Two Women Farmers and Mahua

Dear Reader,

I am a big fan of Rumi’s poetry. One of his quotes I often refer to is this: “When you start to walk on the way, the way appears.” It implies that taking action is the first step towards uncovering your path and finding success.

Two of our stories prove this. When Anita Negi was struggling with health problems due to the use of chemical fertilisers in her fields, she learned about a natural farming camp in her remote village in Kullu. She attended the training in 2018. However, when it came to implementation, her family opposed the switch to natural farming, fearing a steep decline in vegetable production.

Anita told me she went ahead by converting a small kitchen garden from chemical to natural, and the results were higher production, tastier vegetables and improved soil fertility. She has now increased her family’s income by six times, earning Rs60 lakh from four acres and also runs a nursery. She intercrops apple, plum, persimmon and pears with seasonal vegetables. This maximises land use and increases income.

Anita trains local women farmer to help them earn more. The details about her farming strategy are in the story.

My colleague Riya spoke to Kanika Talukdar from Nalbari in Assam. Kanika lost her husband when her daughter was just four months old. She worked on the farm to make ends meet and joined a self-help group. One day, she learned about a training programme on vermicomposting and went for it as it required very little investment.

She invested Rs 500 to prepare the first batch of vermicompost, sold it in the local market and earned Rs 8,000. That was in 2014. Since then, she has been adding more compost beds annually and now clocks a monthly turnover of Rs 7 lakh. She sells her compost across the North-East.

Women like Kanika and Anita are an inspiration because they did not just succeed; they fought the odds to make their way.

My colleague Anu spoke to Shalu and Amit Murarka from Kolkata last week. When the couple could not find vegetarian food on an overseas trip, they began researching ready-to-eat meals. The duo fabricated a freeze-drying machine to prepare ready-to-eat meals.

Shalu and Amit’s sister Madhu has standardised the recipes and works with women home cooks to prepare food for freeze-drying. Their work has empowered women by providing them with a stable income opportunity.

Our Sunday story is on the forest flower mahua. For centuries, mahua has provided food and fuel for tribal communities. As chefs and craft brands innovate with mahua syrups, powders, butters and bakes, it is being repositioned from a marginal forest produce to a premium ingredient on global shelves. Do look it up!

Happy Reading!

Warmly,

Rashmi

Himachal’s woman farmer earns Rs60 lakh from 4 acres after shifting to natural farming

From Rs500 investment to Rs7 lakh monthly turnover, how this Assam woman built a vermicompost business

Kolkata couple’s ready-to-eat meals empower women cooks

Mahua: The forest flower moving from tribal homes to global shelves