Microgreens Millionaire and Honeybees

Dear Reader,

Have you ever considered what leads a person to quit a well-paying, comfortable job and risk starting something new? Mostly, it is the desire to fulfil a childhood dream or turn a passion into a profession. But sometimes, it can also be due to the pain and suffering that a person witnesses, directly or indirectly.

Mohit Nijhawan saw his brother and mother-in-law struggling with cancer. At work, he came across the case of a two-month-old infant who died because it was hugely expensive to get rid of the chemicals and pesticides transferred to his body from his mother’s blood and milk. 

All these were due to the intake of chemical-laden food. Mohit, working at an annual package of Rs90 lakh, quit his MNC pharma company to grow organic microgreens – the nutrient-dense seedlings that build immunity and fight disease naturally.

Mohit told me that he began with three vertical racks of microgreens in 2022 and now grows them over 500 sq ft, earning Rs12 lakh income and Rs5 lakh profit monthly. He has already trained over 200 people and buys back their microgreens to help them in marketing.

From Odisha, my colleague Niroj wrote about Bijay Kumar Bir, who quit his job at NALCO in Angul to start beekeeping because it promised a much higher income than his monthly salary. After working at Rs17,000 per month for four years, Bijay quit his job and now sells honey, honeycombs and other products. 

He is also a master trainer in beekeeping and has helped over 50 people start their microenterprises. 

My colleague Aruna spoke to Shashank Nimkar, an NID graduate who is saving the earth by recycling - guess what? Ceramics! Ceramic waste is non-biodegradable and has clogged landfills for centuries.

Shashank’s Earth Tatva recycles pre-consumer ceramic waste from industries into food-safe ceramic wares, diverting waste from landfills and reducing the mining of fresh clay.  Shashank is now set to commercialise the technology through industrial tie-ups and hopes they will help reduce ceramic pollution. 

Our Sunday story is about the Chitradurga Fort in Karnataka. Steeped in legends and folklore from the Mahabharata era, the fort is also an engineering marvel with seven concentric walls for defence and an elaborate rainwater harvesting system dating back to the 11th century!

Happy Reading!

Warmly,
Rashmi