A few months ago, Aakash, an electronics engineer based out of Jaipur, had made plans with his friends to take a long road trip to Longewala, a town in Jaisalmer district on the Indo-Pak border.

While his friends would travel in their IC-engine vehicles, Aakash was planning on driving his Tata Nexon electric vehicle (EV), which has a premium battery range of 312 km. But his friends cancelled on their plans last minute. Aakash, however, was already committed to the trip and had made extensive preparations. Instead of his friends, he would take his wife Kaushal.

Thus, in the wee hours of Christmas morning in 2020, the couple embarked on their nearly 1500 km round trip from Jaipur to Longewala, taking them through Pushkar, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. With little to no hiccups, they completed the trip to Longewala and back in over four days.

“We started the journey from my home in Jaipur to Pushkar, where we stayed overnight and charged the vehicle. From Pushkar, we went to Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and then Longewala town on the Indo-Pak border,” says Aakash, the founder of Aha 3D innovations which designs 3D printers.

What’s particularly remarkable about this trip was that they spent approximately only Rs 700 to Rs 800 charging their EV. If Aakash had taken this trip in a conventional IC-engine vehicle, that has an average mileage of 15 km per litre, he would have spent close to Rs 9,000 just on petrol. So, how did Aakash take this long road trip to the Indo-Pak border with barely any hiccups and pay so little to power his EV?

What Do You Need to Take Your EV Out on Long Road Trips?

First off, EV drivers need to ensure that they can charge their vehicle at any given point.

To start off, Aakash made an extension cable and attached it to an electricity meter (electrometer) so that he could measure the electricity consumed and pay the owner of the concerned establishment. During the trip, he also carried an earthing kit because a lot of the hotels and establishments did not have proper earthing.

“EV owners often resort to making DIY earthing kits (an iron rod covered by copper wire is inserted into the ground). As you may know, earthing is the process of protecting against unwarranted spikes of electricity that can cause damage to an appliance or in this case my EV. It’s important that earthing is available for this vehicle. There is an iron rod, which I can pitch into the ground and connect a wire to it. This creates earthing, and then this wire connected to the vehicle charger. During my journey, I discovered more ways of earthing like using a copper plate for water-tank based electrical earthing and clamp for getting earthing with any metal structure like plumbing (GI pipes), hand-pumps, railings, pole, electricity board pits, etc. This was the most important discovery I made and would advise the same for anyone who plans on such road trips,” notes Aakash.

EV drivers need earthing to charge their EVs safely, and most places he came across during this trip didn’t have it. Everywhere, they had to make adjustments to create that earthing. After the trip, he developed an EV travel charging kit, which contains all the necessary elements like the extension cable with an energy meter, an indicator to note if the wiring is okay nor not, an iron rod, a copper plate and any other equipment one needs on long EV road trips, which costs up to approximately Rs 9,878. This product is available on the Aha3D website.

“We also ensured that every 200-odd km, we planned a stop at a hotel or any such establishment to charge the EV. We stayed at hotels, my friend’s home, and desert camps, which we called in advance to ensure that electricity was available. At every place we stopped for the night, we charged our car for a good 10 to 11 hours. Ideally, however, we would charge the EV when the battery hits 15% and therefore require just 8 hours for a full charge,” he says.

In the absolute worst-case scenario, however, if drivers are stranded on the highway with no charge, they can either call up the nearest workshop that can help them tow the car or ask a passing-by vehicle to help with the same. Towing the EV helps charge the vehicle because of a feature called regenerative charging (regen) or tow charging.

“All you need to do is carry your towing rope in your car boot and you can just hail a vehicle ready to tow your car. For every 1km the vehicle is towed, you approximately gain 1.1% charge. If you tow the vehicle for 5 km, you gain 6% of battery charge. Every 1% charge gives you a range of 2.5 km. So, if you tow your vehicle for 5 km, you roughly gain a range of around 15 km in addition to the 5 km you have already towed for,” says Aakash.

Thus, another key part of his EV travel charging kit is the tow rope. Of course, he does not recommend this option and it is to be used only in dire need circumstances. If drivers follow the basic plan, they wouldn’t even face such scenarios.

Saving Energy

EVs like Tata Nexon are very predictable and it can tell exactly how many kilometres are left before the battery runs out. If drivers have to travel more than what their car is predicting, then what they can do is adjust their driving pattern to gain more range.

