Banana Fibre and Pollachi Nutmeg

Dear Reader,

We all know bananas are one of the most versatile fruits. From shakes, cakes, and ice-creams to chips, this fruit can be put to many uses. But did you know that banana fibre is now being turned into silk-like fabric with a high demand in the sustainable fashion and handicraft industries?

Realising its potential, three friends from Bihar’s Vaishali district declined corporate jobs and set up a banana fibre extraction unit in Hajipur. Jagat Kalyan, Satyam Kumar and Nitish Verma started Taruwar Agro in 2021 with their savings of Rs15 lakh. The zero-waste eco-friendly startup now clocks Rs5 lakh monthly turnover. 

Jagat told me that Taruwar sells banana fibres in India, Japan, and Europe and also makes vermicompost from the pulp discarded after fibre extraction. Do read this story to know how waste can be turned into wealth.

Last week, my colleague Chandhini wrote about K Ranjit Kumar, a nanotechnology engineer from Cambridge, who has transformed nutmeg farming in Pollachi, Tamil Nadu. He helped farmers set up an FPC or farmer producer company, Pollachi Nutmeg, which has improved their bargaining power. Through farmer training and product branding, the quality of produce has gone up and the FPC now pushes Rs3 crore in annual turnover. It also exports to Canada, Australia and France and is now set to scale newer heights.

My colleague Anu spoke to Ekanthraj, who switched from areca nut and coconut to pomegranate farming in Karnataka’s dry Kadur region of Chikmagalur. While the average pomegranate yield per tree in India is around 40 kg, he gets 50 kg per tree. He makes an annual profit of Rs1.7 crore by selling pomegranates at Rs180 to Rs200 per kg. The secret to his high yield is in the story. 

Have you ever used or heard of brown salt? Our Sunday piece is on Sanikatta, the brown salt village of India. Do look it up.

In the Money section, my colleague Karan has written about choosing the right life insurance policy from the wide array of complex plans available in the market. 

Happy Reading!

Warmly,

Rashmi