Home Business and Rakthashali

Dear Reader,

In India, it is common for women to quit jobs once they embrace motherhood. Lack of good quality daycare options for babies, inadequate family support and absence of women-friendly policies at the workplace can be some of the reasons behind women quitting jobs after childbirth.

I have seen many of my friends opting to quit work after becoming mothers. Pooja Kanth was no exception. She left her job after the birth of her son. But for someone who has been working for 15 years, it’s not easy to sit at home either. So in 2015, her husband got her a smartphone to browse through home business ideas, writes my colleague Bilal.

After seeing many craft videos and investing Rs5,000 in buying the materials, Pooja decided to put up some of her handmade macramé home décor products on Amazon. Three months later, she sold her first product – a plant hanger – at Rs 150. Today, her enterprise Pooja Ki Potil, earns Rs 30 lakh in revenues annually, and is growing.

The bags, home décor items and DIY craft kits are made by underprivileged women living in villages around Delhi. Why them? Pooja answers: “When you have faced poverty, you understand the pain of poverty. That’s why I have this urge to help underprivileged women.” Do read her inspiring story.

This week, we have two stories from Kerala. The first one was written by my colleague Chandhini R, who went to Kottayam’s Elikulam Panchayat. This Panchayat has set an example in delivering exceptional care to its 5,232 senior citizens by establishing day homes, enabling social connections, and providing comprehensive healthcare. It organizes meetings and training programmes to let the seniors follow their passions like painting, singing etc. in their twilight years.

The Panchayat has introduced a weekly professional mental health counselling session for those in need. In all, ageing is happy and healthy in this award-winning Panchayat. I hope the model is replicated in the rest of the country.

Our other story is from Thrissur, where Tom Kiron Davis started organic paddy farming on a wasteland in 2015. He quit his high-paying job in Dubai as he preferred the greenery of his village in Thumboor. He has helped other farmers resume cultivation on 130 acres of barren land and also set up a collective that sells their rice across the world.

Their organic Rakthashali rice is sold at Rs275 per kg while other varieties are priced upwards of Rs100 per kg. By eliminating middlemen, this post-graduate in Economics has increased farmer incomes many times.

Our Sunday story is on ten street foods of Varanasi, where malaiyo is made during winter using milk exposed to the dew under the open sky at night.

India is entering its busiest wedding season in three years as millions of couples will enter wedlock beginning mid-November. So in the Money section, Karan has given five savings and investment tips for newlyweds.

We are also close to celebrating India’s biggest festival Diwali. So there will be no newsletter next Sunday as we all enjoy the festival of lights.

Team 30Stades wishes you and your loved ones a sparkling Diwali! May the lights illuminate every life!

Warmly,

Rashmi