Development Marketplace - Comments

hello IDM participants,

mansi kulshreshtha — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 04:32:00 -0500

Hi everybody out there!! I wanted to write earlier, but we were gearing up for our newly funded project and were both enthusiastic and tense about it. With god's grace the project has started well and the first progress report has been submitted. I am really thankful to the IDM team for such a wonderful event and making us absolutely comfortable. This event will always remain memorable. I am really proud to be a part of it. Thank you so much!! I would also like to urge other participants to please remain in contact!! We really can share a great deal; we can discuss our achievements and share our problems. All the best to everyone for their endeavours!!

have me in the list ( sikkim)

Nima Tashi — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 03:42:17 -0400

Dear N.Gangadhar Reddy,

The live chat and pictures make me feel that we have just met few weeks back. The IDM 2007 was really inspiring, what inspired me most was meeting the 50 finalist and looking at some 47-48 ideas, I believe that few stall were empty. I didn't really take note to the successful participants of 2004 " a Ship of Hope" on the event but later part of their sharing during knowledge forume was gergous. An elephant who was also a partner in the project, helping push the ship into Brahmaputra. Getting the winners award was not the most interesting part. As K. Negi said " no one is a loser here and all 50 are the winners of the country". Getting to know each other was really great fun.

I should have actually taken the opportunity to thank the IDM team at World Bank for taking good care of us. I feel "I dont know what I actually don't know". So let us keep in touch (all 50 finalist). Beyond just IDM project, we will definately have many ideas to share.

Nima ( from Sikkim)

Let us make a beginning

Vasanthkumar Mysoremath — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 05:04:23 -0400

Good suggestion to light up the continents with clusters of mirrors. Very soon it may make economic sense? But right now we must stop misusing of electricity during day time. Sample the economic sense of U-SEE: ONE 40 vat GLS bulb burning for 25 hours consumes one unit of electricity; even if it burns for 6 hours a day between 8 am and 5 pm when the sun is shining 7 units are consumed in a month costing Rs.2 for domestic lighting and Rs.6 for commercial. thus if U-SEE method is used, electrical energy that accrues to the world = 7 units per month multiplied by 6 months(when actual sun shine will be available) multiplied 30,00,000 in Bangalore = 2,10,00,000 units of electrical energy is saved in just six months (population:60,00,000) Monetary savings to consumer = 7 unitsxRs.2x6 monthsx15,00,000 = Rs. 12,60,00,000, or 7 unitsxRs.6x6 months x 15,00,000= 37,80,00,000. Please note the above calculation is for only one 40 vat bulb ! This burning bulb is contributing CO2 for global warming. The billions of units thus saved thro U-SEE can help offset the load on other needs and help world to suffer less strain.

Interesting Ideas

Sebastian Lugert — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 04:17:38 -0400

That is really a list of interesting ideas. I hope a lot aof them will work.

Project details...

Jayant Sarnaik — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 03:57:57 -0400

We are a research NGO based at Pune- Applied Environmental Research Foundation. We find the Citronella initiative in protected area quite innovative and would like to get in touch with the implementing agency - NGO. Thus we would be happy to receive the contact details of this award winning organisation.

Hope to hear from you.

Why can't the Corporate Sector fund such humane projects?

Vasanthkumar Mysoremath — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 04:41:47 -0400

Corporate Social Responsibility lies in such hidden tragedies. Let them show magnonimity in coming to the rescue at these suffering women folk even if it means at micro level. World should respond to such tragic untold myseries.

A ++ to you & ur Team

Vasanthkumar Mysoremath — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 05:22:00 -0400

Keep up the good work. May your efforts reach out to the common man and his blessings to all of you will be more valuable than all the Gods' blessings put together. One suggestion - please mail email addresses and contact numbers of all the 48 finalists to all participants so that all of us can be in touch with each other. It was not possible for me to collect this info during DM exhbn

A Really Nice effort.

N.Gangadhar Reddy — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 04:39:14 -0400

IDM-2007. It really inspires a lot and will inspire me throught my lifetime - for many reasons. As a finalist and winner, I have added around 30 finalists to my friends list. I am in active toudh with 11 of them--- 5 from which I take technical and other inputs for my project. And 6 who want to try out my project ideas in their organisation.

But what Inspires a lot is the event management. Such a big show with none other than Honorable Presicent of India making a presence. Immagine this being managed by a core IBM team of just 3 relativily young people, activily supported by around 5 other WB officials. Really hats off to them. We saw them missing their meals to see that we were not hungry. We saw them sweeting profusly to ensure that our stay was comfortable. We also saw them missing their sleep to see that we are at home. Naming them individually will be just like limiting them. But Bravo, excellant team work.

