Our members simply hung around the coastal pockets of Nayarambalam and made a straightforward offer to the locals: collect seeds of Bruguiera gymnorhiza (Burmese Mangrove) and Bruguiera cylindrica—two species abundant in the region—and we would pay ₹1 per seed.
When we returned, locals handed over the seeds they had gathered and were paid on the spot. They were happy, but we realized this was only a starting point. ₹1 per seed wasn’t going to build long-term economic independence.