Sun-dried veggies and 800 native seeds

Dear Reader,

Do you know the biggest sign, which shows you need to change your work or profession? Boredom! When your work seems repetitive and meaningless, it is time to face new challenges. Otherwise, one tends to stagnate.

Vandana Patil's success story is based on this premise – boredom leading to bliss. She was a member of a women’s self-help group in Jalgaon, Maharashtra, preparing pickles, snacks and ground spices. Other SHGs in and around her village also produced the same products.

Tired of seeing no product differentiation or increase in demand, she decided to work on something new and approached the local KVK. There she learned about vegetable dehydration and took training in 2021. After being refused a business loan, she took a personal loan of Rs 10 lakh to put up a solar drying unit in 2022, writes my colleague Anu.

Today, Vandana dries tomatoes, onions, beetroots, turmeric, ginger, moringa, and curry leaves and clocks a monthly turnover of Rs3 lakh in a small village. Dehydrated vegetables have a high demand in urban areas as they are convenient to use, store and retain nutrients. She is planning to expand her unit to triple its capacity and revenues.

From Kerala, my colleague Chandhini spoke to friends Ashwathy P Krishnan and Jisha VV, who shut down their civil services academy following a slowdown during COVID-19. They ventured into hydroponic farming and now grow lettuce, kale, herbs, and microgreens over a 1400 sq ft unit in Ernakulam.

The duo combines precision and vertical farming to maximise space usage, harvesting around 60 kg of leafy greens weekly. Can you guess the selling price? A kg of lettuce retails for Rs450! And the business is thriving.

Last week, I wrote another piece on a subject close to my heart – conservation of native seeds. I spoke to Sundar R, a 29-year-old farmer from Embalam village in Puducherry (also Pondicherry). He began collecting seeds after a documentary film for a college project brought him in touch with organic farmers and native seed savers.

That led him to collect seeds of rare vegetables, which have been conserved by farmers and tribal people for generations. For three years, he worked on farms and as a wedding photographer to earn money while travelling a lakh km to collect seeds.

Sundar now has seeds of 800 types of vegetables and tubers, including a tomato weighing a kg, and perennial purple okra. He has leased two acres of land to propagate the seeds and shares them for free with farmers.

My colleague Aruna wrote our Sunday story on the handmade dolls of Vilachery, a small village near Madurai.  Around 300 families handcraft colourful, traditional dolls using clay, papier-mache and plaster of Paris. The sales peak during festive seasons, and Navaratri tops the list.

Interestingly, the dolls are also exported to the US, Australia, Singapore, Dubai and other countries. Aruna's article details the craft’s history, present and future. Do look it up!

Happy Reading!

Warmly,

Rashmi

Maharashtra woman builds vegetable-drying business; clocks Rs3 lakh monthly turnover

Puducherry farmer saves 800 varieties of native vegetable seeds; sells across India

Civil services trainers take up hydroponic farming in Kerala; retail lettuce at Rs450

How this tiny village near Madurai nurtures a unique doll-making industry