People's Organisation For Development Import & Export,

Sri Lanka

About Us

PODIE was created in 1974 as a non-profit marketing organisation and is registered as association. Each group of spice farmer's wives, which is with PODIE member, is represented with a person in the management commitee of PODIE. This selects a chairman, a secretary and one takes the money. These three and further five selected members educate the executive committee. This meets once monthly. All decisions of the line must be approved by the executive committee. A mark takes place annually a meeting of the members of all members. PODIE worries about the buying up, the processing, packing and marketing of the spices. Grinding the spices does not take place with PODIE, since there is for it no permission, but with another mill.

At present PODIE with three producer interior's groups (altogether 160 families) co-operates. Producer inside are settled in the region yes-Ela (between Negombo and Colombo), Puttalam and Kandy, whereby most spices of producer inside the region Kandy come. If PODIE cannot buy up all spices due to the missing demand of the alternative trading organisations, those must sell producer inside again to the middlemen. But receive with PODIE producer inside around 10 to 50% higher prices for their spices than at the local market. With carnations the difference in prices is even with 300%. That is however an exception and has with the differently strong demand to do. In principle the price, which get producer inside, regulates itself after the quality of the supplied spices and the local market price. Otherwise profit producer inside from the seminars accomplished by PODIE to the quality assurance, agriculture and/or irrigation. Most producer inside do not live on the cultivation of spice alone.

PODIE pursues a conscious policy of the woman promotion and employs in its packing center excluding women. Those on the average 45 - 50 female workers, who find with Podie in the spice processing work, originate all from poor families Negombos. Negombo is the seat of Podie and is located to approx. 20 km north the capital Colombo at the west coast Sri Lankas. With the female workers it concerns single women between 18 and 25 years, which are employed for maximally five years with Podie. The stipulation of a time limit justifies Podie with the difficult situation of young women in the region. Podie would like to give as much as possible from them the chance on a certain life and an economic independence. During this time the women earn above average well. Approx. 40 Euro the wages of the female workers amount to and are appropriate thereby approx. for 15% over the average wage. Of it 10% are deposited into a passbook, which is handed over to the employee with withdrawal from the company. In this way it is possible for the employee of Podie to save itself a small starting capital which is to facilitate the organization of their future for the woman. If the women marry, they stop usually with the work, "because in the country like that custom are". But disadvantaged, young women are only one target group of Podie. The other target group are the small spice farmers and farmer's wives, from whom Podie buys up the spices without the usual intermediate trade. They obtain higher prices by the sales of their spices at PODIE usually over up to 50%. With carnations the difference constitutes even the three-way.