6th edition of the Asian Strategy Project

ESSEC MSc in Management students working on the Asian Strategy Project recently embarked on the Field Research Phase, where they spend 3-4 weeks in an emerging country in Asia gathering research material and refining their research hypothesis.

We hear from some of the teams about their experience thus far:

The Gawad Kalinga Team

Team Members: Yushi CHEN, Fabio CULICCHIA COLTURRI, Alexandra MIGNEREY, Noémie KIEFFER

Partner Organization: Gawad Kalinga

"It is our first time working on a real consulting project for an NGO.This project is quite challenging for us, as it combines the organizational management, marketing, supply chain, macroeconomics and even psychological issues, and it is quite different from the projects we did in our internships. However, it is also how we are able to learn a lot. We appreciate this new experience which not only provides us with the opportunity to work in a different country, but also lets us have a real chance to make a difference by helping the disadvantaged. Now, we are looking forward to the next adventure: the field study in Philippines!"

The Makaibari Tea Estates Team

Team Members: Nicolas CABANES, Romain DUBOC, Pierre-Adrien JUSTICE, Justine KRONOVSEK, Marie-Sophie MAYSONNIAL

Partner Organization: Makaibari Tea Estates

Blog Highlights

Day 18 - Back in Kolkata!

Today, we said goodbye to Makaibari’s beautiful landscapes, our families, and all the staff who has really helped us understand the spirit of the area. It was very moving to leave, especially since we have spent quite some time here, and have grown attached to the people, the children, the lifestyle…The trip was very long from Makaibari to Kolkata, more than 6 hours: we took a car to Bagdogra airport, then a plane, then a taxi to Luxmi’s office.

Day 16 & 17 - Last days in Makaibari

On Saturday we finally had the meeting we expected with Mr. Banerjee. We had a lot of questions to ask him regarding marketing, strategy, sales, and we got some crucial information for the next steps of our consulting mission. We also had a clearer vision of the estate and the future of Makaibari.

On Sunday, a part of the team visited Makaibari’s factory once again, along with a group of tourists, to have a more objective vision of how the company promotes its history, its values and its business during the visit. We had in mind our tour of the Happy Valley estate, and we underlined some differences between the two estates. Later that day, we wanted to visit one of Makaibari’s competitor, Castleton, to have a third point of view. 

Day 15 - Tea tasting session

It has been exactly two weeks since we left Singapore, and we feel like we have been in Makaibari for a month. We all quickly got used to the peaceful life here (except the cold showers). We are starting to know everyone in this small village. We will leave on Monday to Kolkata.

This morning we enjoyed an insightful tea tasting session with Mr. Banerjee, our teacher Mr. Chatterjee, and the whole ESSEC team. Mr. Banerjee presented the 6 tea treasures, explained us the main differences, and we were able to smell the tea, the leaves, and to taste them. Like in wine tasting, you must not swallow the tea after you have tasted it.

Day 14 - Arrival of Prof Chatterjee

Today, our ESSEC teacher, Mr. Chatterjee arrived in Makaibari.

During the afternoon we had a talk about the case study we are supposed to write during these three months. We presented the main information we have gotten from this first week, and Mr. Chatterjee gave us some precious advice for our next week in Kolkata.

Day 9 to 11 - Darjeeling

When we arrived, we visited the Happy Valley Estate, to have an idea of how the other estates work in the region. Happy Valley’s positioning is very similar to Makaibari, they have also developed bio-organic practices. However the visit for the tourist is much better organized and ends with the shop, which really triggers consumption.

After that, we had two very important meetings in town. The first one was with the President of the Labor Union of tea pluckers. We discussed living conditions of tea pluckers, wages, and the future of tea estates. The second meeting was with the Secretary of the DITA, Darjeeling Indian Tea Association, whose aim is to have a role of mediator between the management of the tea estates and the workers, or between the management and the government. 

Day 8 - Factory visit

Today, we visited the factory with Sanjay, in order to understand how the tea is processed. Processing the tea follows different steps: Withering, Steaming, Rolling, Fermenting, Drying.

After these five steps, the tea is sorted by the sorting machine, which removes the waste and gives different calibers of tea. These different calibers give different qualities of tea. Upon demand from the client, some teas are not sorted, but some workers need to take out the waste that remains in the tea leaves. This takes an incredibly high amount of time.

Day 7 - Planting tea

Today we followed Siddharth on his division, once again amazed by the beautiful landscapes. This is our last day on the tea fields. Siddharth explained us how to plant baby tea bushes, and we planted our own, which will be ready for harvest in two years.

Later in the factory, we discovered a whole new part of the Makaibari system: the bio-dynamic techniques. These techniques were developed by Rudolf Steiner in the beginning of the 20th century, and were first used by Rajah Banerjee in the 70s. They are aimed at keeping the bushes healthy, by creating natural sprays and compost for them. It also helps to keep the soil humid during the dry season.

After lunch we followed Prayan Gosh, who is also responsible for the Homestays, and we visited the house of one of the tea garden « leader », an old woman who was very welcoming with us. She told us about her own vision of the homestay system. We also got to talk with a couple from Germany who had come to Makaibari for tourism purposes. We had a long discussion about their first impressions of Makaibari, about the impact of their stay on their knowledge about tea and sustainability. It was interesting to hear about Makaibari with a « fresh eye ».

Day 6 - Learning about tea and homestays

Today, we had another very interesting visit of the tea plantations with Satyadeep. We understood better the different types of tea. Some teas are only made during the first or the second flush, some are produced all year long. There are also several species of tea bushes: China tea (85% of the bushes in Makaibari), Assam Hybrids and Clones. Each variety gives different leaves that give different teas.

