Our Second Clone Meet

Ten Daily Dump Clones from across the country participated in the meet. The meet helped us take some key decisions, clarify certain fundamental features of the Daily Dump brand; and helped us all get to know each other better. Some of the clones could not make it to the meet for various reasons and we hope they will be able to join us next year...

For many of us, the preparation and anticipation of the meet was as exciting as the 3 day meet itself! As Navneeth, Daily Dump’s first ever clone (from Chennai) said, "I am really looking forward to this meet…See you all. Feels like i am going to meet family after a year’s gap!!!!”

And heeding to popular demand, Yogita (one half of the great host couple of our first meet at Goa) made herself available for the meet. We missed Karan and the rich contribution he would have made to the meet.

Over a hearty breakfast we got to know each other a little better. Huda, Pradeep, Abhinav, Firdosh were meeting the others for the first time. All clones put down some key details of their business on a chart and we shared notes on which stage each of us had reached while we sipped chai.

Then we got an occasion to talk about the issues around production of the terracotta pots. Our potter Ramakrishnappa was available to discuss with the clones, various issues relating to uniform quality and accounting for defects in consignments. As the discussion moved to matching production with demand, the clones and the potter exchanged views on how each went about their work, what considerations weighed topmost for each etc. It was insightful as everybody came away more appreciative of the other’s business challenges and the need for planning.

Next on the agenda was a visit to a community composting setup facilitated by Trupti who has successfully helped not just her apartment block but also other apartment complexes in the vicinity of LB Shastri nagar to start managing their waste more responsibly. She uses 5 Leave it Pots to manage the waste of 12 homes and also has a dry waste segregation center in the premises which she supervises to make sure every family manages their waste properly. The clones asked a lot of questions about wetness in the pot, stirring difficulties, maggots and volumes. Trupti pointed out the key issues – managing moisture, oxygen and space to store half done compost. She also shared her experience trying to convince people to start managing their waste.

Many of the clones felt this was useful as they could now suggest community waste management as a possibility to some of their customers using some of the practical inputs they had observed .

Firdosh, one of the clones from Pune, volunteered and facilitated the first session of the meet on Finance. We used his case study to examine, discuss and debate the way he is handling finances, his method of book-keeping, suggestions for cost cutting, possibilities for increasing revenue etc. The purpose of this session was to share each one’s experience, evolve a set of Best practices and to create a Daily Dump finance model, that would help all clones improve their profits.

The session proved to be a great trigger for engaging everyone. We happily digressed to discuss our various takes on customer-centricity and our common business approach. All this helped set the tone for the next 3 days of the meet.

We agreed that,
Daily Dump is a for-profit, not-for-greed enterprise. It is not an NGO.
Daily Dump is not about selling products; it is about offering and promoting an alternative way of life.
Customer satisfaction governs Daily Dump.
Core to our business is improving our products and services every year and sharing this with the whole group.
Customer service is important otherwise the idea will loose its momentum with bad feedback

A visit to the office of BCIL ZED (pioneers in building ecologically sensitive homes) highlighted an office waste management installation,and the various requirements and challenges in an institutional setup (as different from a home/apartment complex). The clones also interacted with some of the employees of BCIL to understand their perspective on the recently initiated waste management programme in their office.

The last session for Day 1 was one where each of the clones made mock demonstrations. The idea was to arrive at an SOP for every demo that is not negotiable and that makes it effective (for our business!). It was good fun and a great learning.

We realised the
Importance of using demo cards as a tool to ensure the communication of certain fundamental principles and features of our approach, perspective and the product itself.
Significance of learning from various people's styles of presenting.

Day 2

After a delicious breakfast at MTR, we spent the day at Angana, off Kanakpura Road where Aruna Gopakumar facilitated the entire day’s session and made sure it was enriching and fun for all of us.

We started by sharing how each of us felt to be a part of the Daily Dump family and why we are part of this informal group; we then identified the highs and lows of the year gone by. In the afternoon we all contributed to a mind mapping exercise to chart out the possible directions for Daily Dump for the year ahead. We also identified areas where we would work together and quantified some of our immediate goals.

Through all of this we played a lot of games and exercised our limbs and voices too.

The group is not going to forget the bear, the man and the gun game for a long time.

We understood that
Clones are people who share ideas, not personalities.
When we innovate, we must keep in mind a certain quality that we are accountable to.
If we want to grow this clone community, we must be sure that we have integrity on how we operate with each other and with the core idea of doing a tough job well.
We won’t invite people into this family who would disrupt this open-sharing space. And,
Each of us has a responsibility not just to grow ourselves but to help each other grow.

A session on prototyping facilitated by Poonam made us don our design, thinking and doing hats; and was it fun. We got a glimpse of all that it takes to design a product. We also developed some interactive demo games that we plan to use with children, adult and corporate groups. All in all it was a great 3 days and we decided it was so much fun that we would now meet more often! We hope Mr Jose is listening since he suggested we meet in Kerala in February 2011.

On returning to our daily routine and work, here’s what some of the clones shared:
CONGRATULATIONS on the huge success of the workshop. Three cheers to the Daily dump team, which made it all happen. Navneeth
Thanks for the wonderful programme. Pradeep
There was magic in the air - and I don't think I can describe it any other way…Vish

We decided to leverage the different communication material and products already available with each of us, rather than reinvent the wheel.
We outlined the areas each of us would like to grow – the common themes that came through were, Urban farming, community composting, children’s materials and products in general.