Newsletter aus Mitraniketan vom Februar 2012 (engl.)
Visit of the Friends of Mitraniketan from Germany
The Bakery project sponsors of Mitraniketan Dr. Hans Waldmann, Richard Nussbaumer and his wife and his team of bakers visited Mitraniketan from 12th to 20 of January 2012.
As the bakery container was getting too hot and crowded, a new building is being built which will be finished by September/October 2012.
The baker friends of Mitraniketan from Germany examined the building and the old machinery which has become insufficient. New machines will have to be installed. In this context, Viswanathan, founder Director of Mitraniketan and the baker friends have visited a bakery production unit in Trivandrum which uses the machines needed and they also contacted the Indian supplier for these machines.
A new diesel oven, a dough mixer and a bread slicer machines have already been identified for procurement from a local supplier as the maintenance of machines made in India is much easier. The local supplier supplies Italian machines too, but the German friends preferred Indian machines as it is as good as the imported one and cheaper in addition to the availability of local mechanics for maintenance .
In a meeting between the architect and the baker friends, the interior design and the higher productivity which then will be possible were discussed. The income is meant to be used for the nutrition of the children of Mitraniketan school project, where 300 tribal children are being educated in its Residential school.
Last year the production of cake and bread has proved to be very lucrative as with the help of a new van surrounding shops and villages could be supplied with bakery products. Especially around Christmas more products were sold in Kovalam, a popular seaside tourist place.
The number of people working for the bakery has gone up (management and marketing, bakers, apprentices and packing staff).
The guests of Mitraniketan (volunteers, 40 Danish students, yoga group members, participants of an international workshop) are especially happy with the traditional German bread.
As always when the German bakers visit, the schoolchildren got a piece of delicious cake in an additional assembly.
Apart from that, the bakery organized the catering for the pottery exhibition on the 30thJanuary 2012 when everybody got another piece of cake.
'Die Freunde von Mitraniketan' also support the little marketing center which sells cakes, biscuits, water, soft drinks and other Mitraniketan products.
At the end of their visit, the guests were invited to enjoy a cultural highlight: a traditional dance performance at Mitraniketan City Center.
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