The builder's path
For: Onion farmers in India can't see, before loading a truck, which nearby market will pay a fair price that day.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
ὁ δὲ ἀνεξέταστος βίος οὐ βιωτὸς ἀνθρώπῳ
Routes to a solution
Each route is a different kind of journey, with real people and organisations to contact at each step, starting with those in Madhya Pradesh.
Step 1
Join an impact incubator
Shape a model that pays for itself without excluding the people who need it.
IIT Bombay's incubator for technology startups.
Incubator for social enterprises in health, agriculture and livelihoods.
Lab-to-market platform for science and technology aimed at social problems.
Patient capital and fellowships for enterprises serving low-income communities.
Step 2
Raise patient capital
Impact funds and fellowships for enterprises serving low-income communities.
Incubator for social enterprises in health, agriculture and livelihoods.
Lab-to-market platform for science and technology aimed at social problems.
Incubator and investor at IIM Ahmedabad, with impact programmes.
Patient capital and fellowships for enterprises serving low-income communities.
Ideas, sources and tools for this problem, from first interviews to funding.
Government electronic trading platform that publishes mandi trade and price information.
Runs the national online mandi platform and its data.
Starter prompt
Built from this problem's brief. Paste it into Claude or any AI assistant.
Help me design and build a first working prototype for this problem in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, India. Problem: Onion farmers in India can't see, before loading a truck, which nearby market will pay a fair price that day. Who it hurts: Small and marginal onion growers who sell through regulated wholesale markets (mandis) and lack storage. The moment it hurts: Deciding at dawn which mandi to drive to, knowing that a wasted trip costs transport and a day's work. What people do today: Farmers rely on traders and word of mouth. Some wait all day without an auction and end up dumping produce or selling below cost. Why it is still unsolved: Prices are published, but late and not tied to a farmer's own location, transport cost or the queue at each market. What solved looks like: A voice or SMS service where a farmer says their village and quantity and hears the three nearest mandis ranked by expected price minus transport cost, using that morning's arrivals and prices, plus a warning if a market is overloaded. Where: Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, India First, list what you would need to learn from the people affected before building, as interview questions. Then propose the simplest version that would help, the screens or messages it needs, and the data it would use. Keep it cheap to run, accessible, and respectful of people's privacy. Flag anything you are unsure about instead of guessing.
Talk to the people who live it before you build.
“When a man does not know what harbour he is making for, no wind is the right wind.”
Get a working version in front of people fast.
Using AI is not cheating. Every tool carries the work of the people who made it, and using it well is how knowledge has always moved forward. The thinking, the care for the people who live the problem, and the judgement are still yours.
“The Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.”
Open data that fits this problem.
“In the fields of observation chance favours only the prepared mind.”
Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que les esprits préparés.
Tools matched to what this problem needs.
“Give me a place to stand, and I will move the earth.”
δός μοι πᾶ στῶ καὶ τὰν γᾶν κινάσω
Ship it responsibly, and find help and funding.
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.”
Kit written for this problem from its brief; every link was checked. Links go to each provider's own site. Zetema is not paid for any listing.