“For example, if you’re driving at 80 kmph, you get a range of 200-220 km. But if you discover that this is not good enough, you can always start driving 40 kmph, and this will increase your range to over 300 km. Therefore, at no point were we stranded. Although the company claims a range of 312 km, if the Tata Nexon is driven at speeds of 90-100 kmph, the battery range drops to about 160 km on a single charge. If they drive like monks at speeds of 40 kmph, they can extend the range to up to 320 km,” observes Aakash.

It really depends on speed and acceleration. When accelerating hard, a driver burns a lot of battery energy. Sudden breaking also eats up a lot of battery. They don’t want to break too hard or often and instead tap into regen (regeneration of energy). EVs have this feature that if a driver is speeding and wants to stop, they can save energy while stopping.

As this article in electrek noted, “Regenerative braking uses an EV’s motor as a generator to convert much of the kinetic energy lost when decelerating back into stored energy in the vehicle’s battery. Then, the next time the car accelerates, it uses much of the energy previously stored from regenerative braking instead of tapping in further to its own energy reserves. It is important to realise that on its own, regenerative braking isn’t a magical range booster for EVs. It doesn’t make EVs more efficient per se.”

To stop an EV, all anyone needs is to let go of the accelerator pedal. In the process, the car will start the process of regenerating energy. If a traffic light is 50 metres ahead, one can just let go of the accelerator and the car will stop while saving energy. Besides fast acceleration, even sudden breaking would result in a loss of battery energy.

“Our biggest challenge emerged while travelling from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer. Along the route, for about five-odd kilometres, the highway was under construction. The road was all sandy and rocky. These conditions put a strain on your EV battery. We wasted something like 10% of energy in covering just these 5 km. As a result, during the following 148 km we were supposed to travel towards our next destination, I only had a battery range for about 118-120 km. To make matters worse, we were travelling at night, around 9.30 pm, and the road was very deserted. There was no fallback option of towing as well,” he recalls.

Instead, they started driving really slowly at around 45-50 kmph and that helped them cover this distance on less charge. However, while returning from Longwala to Jaisalmer, they had sufficient charge and travelled at speeds of 100 kmph on the highway.

Speaking of the fuel cost saved from travelling in an EV, Kaushal says, “If we travelled in an IC-engine vehicle with a mileage of 15 km per litre, we would require approximately 100 litres of petrol to cover the 1500 km round trip. Say, we take the price of petrol at Rs 90/litre, I would have spent Rs 9,000 just on fuel costs. In the EV, we spent about 200 units of electricity to charge it. At Rs 7/unit, it comes to about Rs 1,400, which is barely over 15% of the total fuel costs of travelling in an IC-engine vehicle. In fact, there were certain places, where they didn’t even charge us for the electricity consumed. Out of these 200 units, we paid for only 100 or Rs 700. Our fuel costs, therefore, was in the range of Rs 700 to Rs 800 for the entire trip.”

Confidence with Assistance

Thanks to this trip, Aakash has gained a lot of confidence in taking his EV out on the highways cutting through Jaipur. Since the trip, he has made regular road trips.

“There is a place about 115 km from my house which I visit every weekend, so that’s a round trip of 230 km. On the periphery of Jaipur city, a lot of fast charging stations have emerged particularly along radial highways to Delhi, Ajmer or Kota. Tata Motors has set up these fast charging stations at places where you can charge your EV and hit the highway. Moreover, all the major cities are within a radius of 250 km. I am currently planning a visit to my native village, which is 230 km from Jaipur,” he says.

Before the trip commenced, Aakash had reached out to Amit Goel, a senior manager at Tata Motors, through their informal online network called National EV Owners Club. He asked Amit for routes and technical back-up. In return, Amit supported the couple by lining up commercial workshop owners in the State to support their endeavour.

Having said that, with the right charging infrastructure, the day isn’t far away when travellers hitting the highway on their EVs becomes the norm.

Despite limited charging infrastructure, Aakash and Kaushal managed a 1500 km round trip with ease. Instead of guzzling litres of petrol or diesel and polluting the pristine air outside our cities, maybe next time you can take your EV out too.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

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It’s never easy to be the harbinger of change and for Ishaq Ali (49), a farmer from Sirohi district in Rajasthan, it was no different. Today, after almost three decades of consistent hard work, Ishaq has earned himself the title of ‘Saunf King’ and along with other farmers who work on his field, he is responsible for the production of more than 25 tonnes of fennel or saunf on 15 acres, earning close to Rs 30 lakhs each year.