This was just what we saw for three days. But what we really didnot see is that how they made a painstacking effort as described by Vichitra Sharmaji. She was right in every bit of it. And she will be happy to note that we orissa Teams are still continuing our network. Other two orissa winners namely Dr. Chittaranjan Samantaji and Mr Bikas Mohapatraji join me in thanking you for all the efforts.

I wanted to post it on this blog, but I could not create a login. The comments under other subject headings would not have been a really nice thanks giving.

Just keep this good work going IBM-2007 core team and their associates.

good wishes

TSSM — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 02:43:16 -0400

good wishes for your efforts Sir.

brilliant... literally! :)

Sanjay M — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 03:14:08 -0400

brilliant... literally! :)

Thank You

Vasanthkumar Mysoremath — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 17:44:57 -0400

Thank you Jan for your blog on U-SEE. I am honoured. Even though I lost out, my vision is not blurred. In fact I will be spending some of my pension money to buy mirors, go over to rural areas, distribute them freely to the poorest of the poor, explain, demonstrate and place the mirors in strategic places and get back home. Even in urban areas where they boast of green buildings, people are seen burning bulbs and misusing electricity during day time when the sun is shining. My aim is to bring home the sunshine and get moonlight effect inside the premises with the help of sunlight. The world is round. We shall meet some day. Vasanthkumar Mysoremath

1/3rd of finalists should be the winner

Sunil Singh — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 12:09:33 -0400

I have gone through the blog forum and found that all finalists deserve financial help to carry out their projects whereas, only 22 finalists were selected out of 104 competing finalists.The DM team had initially proposed 30 to 35 projects shall be selected amongst the 104 finalists, but the selection was short of almost 8 to 13 projects. Atleast they should have arrange fundings for 30 to 35 projects as per their commitment. This may be was the cause for embarrasment for many competitors-finalists. It seem that more projects were granted fundings recommended by the same few jury teams and many other projects failed to get grant recommended by host of jury teams that assessed the finalist projects. I have even heard that there were one or two jury teams- whose recommendation even fail to put the finalists in as a winner. Anyways, the DM excercise is highly commendable, and should continue in future. But, my suggestion is that at least 1/3rd of the total finalists should get a chance to be the winner.

DM for Developing Countries

G. Jones — Wed, 30 May 2007 13:47:25 -0400

Emilia's point is straight forward: what guarantees do you have that the monies will be spent in a way that the developing countries' operatives want it spent if it is being filtered through large US corporations? This is a valid concern since so many of these nations have issues that are long-standing because in some cases outsiders have given them the wrong kind of help. It seems clear that you would want the developing countries' to lead these projects, with assistance AS NEEDED AND REQUESTED of the large corps if you want to really make a change. Otherwise, it smacks of more of the same old thing, and implies the locals don't know what they need to make things better. Again, I think Emilia's concern is valid. Even innovative ideas for application in developing countries that come from the outside should be evaluated by the people in the country to make certain that it is a workable solution for them. While we can say it doesn't matter where the idea comes from, when it comes to patents, and recognition (=dollars for support), it matters a lot. So yes, good ideas should be shared, spread around, and most importantly, put to use. But roles need to be clearly defined so that progress is made, not blocked due to mis-communication and mis-understandings.

U-SEE

Sumit Mitra — Wed, 30 May 2007 06:57:52 -0400

I would like Mr Vasanthkumar Mysorematt of U-SEE to see beyond one village and consider the possibility of lighting up the whole planet by ujsing ginat mirrors to reflect sunlight from the eastern longitudes to those on the west. So China can light up till its dusk much of Central Asia, and Central Asia can light up Eastern Europe, which, in its turn, can light up France, Germany and England. And there can be mirror clusters in the middle of the Atlantic to help Manhattan switch off its steet lights and even domestic and office interior lights for quite some time.

But I think the entire exercise of mirroring the dark makes little economic sense. Most of domestic/commercial energy is consumed not in lighting but in thermal functions, like air-conditioning; mechanical functions, like running escalators and underground trains; and in running office equipment, like photo-copiers, computers, programmed glow signs on signboards, etc. To convert reflected light into energy for such diverse uses will require very advanced photovoltaic cells with prohibitice capital costs.

I was shoked to find out

Ahmaddin — Tue, 29 May 2007 00:08:22 -0400

I was shoked to find out jury going against its own objectives for promoting small-scale entreprise. But, they have upported all those projects that have big names and monies. It's really sad. However, we hope if Milinda Gates Foundation is really interested to serve the humankind, why doen't it's its spokesperson speak about their dedication towards humanity? If world bank can fund projects which have no basis of implementation and monitoring, why they are reluctant to fund projects with viablility of scale-up and replication like the 'fallen womb'? The Foundation should speak about their intention.