bok feb 2010 summary

well folks,

the bok 2nd edition experience:

• not having the plums was the biggest disappointment to all of us - the weather has been exceptionally hot this week and we had harvested all the fruits from 3-5 days before dispatch to ensure that ripe a bit when they reach their destination. Unfortunately the fruits ripened faster than expected/hoped and we had the classic catch-22 situation; disappoint you a little bit or take the risk of sending them, which would have juiced the rest of the box - plums are a sensitive lot, get squished easily; hence we choose the former. It seems to be an art to decide "when" to harvest - since, we are committed to not using 'preservatives' of any sort; we need to evolve a mechanism to harvest/transport to your homes in the shortest possible times.


• logistics was much more smoother, this time around - although about 10 folks in chennai did not receive our boks, yesterday. They are being delivered today, free or charge. Our order-acceptance system (web, email, phone) was a bit messed up; our delivery teams did end up in a few houses of people, who had not ordered; apologies for the inconvenience.


• we will incur a loss this time around also - it will however be less than the first time around, so there is an improvement on the economic front also.


• overall summary; better than the first time, but not optimal, yet - we recognize the need to improve on a few fronts (logistics, harvest-time, costing, ...) to satisfy our ardent supporters, "you".

some of you have asked me about the big round yellow things - they are 'malta limes' can be used as slices in tea, and other suitable drinks which typically use lemons. The skin is quite useful too - sun dry them, cut them into small cubes and crystallize them in a sugar solution; kids/adults will love chewing it.

having said that, this year has been weird in weather terms, our peach trees are fruiting and plum trees are flowering again - we will know the harvest situation, a few weeks from now and if it seems like a decent harvest, we will share them with you.

thanks for your continued support, looking forward to a improved version 3 experience.

as always,

Karthik Ayyar
www.houseofkodai.in

ps. we have decided to not send you long rants; but rather to post our monologues on the Internet and email you once-a-week with links to them - so you can read them at your convenience.