Hailing from an agricultural family, Ishaq grew up knowing that he would also be involved in the same. After he completed his class 12 examination he expressed an interest in working with his father and grandfather on the field. “For the longest time my family was involved in the cultivation of commercial crops like cotton, mustard, and wheat. While I began with doing that, I wanted to try something different and would constantly have conversations with my father about the same,” he tells The Better India.

The idea of cultivating fennel, while not new, was something that Ishaq felt he could bring back.

“Almost 50 years ago, a handful of farmers in the Sirohi district of Rajasthan did try and grow fennel in very small quantities. However, since they did not get any great success with it, they chose to go back to traditional crops,” he says. He mentions here that the technique that the farmers used was of direct sowing.

Some of the disadvantages that Ishaq found in the older method of growing fennel included the excessive use of seeds because of the direct sowing method and also lack of any value addition to the production and distribution of fennel. Ishaq says, “I knew that fennel is a crop that had great demand in the export markets and I wanted to work towards tapping into that.”

2005 – a new dawn

It was in 2005 when after a lot of discussions and deliberations with his family members, Ishaq embarked upon the cultivation of fennel with newer techniques. “All we did was spend time researching good practices like changing the seed quality and paying attention to the sowing and irrigation procedure. The new technology also helped in curbing the pest problem and that in turn led to an increase in the per acre production of fennel,” he says.

Speaking about some of the techniques, he says, “Usually, in the traditional method of fennel cultivation, the gap between the beds range from 2 to 3 feet. This is something that we changed. We now follow a gap of almost 7 feet between every bed. In terms of the yield, we found that this technique was yielding almost double.” He also mentions here how he was often ridiculed for trying these new techniques and it was only when he started seeing better yields that people around him took note.

In about two years after starting fennel cultivation, in 2007, when Ishaq decided to completely give up on the traditional farming method. “Since then we have only been working on fennel cultivation on our fields,” he says. There are now close to 50 people who work on the fields every day.

Seed – beginning of everything

“For any farmer, the seed is the most important tool while farming. Just like how the seeds of brinjal and chilli are prepared, we used the same technique for fennel as well. We went back to the fennel crops that were traditionally grown by our forefathers and through the process of selection, we picked the good ones out,” he says. He adds that they looked for the ones with good character and the probability of high-yielding seeds.

Moreover, Ishaq also set up a fennel nursery where he experimented with various kinds of the crops.

In fact, he is also credited with having prepared a new variety of fennel called ‘Abu Fennel 440.’

“Any crop that is transplanted starts to yield better returns and following this we continued the process year-on-year,” he says.

With the water table decreasing rapidly in Rajasthan, addressing the water concerns was also important for farmers like Ishaq and he says, “The newer water saving techniques like drip irrigation and usage of water sprinklers were not prevalent when we started out and therefore we had to find other means of conserving water.”

In an attempt to conserve water the gap between each bed was increased and this also helped in bringing down the problem of pest infestation to a large extent.

With time, Ishaq also realised that fennel requires irrigation only during the first sowing period, then after an interval of eight days and then on the 33rd day. This should be followed by irrigation at an interval of 12 to 15 days. “These are things that we learnt by doing and as they say — necessity is the mother of all innovations. We learnt by trial and error,” he says.
With a glimmer of pride, he tells me that even the various agricultural research centres only have seeds which give an yield of about 22 quintals per hectare whereas the seeds being used by Ishaq give an yield of almost 33 quintals per hectare. “The seeds we use also have greater immunity to fight off pests,” he says.

Life cycle of fennel

The crop cycle period that Ishaq follows is for about eight months beginning in June, when the seeds are prepared in the nursery. This process takes about 45 days from the date it is started. Coinciding with the monsoons in August, the seed is transplanted into the fields. In about 10 days, the transplant process is complete, which is then followed by the harvesting period after four months.

Come January, the harvesting period begins and continues until almost mid-April. “The reason why the harvesting period takes so long is because of how labour intensive this process is,” says Ishaq. This is done to ensure that the quality of the fennel remains constant. “From the colour to the line appearing on the fennel, every aspect is looked into before it is picked,” he says.

While earlier the fennel would be sun-dried, Ishaq realised that it’s quality was getting impacted by the direct sunlight and therefore he created a dry-shade area where the fennel is now dried. “We created a structure using bamboo and grass and ensured that the area got just enough sunlight,” he says. This process helped retain its green colour and protected it from unnecessary moisture creeping in as well.

