Introduction: Development Alternatives has chosen the route of Micro-enterprises for rapid and sustainable delivery of rural technologies in order to fulfil its goal of improving the quality of life in rural areas. Thus, the promotion of small scale profit making businesses that provide income generating opportunities in rural areas goes hand in hand with making available affordable options for building materials and technologies to a large mass of our population. By the time of the first Asia Regional Seminar (RAS) for Micro-Concrete Roofing Centres, held in Delhi in March 1995, it was abundantly clear that the Micro Concrete Roofing tile (TARAcrete tile) had demonstrated a potential for large scale dissemination through the micro-enterprise route. At the Seminar it was decided to undertake a detailed market research to determine a strategy for stimulating the market and ensuring a successful launch of the technology in Northern India. The first step, however, was to document the dynamic process already on in regions of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. Such and exercise was necessary in order to find answers to questions such as: how did MCR develop over the years in each geographical area? What are the multiplier effects achieved in market conditions? How have entrepreneurs developed the market? What insights did they have at the time of starting the business? Why do people purchase MCR tiles? Who makes the decision to switch from conventional roofing to a new alternative, and how does MCR technology get accepted as a local roofing system? A market survey exercise was undertaken in April – July, 1995 in Bhind (M.P.), Fatehpur (U.P.) and Muzaffarpur (Bihar) which involved the documentation of the volume and nature of sales made by established enterprises. This provided information on the nature and size of existing market segments, user/buyer profiles, product positioning, distribution channels and promotion avenues. The rural enterprises: The three enterprises indicated differences in market type and trends in roof transformation that can be attributed to variation in location, climate and cultural habits pertaining to roofing systems. However, the basic strategy employed by all the three entrepreneurs to develop their markets and disseminate information regarding the project was more or less the same. A typical rural house in all the three cases has one or more living rooms around a central courtyard with a verandah extension generally used as a kitchen or sitting space in rainy seasons; a single or doubly sloped verandah in front of the courtyard serves as a sitting space of for guests and male members of the family and for cattle sheds in winter nights. The enterprise at Bhind The enterprise at Bhind is the oldest of the three, operating since August, 1993. Its total tile production at the time of survey was approximately 1,00,000 tiles which have been marketed in 5 villages within a radius of 30 km in the vicinity of Bhind town. The enterprise which started as a partnership initially, has now split, with each of the two partners expanding his business individually. In this region, the predominant roofing for the main living room is stone slabs. Verandahs are generally roofed over with thatch or galvanised iron (GI) sheets. Most storage spaces for fodder, grains and seeds on the courtyard have also thatch roofs. The enterprise at Fatehpur The enterprise is located in Fatehpur town. At the time of survey, it was only a year old and the entrepreneur’s main focus was on initial market development. Fatehpur town lies on the major National Highway No. 2. – Grand Trunk Road connecting two large cities – Kanpur and Allahabad. Heavy goods traffic on this road has led to the development of many road-side restaurants (dhabas). Most of the these restaurants are presently roofed with thatch and even though they do not form the main market of the enterprise, they have good visibility and are an important media for creating product awareness. The spatial pattern of village houses here is similar to Bhind. Good quality fired brick is available in this region and the main living rooms are usually roofed over with reinforced brick concrete. Thatch and fired clay tiles are used to roof room extensions, verandahs and storage spaces. Roofs of 5 dhabas installed initially have provided the entrepreneur with the initial publicity. Most of the roofs installed since are residential (main living rooms, cattlesheds, stores). A very small number of commercial roofs such as factory sheds, shops and poultry farms have also been put up. The enterprise at Bidaul (Muzzaffarpur) Bidaul, is an interesting variation from both Bhind and Fatehpur. The enterprise, a year old at the time of survey, had the advantage of being run by an employee of Development Alternatives. Also, MCR is known in this area, as a unit has been functioning profitably in district Sitamarhi, near Bidaul since October 1992. A second variation in Bidaul is in the prevalent roof type. Although the dwelling pattern here is similar to Bhind and Fatehpur, the main rooms in this case are also spanned by sloping roof systems. Village Bidaul, situated between Muzaffarpur and Sitamarhi, is a typical example where 80% of the roofs utilise clay tiles, 19% use thatch and only 1% use flat roofs of RCC. This variation, attributed to climatic reasons, has substantially increased the scope of MCR in the region. Burnt clay tiles – both semi-culture type, and flat type, form the predominant roof cladding material. Room extensions and verandahs have thatch roofs. Expertise is available in this region to make hipped and gable roofs. The entrepreneur has put up roofs in 8 large to medium villages of 4000 to 1000 families spread within a radius of 20 kms around Bidaul. Within the first year itself the enterprise has sold 80,000 tiles in nearby villages. A summarised account of the survey is given in Table 1.
Learnings from the survey The survey has enabled the following line of inquiry that will now be utilized to undertake a detailed market research for the launch of MCR technology and the following guidelines which clearly define the parameters along which a rapid appraisal can be done in northern belt for feasibility of MCR enterprises by interested individuals or organizations. Product positioning: Product positioning for MCR can be defined as its place on technology staircase for roofing according to the function it fulfils. This is a factor of customer’s purchasing power and the function of the roof. The entrepreneur, it was found, positions the products by segmenting the market on the basis of two categories:
Reasons for buying: It is important to find out which of the considerations; economics, aesthetics, reduced maintenance, performance, comfort of any other prompt the user to purchase MCR tiles in preference over other available options. Trends in transformation: The trend of roof transformation in an area is an important indicator of market potential. An understanding of shifts in roofing patterns enables the entrepreneur to predict roofing need and demand in his local area. Existing promotional approaches and influences on the customer: A knowledge of the avenues that the entrepreneur has explored to expand his market is useful to understand the approaches that have been successful in influencing clients. This exercise of documenting marketing strategies of existing MCR entrepreneurs has shown that very interesting and complex networks exist in villages and they are very shrewdly exploited to run profit-making enterprises. It is the entrepreneur who uses his business sense and judgement to assess the market size when he sets up his MCR enterprise. Subroto Roy works in the Shelter Group of Development Alternatives. |
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