Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Meeting with a traditional boat builder

In meeting with a traditional boat builder in Ramnad region, asked the youngest in the Muslim family as to why don't they utilise the mass produced cheap material so as to cut costs and thereby gain on competition. His response, "Fishermen even today can spot the boats built here (by this family) in mid-sea and say it was built by us, that reputation of a quality boat builders is our greatest asset, how can we compromise on that? also, the local traditional material making communities are dependent on us, if we too stop patronising them, where will they go?"