Satuzz, Dates, Waterless

Dear Reader,

Do you think a book can change the course of someone’s life? ‘One Straw Revolution’, written by Japanese philosopher and natural farmer Masanobu Fukuoka, has done that. 

After reading it, Diwakar Channappa, a professor with a Master’s in Social Work, decided to leave the glitz of Bengaluru to work on his ancestral farm in Saganahalli village in the Chikkaballapura district of Karnataka.

It was early 2009 and after working for five months in the fields, he made a profit of guess how much? Rs 8,000! Though everyone was making fun of him, he decided to do what nobody else had tried before – grow the desert crop of dates in his village in Karnataka. The first yield in 2013 was sold at Rs375 per kg and since then, there has been no looking back.

My interaction with Diwakar was full of fun as he narrated incidents around his failure with laughter. Today, he earns Rs6 lakh per acre through organic farming of dates. He grows other crops as well, including sugarcane, which is turned into jaggery on the farm. Do read his story. I am planning to read ‘One Straw Revolution’ as well.

My colleague Bilal wrote about Go Waterless, Nitin Sharma’s Pune-based startup which has developed eco-friendly high-lubricity sprays that clean car interiors and exteriors without water. With a presence in 22 states, the company has been profitable since its inception in 2019 and earns Rs 2.5 crore in revenues annually.

More importantly, it saves 12 lakh litres of water daily by using its waterless products to clean the cars. An eco-friendly business that’s profitable from day one definitely makes for an interesting story.

Our most-read piece of the week is on Sattuz, the Bihar-based startup that uses superfood sattu to make ready-to-mix drinks in three flavours and a litti stuffing mixture. 

Madhubani-based Sattuz, founded by Sachin Kumar in 2018, is set to clock Rs2 crore in revenues this year. It is now setting up a food processing plant near Patna to expand the product range and double revenues by FY25. 

We featured Sattuz soon after 30Stades went live in January 2020. It’s interesting to note Sachin’s growth since then despite the slowdown during COVID. His latest story we wrote was read by over 50,000 people across the world on day one. That shows the potential for superfood businesses like Sattuz.

Our Sunday feature is on Honnavar, the hidden paradise with backwaters and beaches in Karnataka. Its picturesque landscapes and islands formed by the confluence of the Sharavathi River and the Arabian Sea will transport you to another world. Do look it up!

Happy Reading!

Warmly,

Rashmi