VADDOS DEFINE COMMUNITY LIVING
The concept of vaddos is intrinsic to the Goan style of living. One look at their addresses and you can see the pattern of vaddos; Donvaddo, Gaura Vaddo, Porba Vaddo are just some of the popular ones.
Goa is divided into smaller suburbs and regions that house tiny units or provinces, where communities have lived together for generations. Unlike burgeoning cities, Goans have always cherished their private space while wanting to be a part of the local community. Keeping this need for balance in mind, Isprava has created homes following the vaddo ecosystem rather closely.
Private homes with pools each have been designed by international experts to reflect the heritage and the contemporary. Admeasuring between 300 sq. metres and 600 sq. metres, these vaddo homes share their facilities and have a residents society to keep all abreast with the happenings of the community.
FEELING OF COLLABORATION KEY TO SUCCESS: LENNY
Love brought Lenny to India from Germany, and it’s love of India that’s made him stay on. Credited with putting an impressive performance management system in place for the Isprava team, Lenny’s introduction to India, actually came through his girlfriend.
“I came to visit my girlfriend initially. It’s now clear that India is a very interesting place to work in right now due to dynamic start-ups like Isprava,” he says, with a warm smile. His prior experiences in companies in Germany came in handy when drafting the performance system. “I took some inspiration from what I have worked on with other companies in Germany. I took the systems I’ve created in the past and customized them for Isprava,” he says.
But Lenny agrees that nothing trumps genuine connection with employees. “Create an environment where it feels like a big family where people love to work. There should be a feeling of collaboration and support along with reasonable working hours,” says Lenny, who has a Bachelor degree in Social Science from Ruhr University in Bothum. Before moving to India, Lenny has worked with ThyssenKrupp and Spax International.
His assignment with Isprava has given Lenny much to be happy about. “The experience has been amazing. Isprava is a great company to work for with a great working environment. It was very interesting for me. I think everyone does a great job here. They are all aware of their roles and responsibilities and know their path to success.”
APPLY PRESSURE TO REDUCE PRESSURE
Long days at work, late nights to meet deadlines and copious amounts of caffeine. Sounds familiar? Throw in notorious bosses to this mix, and this is a classic recipe for work stress. Isprava, however, knows a thing or two about keeping such a scenario at bay.
Isprava values the time its employees spend working and believes that happy people make happy companies. Two Tuesdays every month, local masseuses visit Isprava offices and offer therapeutic treatments and massages to the employees.
Research has shown how corporate chair massages increase employee productivity, raise employee retention, improves office morale and works effortlessly to attract top talent from other companies too. Isprava cares, because in this line of work, sometimes it takes a village to build a home. And every single one of those involved, needs to know that they’re being looked after.
IT’S ALL IN THE LEAF
The imposing Nilgiris come alive with the resonating aroma of tea. Flanked by plantations on its sloping hills, the verdant nature of the region is only matched by the freshness of the tea served.
The first flush of tea picking brings with the cheer of the season. Tea pluckers take special care to ensure that the leaves are not hurt or bruised while being removed. Traditional wisdom has it that the plucker’s basket that can hold up to 10 kgs of leaves, is refilled 5-7 times a day depending on the flush growth.
While there are the usual variants of tea that have become ubiquitous in the Nilgiris, the region and its deft tea picking has won international accolades too. The expensive hand-sorted, full-leaf versions of the tea like the Orange Pekoe (O.P.) are highly sought after at international auctions making it unaffordable for most locals. In November 2006 a Nilgiri Tea achieved Top Honours and fetched a world record price of $600 per kg. This was at the first ever tea auction held in Las Vegas.