The cost for the first quality fennel is Rs 200/kg and Rs 150/kg for the second quality grade. With an investment of Rs 7 lakhs every year, Ishaq tells me that now they are able to make close to Rs 30 lakhs turnover each year and sell close to 23 tonnes of fennel annually. “My children have also graduated and are taking a keen interest in the business now. They wish to expand it and take it directly to the customers,” he says. 

The recipient of the Jagjivan Ram Abhinav Puraskar by the The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in 2010, Ishaq says that the future looks exciting with his children showing interest in the work.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

Discourse around sexual wellness in India remains tiptoed around, hushed up, avoided, or ignored. A report in the Reproductive Health Journal states that in India, young women, especially those in rural areas, are at a high risk of negative sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes. Women aged between 15 and 24 years constitute 41% of the total maternal deaths in the country. This, and more, stems from a lack of understanding of sexual wellness in the country. For laws and legislations to work, a deep correlation with awareness and understanding of sexual health and wellness must exist, and vice versa.

In one of the country’s first steps towards initiating a conversation around this topic, 75 village women in Ajmer district in Rajasthan came together in 1989 to write a book named Shareer Ki Jankaari (About the Body). This initiative was part of the Central government’s Women’s Development Programme in Rajasthan, which began in 1984 aimed to build awareness among rural women based on case studies through group formations. The programme was launched across six districts and at the time stood out for its direct participation of women.

What power does a woman hold over her body?

The women conceptualised and designed Shareer Ki Jankaari with the help of activists Malika Virdi, Indira Pancholi and a few doctors. Over a period of about two years, they all met regularly to slowly build the book. It was part of a year-long health programme developed under WDP, says Pancholi.

“The genesis of the book was simple,” Virdi tells The Better India. “Women from different districts of Rajasthan wanted to address fertility control. But fertility cannot be spoken about without a larger understanding of women’s sexuality and basic physiology. That’s how we worked on Shareer Ki Jankaari.”

“We worked with these women, who were called saathins, to figure out the issues women face with respect to their bodies. This included how we’re built, how much control we have over our bodies and contraception. It wasn’t just biology classes that we were organising. The objective was to collectively understand the emotions and agency women attach with their own bodies and sexuality,” she says.

“I was around 21 years old when I joined the project,” Pancholi says, adding, “At the time, I was already involved with WDP. The first draft of the book was made by referencing science and medical books and how they addressed women’s sexuality. We put photos of body parts and marked them the way you’d find in science books, but the women were a little scandalised by naked bodies and felt that they would not be able to show them around in their villages. They asked us to put ghagras and odanis on them. They also wanted it to be in their language.”

Virdi adds, “The challenge was that all these women belonged to villages, and we were talking about vigyan (science) and satta (power). So we held a series of workshops over a year with them to help deepen the understanding of both.” The idea was to weave a linear and structured scientific method of giving information around contraception with the non-linear and interconnected art of visual storytelling.

Labour of love

Pancholi says these women offered their inputs in terms of the language they wanted the book to be in and how they maintained their menstrual calendars. To remember information discussed in the workshops, they would make up songs, which were also incorporated in the book. They discussed how they count the days they are fertile, how they kept a record of their menstrual cycle, and topics including the process of childbirth. “The discussions were very open,” Pancholi recalls. “They discussed the nature of their white discharge in different phases of fertility, and talked about sexual urges at different points in the cycle.”

She adds that Virdi played an important role in designing and ideating how the book would be presented to readers. Since she had years of experience in the field of education, her inputs helped shape how the book would inform readers who were not literate.

Bardi Bai (69), one of the women involved in the project, was 37 when the book was being made. In a remote village in Ajmer, Bardi was a labourer in the field where a three-day workshop was held to discuss the book. They had set up a temporary home in which she and her two kids lived. Her husband was no more.

“Many of the women were dais (traditional birth attendants), who had a good understanding of women’s bodies and the process of childbirth. So we wanted to highlight those aspects in the book as well. The response from the village was good, but the government didn’t want us to carry it forward because they found the book to be graphic and vulgar. That’s why we incorporated flaps, which would cover the body parts, and could be lifted to see the structure. Before the book, we did not possess any knowledge about our own bodies, how it worked, and what control we had over it. Shareer Ki Jankaari helped us gain better understanding,” says Bardi Bai, who eventually became the panchayat sarpanch at her village, a saathin with the project and a social worker.

