You may be wondering why I made one post in September 2007 and only now am I getting around to a second post. Well, in between I was working for a VC/PE start-up here in Shanghai trying to formulate an investment strategy worthy of creating a fund. It was an amazing experience working with and meeting such excellent people. Some really interesting projects have passed across our desks, but alas, we have not yet made any investments. But in the process of scouring boardrooms and government bureaus across China, I have eaten some of the the weirdest things to crawl on this earth (see photos below).
Unfortunately, we started with a strategy that is still unproven, is still very high risk, and we just didn't have enough human resources to get it off the ground. The industry we've been working on is the "Jatropha to Biodiesel" industry in China and Southeast Asia. Working on this project I've been to Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi, Hainan, Guangdong, Beijing, and Jakarta, Indonesia. Along the way, we've also looked into hydro power, industrial property development, residential developments, Chinese medicinal herb crops, wind power, rubber tree seeds to biodiesel, waste water treatment facilities and more. I've attended three Jatropha related industry conferences held in Beijing, Hainan and Jakarta, respectively, and have collected untold amounts of information and paperwork on Jatropha. And after all that, I still can't answer one simple question...how much yield can you expect from one ha of Jatropha plantings?
Wild Jatropha an a hilltop in Panzhihua, Sichuan Province
This is not to say I am somewhat dimwitted. But rather that the question is so contextual that giving an answer is nearly impossible. And it's quite frustrating. I'll explain many of the variables that effects yield, in another personal post (once I verify my NDA allows for it).
For now, you'll just have to be satisfied with photos of some of the strangest foods. Unfortunately, I never got a picture of the stewed bear claw served to me once in Huzhou, Zhejiang. G-d forgive me.
A Hechi City, Guangxi Province specialty
A Panzhihua City, Sichuan Province Specialty called Sand Crawlers (爬沙虫)
BTW, you eat them deep fried. And surprisingly, they're not bad or gooey.
