[Scaling Up] Labor

One of the days, we traveled to Mandi to restock on Basil leaves. The shopkeeper informed us that in winter basil would be scarce because the basil leaves cannot handle cold. Additionally, demand would spike due to Basil’s medicinal properties. Hence, expect the prices to spike.

This bit of information got us thinking: What if we stocked up on Tulsi daily, dried them, and stored them for winter? This would ensure a steady supply throughout the colder months. The idea got Sabi excited because it reminded her of The Ant 🐜 and the Grasshopper 🦗 story.

However, between Sabi’s schooling and extracurriculars, managing this by herself seemed overwhelming. Moreover, Sabi had already spent the last year manufacturing all her tea. There wasn’t much for her to learn from specializing in de-stemming leaves. So, we considered hiring external help.

The next day, we reached out to several potential assistants and explained our requirements. Ensuring the right balance between speed and quality of stem removal was crucial. On average, removing stems from 5 kg of basil took about 2 hours.

• Helper #1: She was extremely good — completed 2.5 kilos in 1 hour and the quality was good too. However, she was not able to find enough time to give everyday.
• Helper #2: During her initial 2-hour shift, she processed only 2.5 Kg of basil. The pace was too slow, and the stem removal wasn’t up to standard.
• Helper #3: While meticulous, her pace was slow. She did the job for a couple of days. But eventually, she proposed taking the basil home to work on it and returning the cleaned leaves the next day. This introduced a new concern: Would the leaves remain fresh after an extended cleaning process?

During this time, Sabi began to feel disconnected from the project. Without her hands-on involvement, her enthusiasm waned. After observing this for a week, we approached her for her thoughts and subsequently ended the experiment.