An alleyway in Rasul Pura

The Solae Company (a DuPont subsidiary), ESW, and Cornell University’s Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise formed a partnership in 2006 to launch BoP Protocol projects in India. Initiatives were launched in both urban slums (the Hyderabad slum cluster of Rasul Pura), and rural villages (the Parvathagiri and Annaram Sharif villages of Warrangal District). A third “sister site” was later launched in Mumbai. The project was managed by ESW in 2006, and led in the field by Erik Simanis (Cornell University) with assistance from Patrick Donohue (ESW) and Tatiana Thieme (University of Cambridge). Since 2006, the project continues to be advised by Erik Simanis.

As outlined by the Protocol, the Solae Project team used participatory appraisal and asset-based development techniques to identify and build upon existing resources of the community and Solae, while co-developing actionable business concepts that built upon their combined resources. In Hyderabad, the team and its community partners converged on the co-created concept of a “Culinary Park”: By leveraging available space on the tops of homes and buildings, rooftop gardens were adapted to meet the expressed needs for local greenspace, fresh and affordable produce, and healthy, high quality food options. By building upon the team's relationships in the slums, the business has been promoting the adoption of new ingredients and recipes into daily household cooking.

The exact nature of the food products and services is still evolving, but each business continues to experiment and grow, while the community owners of the business have seen their personal profits grow.