Virdi says, “The process of making the book itself was very creative and educational, because discussions were centered around how we perceive our bodies. They were variously represented by the women through their drawing. These multitude of viewpoints were then tied together in the final book as a narrative closest to their visual language. But by the time the book was printed, the scenario had changed completely. We were asked to leave the project along with the saathins, we took a stand against the coercive state population control measures of the time. Besides, the book threatened patriarchal mindsets and the charge here was that it was “promoting indecency”.”

She adds, “Around 1987, the target of government employees was to meet targets of the sterilising people as part of the Famine Relief Works. We felt that here we’re talking about empowering people with jankaari, but the larger question was, ‘Do we just stop there?’ The sterilisation process had to be monitored in terms of whether guidelines and safety protocols were being followed. We were accused of going against the national programme of population control. But our point was that the agency has to be with the women — they themselves should get to take a call about whether they want to have more kids or not.”

By the time the book was complete, Virdi and her colleagues had been asked to leave the project. Moreover, because of the pictures depicted in the book, the team had been asked by government officials to not publish it. “Representatives of the government recalled all the copies we had distributed and burned them,” Pancholi says.

Virdi and Pancholi took up a small working space to finish the book themselves, but the neighbours would often think they were sitting together to discuss “vulgar” topics. “The area we were working in was very small, so anything you would do, other residents would know. It took us 15-20 days to give the book its final shape,” says Pancholi.

The activists and village women took this final book to Kali for Women, which was India’s first feminist publishing house. Kali was started by Urvashi Butalia and Ritu Menon in 1984 with an aim to bring women to the forefront through academic publishing. So this manuscript fit right into their scheme of doing things. “Us taking the book to a feminist publishing house ensured that it would see the light of day,” says Virdi.

Transcending boundaries of an urban city

“A few women from the group came to our office one afternoon with hand-made copies of the book,” Butalia tells The Better India. “They told us that the community had protested at the time because the book showed naked bodies, which they said was unrealistic because you never see a naked woman in the village.”

She further adds, “They told us about the book’s history and that they want us to publish it. Their only condition was that we would not sell it for a profit to any village woman who wanted a copy. They also said they wanted all 75 names on the cover. We were more than happy with the conditions, because as feminist publishers, it’s not every day that you get to work on a book that transcends the boundaries of an urban city and language. Kali was based in Delhi and we used to publish in English, and here was a book written exclusively by village women in Hindi.”

The publishing process itself was intricate. “Publishing back then wasn’t as advanced as it is today. All the binding of the books were done by hand, in an old city called Ballimaran. The process was carried out by young boys in the locality. So when the book went from our printers to the binders, we were told that the young boys aren’t being able to work because they were so in awe of the book. So we started looking for women binders. There was a group called Action India which worked in slums at the time to train women to do binding. So we got in touch with them and they took on the task.”

Kali started by printing 2,000 copies of the book, priced at Rs 12 each. However, the village women worked so hard to sell their copies that before Kali finished printing, 1,800 copies had already been pre-sold. “The book was also pirated a lot and printed in various different languages such Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada and Tamil,” she says. “We had sold somewhere between 75,000-80,000 copies up until four to five years ago.” Not a single copy was sold through a bookstore. Instead, it was sold through various women’s groups, individuals, and agencies, among others.

But the book is not just for children. Virdi emphasises, “It’s for women. The book covers various grounds — it talks about menstruation, white discharge (and which is healthy and which is not), even touches upon men’s sexuality, old age, menopause, and fertility cycle, among many other topics.” The book closes with all the names of all the women who contributed, with the message that it is “an effort to recognise [the women’s] own power”.

Karuna Phillip is a social worker at Mahila Jan Adhikar Samiti, which works to help victims of violence. She says, “We still use this book, because a lot of our work revolves around health and nutrition, as well as adolescence. It is very simple to understand and interpret, which helps us reach out to the rural community, especially young brides, who don’t have much knowledge of their own bodies. This book can be understood regardless of whether someone is literate, because of its pictures and the way it’s been made. The women we work with connect with its ‘rural touch’.”

The samiti uses the book in training programmes and workshops to discuss maternal and sexual health. “The women sit with their mothers-in-laws or sisters-in-laws and discuss the content of the book and their own understanding of it,” Phillip says.