At the end of our walk we saw tea workers coming back from their morning plucking. They weighed what they plucked and took their lunch break in the shadow of the trees, before going back to work in the afternoon.

Day 5 - Visit of the tea plantations

Today, we had an amazing trip in the tea fields with Satyadeep Gurung, one of the 5 divisions’ Field Assistant Manager. He has been working for Makaibari for 3 years and he seems to know everything about the estate, the pluckers, the tea, the region… While wandering between the tea bushes, we covered a impressive number of subjects with him, from tea bushes species to tea pluckers’ wages. We could not stop asking him questions since he answered every one with sincerity and deep knowledge.

Day 4 - Discovery of the estate

Today, we had a forest visit scheduled by Nayan, with one of the forest ranger. Makaibari tea plantations are surrounded by forests that make the place a real ecosystem. We walked for two hours in the very steep paths and we managed to capture the beauty of the place.

After lunch in our respective families we took time to work on the questions we would ask Sanjay for our daily interview. We decided to focus on pricing and packaging, and gathered some precious information.

Day 2 & 3 - Meeting Makaibari

We arrived in one of the seven villages around Makaibari on Sunday, after a one-hour flight to Bagdogra and a two-hour ride on the dangerous mountain road. The place is foggy and peaceful, surrounded by mountains and tea plantations. 

We met Nayan, who is responsible for Makaibari’s homestays and had our first cup of Makaibari Tea. We are separated in different rooms and different families, but we are very close to each other, since the village is small. This makes team working very convenient. Our first impression about these homestays and this village is trust, security and family spirit.

In the afternoon we sat all together to analyse Makaibari’s different packages throughout time, and especially the last one, made by a team of Italian designer. In the end of the day we met with Sanjay, Makaibari’s manager, with whom we discussed about our week’s schedule and our expectation about the mission. We agreed with him that the week would give us the opportunity to see Makaibari with a unbiased eye and to build our own opinion.

Day 1 - Arrival in Kolkata

After a pleasant flight from Singapore to Kolkata, we finally arrived in India! Our first impression of the city was the festival Durga Purja. All the buildings were covered with lights in the honor of the goddess who returns to see her parents. During our first ride in Taxi we were amazed by all the lights and atmosphere of joy that reigned in the town.

"Everything started a month ago, when all the missions were introduced to us on the ESSEC Singapore campus, room 6, level 2. After the presentation of the « Asian Strategy Project » was over, it was obvious that we would fight for the project Makaibari Tea Estates, a company based in Darjeeling. Everything appealed to us in Makaibari: the product, a luxury organic tea, known to be one of the best in the world. The country, India, full of promises and challenges. The very complete mission, mix of strategy, marketing, and sustainable development."

Stay updated with the Makaibari Tea Estates Team at https://makaibariteam.wordpress.com/

The STEP-PSE Team

Team Members: Gabriel BAUDOUIN, Eugénie BLANCHARD, Marion BOURGEAT, ZHANG Xuechen

Partner Organization: STEP and PSE - Pour un Sourire d'Enfant

Blog Highlights

16 November 2015

Last Friday marked the end of our Cambodian fieldwork. It was time to say goodbye to our Cambodian friends, without whom we would not have achieved anything. To loop the loop, a few farewell group pictures:

8 November 2015

After 8 days spent in Smile Village, time to get back to Phnom Penh for the last phase of our on-the-field project. Next week will be all about organizing the data we collected in order to answer a simple question: how to make our marketplace viable in the long run.

5 November 2015

More than 100 interviews! This is the result of 2 intensive days of going to the field, meeting locals and asking them about their habits and lifestyle.

3 November 2015

Today's assignment was especially fun. To design the "catchment area" of our market, we spent hours travelling across the nearby countryside in tuk-tuk, while mapping the whole area: population, factories and street shops, roads, etc. A geographer's dream!

In the meantime, our Cambodian translators (Kimseng, Sriheng, Nimol and Kunthea) performed an outstanding job in interviewing many Smile Village inhabitants, to acquire information about their daily lifestyle and consumer behavior.

30 October 2015

First night in Smile Village: check. Our house is quite simple. The floor is a concrete slab; the walls and roof sheets of metals. We also have some roomates: thousands of insects that proliferate after sunset and go everywhere.

New day means exploration of new markets.

29 October 2015

Throughout the past few days, our group spent our entire time visiting marletplaces across Phnom-Penh, so as to (a) get some insight about how food and goods are sold in Cambodia and (b) find ideas for our own marketplace project in Smile Village. Our Cambodian trainees came with us, mainly to serve as translators between us and the market sellers / customers.

After having completed our interviews, we left PSE Hotel to begin real fieldwork investigation in Smile Village. 

"D-Day is almost here! After 1 month of hard work, time to finally test our hypotheses and assumptions on Cambodian soil. Hard to believe that the 1st phase of the ASP is already in the books. My feeling is that the 2nd one will go as fast, if not faster. Our first interviews are already planned, and the road is paved at least for our first week there: first 4 days in P.P, followed by a 1-week trip in Smile Village at Prey Sar.

At this point, our warmest thanks are directed to Mr. Remy and our Capgemini Consulting mentors, who have helped us tremendously during the past weeks by reading our slides and commenting on our work. As a team, we have learned a great deal from them, including rigor (when crafting our slides), respecting tight deadlines while maintaining a good quality of work, and the ability of going straight to the point."

Stay updated with the STEP-PSE Team at http://meilleurprojet.blogspot.sg/

About the Asian Strategy Project

A three-month consulting project organised in partnership with Capgemini Consulting, the Asian Strategy Project is an innovative programme emphasising on the “Learning-by-doing” approach where ESSEC MSc in Management students work on a topic raised by a company or an organisation based in an emerging country in Asia.