Kajimba: Bottling the Auroville Teen Spirit

Challenges

Ginger ale is a fermented drink ideally brewed in a dark, temperature- controlled space. Kajimba, however, operates in a community kitchen and constantly has to factor in changes in temperature and sunlight. “We make it on Saturday, bottle it on Tuesday and deliver it on Wednesday. It’s a clock, and there are no negotiables. If we mess up by one day, the whole batch goes to waste.” The product is only refrigerated once it reaches the client, and even with refrigeration, the shelf life is quite short.

“Losses are part of the game,” Nahar explains. Kajimba delivers to clients every two weeks, takes back empty bottles to reuse, and replaces any bottles from the previous batch that haven’t sold. But the larger losses have been due to fluctuations in temperature and sunlight. “Everyone’s learning,” says Nahar, “We make mistakes. Once, we had to throw the equivalent of 500 bottles.”

Future Growth

Still, Nahar is not scared to think big. “Ideally,” he says, “I would like to manufacture across India. In Auroville, I’d like to focus on R&D. That would be the most fun for the team.” After Pondy, the next step is Chennai, where Kajimba needs 20 to 30 clients for the transport costs to work out. “Theoretically I’m six months behind schedule,” he says, “I’d like to be in Chennai already.” But Nahar has a pragmatic approach and says he’s used to allowing things to move organically in Auroville. He explains, “I’d like my Instagram to move faster, but it's youth, and they take time to explore and learn. So there’s no way to get things done ‘on time’. Things get done when they want to be done.”

Influences

When asked about his influences, Nahar mentions Last School where he learned “English, determination, and aesthetics” and his parents. “My mom is a cook, my dad’s a software developer, and that’s the two things I do now. From my Mom, I learned how things should taste. From my dad, I learned to code and build structures. I write code to facilitate Kajimba’s operations.” But more than that, “building a company is a lot like coding with humans. You try, you test, you rethink, you have to get the pieces to work together. Coding with computers is a lot easier. Humans are much less predictable."

Seeing Kajimba’s appeal and presence on social media and in many of the better local eateries, it seems likely that Nahar and his team will crack that code as well.