From Rs500 investment to Rs7 lakh monthly turnover, how this Assam woman built a vermicomposting business

Kanika Talukdar was just 27 when her husband died in an accident in 2008. With a 4-month-old daughter and ageing parents-in-law, she had to find a stable source of income. But having studied only till class 10, she could not take up any vocational skill. 

“I wish nobody would witness the dark days I have seen. I was broken emotionally and financially,” Kanika, who lives in Borjhar village of Nalbari district in Assam, tells 30Stades.

Her father brought Kanika and her baby to his home. She began to work on the farm, reared a goat and became part of a women's self-help group (SHG). In 2014, the president and secretary of the goat-rearing SHG told her about a five-day training programme on vermicomposting being conducted by the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Nalbari. 

“The KVK training also included honeybee keeping, floriculture, pisciculture (fish rearing) and dairy farming. But my financial condition was so poor that I could only think of making vermicompost as it required the least investment,” says Kanika.

Vermicomposting – low-cost business

One week after the training, Kanika started vermicomposting with an investment of Rs500 only. “Bamboo is easily available in Assam. So to save money, I used bamboo to make the structure for vermicomposting,” she says.

Also Read: This engineer clocks Rs4 lakh monthly from vermicompost business on 1.5 acres

The other key requirements for vermicompost are dung, or goat dung. Other organic materials, like tree leaves and crop residues, can be added. “I used cow dung and organic waste available at home and received 1 kg of earthworms of the Eisenia foetida species from the KVK,” the agripreneur says. 

Kanika's first attempt yielded 8 quintals (800 kg) of vermicompost in her bamboo structure. She made organic manure packets of one kg and 5 kg and sold them in the local market. “I earned Rs 8,000 from its sale,” she adds.

With that money, Kanika ramped up production. In 2015, she produced 100 quintals of vermicompost, earning Rs one lakh. The figure went up to Rs 1.70 lakh in 2017 and Rs 3.5 lakh in 2023.

Today, Kanika makes vermicompost in cemented tanks or pits and plastic structures over less than half an acre (under 1.5 bigha). “My monthly output is 90 tonnes (90,000 kg), resulting in a turnover of over Rs 7 lakh,” says the rural woman entrepreneur.

Also Read: Five rural woman entrepreneurs scripting success stories in the hinterland 

Business expansion 

“I have achieved this growth by adding new beds with plastic material. They cost less and can be put up anywhere, unlike permanent cement beds,” she says.

The vermicompost bed sizes at her unit vary according to the space available. “I have regular beds of 10ft x 3 ft on the sides and also large ones measuring 85 ft x 35 ft,” says Kanika. 

Each vermicompost bed is ready in two to 2.5 months. So there are four to five cycles annually.

She is now setting up another unit on an adjacent piece of land, but it is not yet functional. “There is growth in the number of farmers opting for organic farming. Even those who use chemicals add vermicompost after harvest to replenish the soil. So the demand is increasing,” she says.

Kanika also produces vermiwash on pre-orders. Vermiwash is a liquid extract from vermicompost and is rich in decomposer bacteria count, minerals, vitamins, hormones, enzymes and various antimicrobial peptides.

“The vermicompost is sold to government nurseries, institutions and wholesalers at Rs 800 per tonne. The retail rate varies between Rs 9 and Rs 10 depending on the quantity. Vermiwash is priced at Rs80 to Rs90 per litre,” says Kanika, who employs ten people. 

Farmers and traders from Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya also buy directly from her farm. 

Also Read: Engineer quits job to make vermicompost; earns Rs30 lakh from just one acre

Overcoming marketing challenges

Marketing is a challenge for entrepreneurs, especially in rural India, and Kavita would sell mostly in the local markets in the early years. However, things turned around when she got an opportunity to attend a two-month Agripreneurship Orientation Programme organised by the North East Agriculture Technology Entrepreneurs Hub (NEATeHub), Jorhat University, Assam. 

“I learned about 26 aspects of entrepreneurship, including market acquisition, branding and marketing of products and setting up a private limited company. It helped me develop as an entrepreneur,” says Kanika.

She then branded her products as Jay Vermi Compost, which made marketing easier. “I have been getting repeat orders for years. Brand recall is important in products like vermicompost. It has helped increase sales manifold,” she adds.

(Riya Singh is a Ranchi-based journalist who writes on environment, farming, sustainability, startups, & women empowerment)

Also Read: Couple finds super success with vermicompost; clocks Rs 6 lakh monthly turnover

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