Linen, India & the city

Today I drove to the city to touch base with the Indian ministry of trade to discuss prospects of growing linen to enhance their local textile and handicraft industry. They have pestering me for months to meet them. As they are all very interested to learn more about linen cultivation.

India is not like Singapore. They always like to talk directly to farmers. As the believe experiential knowledge is always worth its weight in gold.

India has the highest rate of suicide of farmers cultivating cotton. The prospects of the crop has been destroyed by the evil GMO corporatist who have raised the price of seed to such an exorbitant level that most small holders have to take high interest loans from the local Indian mafia…as a result the cotton economy in India is a right mess.

I sat down for chapati with a few senior servants who asked me quite prosaically – what can be done? I told them if it was me I would pass an emergency order in Congress in New Delhi and set fire to every single cotton field from Bihar to Uttar Pradesh and clone Idi Amin to deal with the high level of loan sharks that is directly responsible for the high rates of suicide
…..thereafter I will plant flax…to weave linen. I told them their machines are old. They can’t possibly compete with the Vietnamese – but since linen weaving methods are more forgiving and in certain cases even highly desirable when weaved with old prewar looming machines…it would be a better business proposition to consider flax.

One of them asked me – would you consider relocating to 🇮🇳. He went on to entice me with all sorts of offers….I looked on impassively with a detached demeanour….

We will talk some more.