Our Sincere Thanks to Michelle Lacourciere, Director of Sirona Cares for the Successful Collaboration Between Flip Flop Fleet and Project Jatropha

Flip Flop Fleet is an organization that collects and distributes flip flops, sandals, and other footwear to those in need all over the world, so no parent has to choose between feeding their children or buying them shoes. Michele of Sirona Cares introduced us to Dawn and Lee, the founders of Flip Flop Fleet. The two are amazing people who are involved in extraordinary activities to help the unfortunate. For more info visit there blog: http://www.flipflopfleet.blogspot.com/. They donated 70 pairs of flip flops and sandals. We carried them to a child labor rehabilitation residential school, called DEED, which stands for Development through Education. None of the children here had footwear. These children are used to walking around barefooted on a rough terrain. Despite that, they were eager to receive the generous gift and promised to take good care of the footwear. Thanks again to Dawn, Lee, and Michele for bringing joy into these kids' lives.

Sincerely,
Adarsha, Apoorva, and Callie

Project Jatropha Team Wins Action For Nature International Young Eco-Hero Award 2009

Hot off the Press!
AFN announces its 2009 INTERNATIONAL
YOUNG ECO-HERO AWARDS!


"With great pleasure Action For Nature announces its 2009 International Young Eco-Hero Awards, which recognize young people 8 to 16 years of age for their environmental achievements. We hope the accomplishments of these outstanding young people will inspire many others to preserve and protect the Earth upon which all life depends. The winners of AFN's International Young Eco-Hero Awards program receive a cash prize and a special certificate, as well as public recognition on our website and elsewhere.Our judges are experts in environmental science, biology and environmental health. They select our Young Eco-Heroes from applicants from around the world. They are looking for young people to follow in their footsteps.We are proud of the 2009 winners, and of all the applicants from around the world."

Adarsha and I want to thank the Action for Nature Organization, Beryl Kay, and Hoi Y. Poon for their support. We are using the cash prize towards the expansion of Project Jatropha!

~Apoorva

Project Jatropha team returns to CA after successful completion of planting more than 11,000 new Jatropha seedlings in Kirijaji and Thippalapura

Adarsha and I landed in San Francisco airport by 10:35 AM today. We're safe but terribly jet lagged. We are very happy and content with our work in India. We had a busy schedule. It was not easy but we did it. Though Adarsha had assured the blog followers that we would update our blog every day while we were at the project site, that was impossible. Forget about internet, the basic electricity was very scarce in the villages due to heavy rains. It was pouring heavily almost every single day. That did not stop the farmers from working. We all drenched in rain every day and it was actually pretty fun!!! We have exciting incidents to be reported. We will do so once we settle in. We've updated the blog with new pictures

~Apoorva

Project Jatropha in a Labland Biotechs Program

Dear followers of Project Jatropha,

Apoorva and I are currently in a program in Labland Biotechs where we are learning the various agronomic practices of Jatropha cultivation and the details of the extraction and conversion of Jatropha oil into biodiesel. Currently, it is day 3 of our course. On the first day, we learned about the selection criterion that is used to determine the seeds that Labland Biotechs germinates in order to sell as seedlings. The process involved softening the seed coats with a dilute hydrochloric acid solution in order to speed up germination. In addition, Apoorva and I created a batch of artificial soil that the seeds were planted in. The soil was a mixture of sand, red dirt, manure, and coconut husks, designed to supply plenty of water and nutrients to the seeds after they sprout. Yesterday and today, Apoorva and I will be converting both regular, edible vegetable oils and Jatropha oil into biodiesel on both a commercial and laboratory scale. While both processes are similar, the conversion of Jatropha oil is more complex since it is inedible. The Jatropha biodiesel that Apoorva and I are making will be given to us so we can run it in our vehicles. Labland Biotechs has been running a Chevy Tavera on a 10% Jatropha biofuel blend for a year; the biodiesel blend gets on average 4-5 more kilometers per liter than straight diesel. In addition, Labland Biotechs plans to increase the amount of biodiesel in the blend yearly by 10% and see the effects of the biodiesel on the engine and the vehicle's performance.

Sincerely,
Adarsha

An update and analysis of the project site

Dear followers of Project Jatropha,

I am pleased to report that the seedlings from the Phase I farmers are growing very well. The farmers have been growing the seedlings as a hedge crop, in bunds (which are small plots), on wasteland, or with tobacco (intercropping). We also noted that the plants that had been irrigated were significantly larger than those that had just been rain-fed. In fact, the tallest irrigated plants were around 4 feet tall and were bearing several clumps of fruit whereas the tallest rain-fed plants were only 2-3 feet tall and had no flowers, let alone fruits. In addition, the plants that had been fertilized with manure were larger than those that had not been fertilized. Both of these cases illustrate that although Jatropha curcas can survive and grow in harsh conditions without irrigation and fertilizers, the use of both cultivation methods greatly increases the plant's growth. Mr. Abignan Gurukar, a Research Officer at Labland Biotechs, told us that a good supply of water is essential for the first year of the seedlings' lives if the farmers wish to maximize the plants' producitivity. For Jatropha curcas to be grown by these small farmers on an economically viable scale, it is necessary to cultivate the plants, especially in the beginning of their lives when they need the most care. Only then can Project Jatropha truly be able to offer poverty alleviation for the farmers in our project.

Sincerely,
Adarsha

The Farmers' Prayers are Finally Answered!

The roads of Thippalapura and Kirijaji are wet and slippery. I walk very carefully on the muddy roads to reach the project site. I wish I could share all of the interesting stories that are happening. But due to heavy rains, I can hardly access the internet. Today I have come to a nearby town which has one small internet café just to update the blog. It’s pouring outside and can hardly see anything. However, I can hear children shouting, singing, and playing in the rain. I wish Adarsha and Callie were here with me to witness this joyous moment. To tell you honestly, I have spent hours playing with kids in the rain. However, that doesn’t mean that I haven’t worked on the project. We have come a long way from the past two weeks. Before I arrived, the farmers had planted around 6,000 seedlings. Lack of rain had prevented them from planting the rest. It looks like I brought some luck with me! Ever since I arrived at the project site, it has been pouring. We have planted 4,000 more seedlings in the past two weeks! There’s a big line behind me waiting to access the internet. I better go now!

~Apoorva