the coconut  farmers themselves - to learn more about what they are  growing and how value addition can be made to their product

These are few of the questions I came up with to help me start the introduction of my booklet.

1         .       Which is the leading country in coconut production ?

2         .       What are the products that can be made using different parts of a coconut tree ?

3         .       What is the average lifetime of a coconut tree ?

4         .       About how many different varieties of coconuts are there ?

5         .       What are hybrid coconuts ?

6         .       What are the important problems that coconut farmers are facing in our today’s society ?

7         .       What is the average yield per year  ?

8         .       How tall can a coconut tree grow ? / What is the average height ?

9         .      What are the prices of coconuts in the today market ?

1         .      How is the government helping the farmer ?                                                                                                                                       

       I have also met Mrs. Zita (My Personal Project Supervisor) in between to ask her small questions about my personal project and process journal 

I

                As I have been preoccupied with the social experience field trip and the quarter end assignments, I haven't been able to work much on my personal project. But, below are few of the pictures I collected in the past few weeks in Kanyakumari and Kovalam (South India). I have also learnt a lot by being able to look at coconut trees and farms in person.

 

             Under the topic agriculture or farming, I have planned to focus mainly on coconut farms. I will start off with some research about coconut trees. Later, I am willing focus on the problems that coconut farmers face in their day to day lives and on the products that we get from coconuts. The global context that best suits or connects to my topic would be Globalization and Sustainability because farming and manufacturing of coconut products is done in a world wide scale. As competition has increased in a global level, new technologies and other advances are required to sustain a balance in the agricultural field. If this balance is disturbed, then farmers all over the world might suffer. So, it is essential for us to know what problems farmers and manufacturers face, in order to make improvements and sustain the balance globally. For now I have decided to submit all this information in the form of a book let which will be my final product.

  

 Picture of a coconut farm

             Today we had our first Personal Project meeting. I came to know that my supervisor is Mrs.Zita and all about what I am being expected to do in this project. I first personally feel that it is going to be hard for me to choose one particular topic because, I am usually interested in a lot of things. However, I just have an idea of doing something related to Agriculture. This was the first thing that came up to my mind because, like me even my grandparents and parents are interested in agriculture.We own some coconut farms in the foothills of Kodaikanal and my grandma grows pears, plums, beans, potatoes and carrots here in Kodai. I really enjoy visiting our farm, talking to the people who work there, helping them with work etc. So, I want my project to be something related to farming.