APT Worldwide To Represent
The Dabbawallas

Documentary is a Fascinating Study of Human Ingenuity in Bombay, India

PRESS RELEASE


(August 31, 2004 Boston, Mass.) – APT Worldwide, the international sales division of U.S. public television distributor American Public Television, has secured international representation rights for a one-hour documentary, The Dabbawallas. The film explores how a group of men work without the aid of radios, telephones or automobiles to deliver over 100,000 meals each day to the business people of Bombay, India. Their story seems unbelievable in a world reliant on technology, yet their delivery system is so dependable that viewers will find themselves wondering if technology has impeded efficiency, rather than improved it.

Bombay is one of India’s leading financial, manufacturing and commercial centers. Its 15 million residents live in crowded neighborhoods that are often impoverished by Western standards, yet the city is a magnet of opportunity, constantly attracting migrants seeking a better life.

Of the Dabbawallas, director/producer Paul S. Goodman said, “They have developed an extremely complex and highly reliable system of work with none of the technology or practices that the industrial world thinks is necessary. It is a compelling example of what we in developed countries can learn from other countries.”

The story of the Dabbawallas begins in the kitchens of Bombay. Every day, thousands of Bombay residents leave home for work empty-handed, without anything to eat for lunch. After they step out their door, someone, usually the worker’s wife, begins the time-consuming process of preparing the worker a fresh, home-cooked lunch. What happens next demonstrates the inventiveness and creativity of the Dabbawallas system. By mid-morning, thousands of Dabbawallas are bicycling through the streets of Bombay, picking up the lunches from their customers’ homes. Soon thereafter, they begin the arduous, complex and daunting task of sorting and delivering the meals to businesspeople in the city’s bustling urban center. The Dabbawallas system is so highly coordinated and the Dabbawallas so motivated and hardworking that customers do little but rave about their service.

Paul Goodman is an expert on organizational behavior and is the Richard M. Cyert Professor and Director for the Institute for Strategic Development at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In addition to The Dabbawallas, he has produced 19 education videos that are used at universities around the globe.

About APT Worldwide
APT Worldwide, located in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., is a major supplier of non-fiction programming to broadcasters around the world. It is a division of American Public Television, a leading distributor of television programming to public television stations in the United States. For more information, please visit APTww.org.

About American Public Television
For 41 years, American Public Television (APT) has been a prime source of programming for the nation's public television stations. APT has more than 10,000 hours of available programming including Discovering the Real World of Harry Potter, Globe Trekker, Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World, Rick Steves' Europe, Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home, Ballykissangel, Brian Jacques' Redwall and The Three Tenors Christmas. APT is known for identifying innovative programs and developing creative distribution techniques for producers. In four decades, it has established a tradition of providing public television stations nationwide with program choices that enable them to strengthen and customize their schedules. Press should contact Donna Hardwick at 617-338-4455 ext. 129 or via email to donna_hardwick@APTonline.org. For more information about APT's programs and services, log on to www.APTonline.org.