Rambutan, Dragon Fruit and Earthy Tales

Dear Reader,

I am a firm believer in the saying “age is just a number.” When Johanna Quaas could do gymnastics even in her 90s and Pappammal continued farming after she crossed 100, what stops people in their fifties or sixties from pursuing their passion or charting a new course of life? The culprit is the mind that makes us believe in limitations.

But not in the case of Saju MC. By the time he was 60, Saju had seen the changing farming cycles of Kerala. Growers moved from paddy to rubber to exotic fruits, depending on profitability.

Saju could have put up his feet and rolled in the money he had made over decades through his rubber plantations in Koothattukulam. Instead, he chose to experiment with exotic fruits because to him, “stagnation is the end of life”.

Saju told me he replaced rubber plantations on five acres with rambutan intercropped with dragon fruit in 2020. While the annual yield from rubber is Rs 60,000 per acre, he now gets Rs 6 lakh per acre with exotic fruits. And this is just the beginning. As plants grow older than eight years, the yield and Saju’s income will increase fivefold. He is now 65.

My colleague Aruna wrote an interesting piece on New Delhi-based Earthy Tales, founded by Deepak Sabharwal. An MBA, he quit his job with General Electric in 2017 as he was drawn to farming. His family owned some land in Pushkar, at the foothills of the Aravallis, and Deepak fell in love with the lush green place.

“While still working at GE, I would travel by bus every weekend from Delhi to Pushkar. It was an eight-hour journey to cover 420 km, but it was worth it. I did this for two years,” he told Aruna.

And then, Deepak started organic farming of lemon, gooseberry, moringa and chiku. He set up Earthy Tales to sell his produce. He now procures, processes and sells produce from 300 other organic farmers, paying them above market rates. With 50% employees being women, the startup clocked Rs 4.4 crore in turnover in FY25 and is targeting Rs 7 crore this fiscal.

Across India, engineers are leaving stable jobs to embrace farming, cultivating exotic fruits, mushrooms, moringa, and more. My colleague Anu has put together a piece on seven such engineers-turned-farmers. They blend technology with sustainability to create profitable farming businesses by targeting premium markets.

The elimination of middlemen and direct access to even export markets is driving rapid growth for these farmers. Do look up this one.

From Odisha, my colleague Niroj wrote about Habaspuri sarees, which were woven by the Kondh tribals of Kalahandi in the 19th century. However, with the decline of dynasty rule, they lost royal patronage and the craft was almost lost.

Today, the Bhulia (Meher) community has become the custodian of Habaspuri weaving on handloom. They have contemporized the products with finer fabrics and newer styles while retaining the traditional motifs and process. The results are chic, handcrafted sarees with more demand than supply. So if India’s art heritage and handmade products interest you, don’t miss this piece!

Happy Reading!

Warmly,

Rashmi

Kerala farmer replaces rubber with rambutan and dragon fruit; earns Rs 6 lakh per acre

MBA quits MNC job for organic farming; now sells chemical-free food products across India

Seven engineers who quit jobs for new-age farming and now earn in lakhs

Habaspuri Saree: The tribal weave from Kalahandi gets contemporary and chic