3M is a multi-national company having its presence in about 28 countries manufacturing home, health, office stationery, machinery and space technology products. As an annual Impact Study event, selected officials from all over the globe were brought to Bengaluru to work on a project with AME through Pyxera Global, an intermediary coordinating company.

The 3 member team of Mr Aaron Hefner, Ms Jane Peterson and Ms Jennifer Fuenzalida, the first two from USA and the third one from Chile studied the existing community based institutions, agriculture practices, marketing avenues and its economics.  They visited two villages in Dharmapuri District of Tamil Nadu to have direct discussions and group exercises with the farmers. The group exercises included cultivation practices and technologies/techniques adopted and marketing places, cost of transactions and profits made or otherwise.