Perhaps today, Shareer Ki Jankaari is far simpler when one puts it in the context of how the discourse around sexuality has evolved. However, back then, the book was the first to pioneer the conversation of self-hood and women’s agency over their own bodies. It breaks the barriers of the echo chamber in which we discuss our bodies, with the aim to empower those who exist in the fringes of society. The English translation of one of the songs inside goes, “We have power, we have the strength to create…A world of my own, where my spirits soar free”.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

Owing to the exodus post the Indo-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971, several members of the Meghwal community settled in India in parts of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. In particular, some of those who came after 1971 settled in Rajasthan’s Barmer district, including Chohtan, a town in the area. The community was reeling from the displacement and facing financial difficulties due to limited work opportunities. The women, in particular, suffered owing to these pre-existing conditions, as well as societal norms which did not allow them to step out of their homes and left them solely dependent on their husbands.

The conditions in Barmer were equally despicable at the time. Lata Kachhawaha, a social worker with Society to Uplift Rural Economy (SURE), recalls, “The district’s climatic conditions left it riddled with droughts and limited farming choices. It’s also very remote, so transportation and communication were a challenge as well. The biggest issue was water shortage. The women were suffering the most.”

Preserve and protect

Lata had arrived in Barmer in 1985, when she was only 22, shortly after her mother’s demise. “My elder brother brought me here because I was looking for a change,” she tells The Better India, “I’m originally from Jodhpur, and had always been involved in social work. I met Shree Magraj Jain, who was the founder of Sure and was instantly inspired by the work he was doing.”

The women of Rajasthan’s Meghwal community are pioneers of kashidakari, a kind of embroidery used to decorate shawls, handkerchiefs, bed covers, cushions, and bags, among a host of other items. The work would earlier remain within the families, and be used to give as dowry, decorate their homes or as gifts to other family members.

When the community settled here after the war, raising the next generation became increasingly hard, owing to the deplorable conditions of the district. A few merchants acted as middlemen to sell kashidakari items in the market, but the families would receive very little income in return, often not more than Rs 200. That’s when, through Sure, Lata came to the village. “We saw how men would have to leave the town to find work in other cities or states, leaving the women and elderly behind. The women would become burdened by the responsibilities of caring for the house by themselves, and were left with little agency,” Lata says.

She wanted to preserve and promote kashidakari, while ensuring that these women attain financial emancipation. The detailed and intricate designs that they were making had been passed down from grandmothers and even great-grandmothers, and the women needed to be compensated for the heavy work they were putting in recreating them. The programme began with 224 Pak-oustee women in the town. In 1994, Lata joined hands with designers from National Institute of Design, National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and Dastkar to hold workshops and develop over 250 designs in accordance with the fashion trends of the time.

“We made a group with the women wherein they could track the number of pieces they were making and how much they were earning in return. It was to familiarise them with being able to tell how many hours they were putting in and assessing if the compensation they were receiving was adequate. They would price the products themselves based on the cost of raw material, shipping, storage, etc,” Lata says. Partnerships were made with NABARD and SIDBI to further the reach of these artisans.

Respite for war-hit women

The women were taught about entrepreneurship, told about concepts including breaking even, how to tally balance sheets, what are profits and losses, among others. “We had to explain how they should make quality products. We taught them by giving examples of cooking halwa, and how the tastier it is, the better the quality,” she says. In 1995, Sure tied up with the Ministry of Textile to further market and promote the women’s kashidakari work.

Over the years, exhibitions have been held in various parts of India, as well as in countries such as Germany, Japan, Singapore and Sri Lanka. Over 15,000 such women have been helped through embroidery. Brands such as Fabindia, Ikea, and Rangsutra get much of their material from the women of the Meghwal community in Barmer. In addition, around 40,000 Pakistani refugee women have been enabled through animal husbandry and agriculture. “Generations of women are involved in this work, and today the daughters of these households are both earning as well as being able to study,” she says, adding that the women earn up to Rs 5,000 a month.

One such woman is 21-year-old Leela. She lives in Barmer with her grandmother and mother, while her father works in the handicraft business in Jodhpur. Her dadi settled in Barmer after the war in 1971. “Dadi tells me things have really changed since Lata ji came. She was always skilled in kashidakari, but was never earning from it. After Lata ji started working with us, things improved, and all three of us are now involved in the art. Our family’s sustenance has become a lot easier, and we’re not just dependent on my father,” she tells The Better India. Leela is in her final year of MBA.

A life-long lesson

Lata says the road to success has been riddled with potholes. “Helping these women earn meant that we would have to ask them to step out of their homes. We faced massive challenges in that, because it was strictly against what was allowed at the time. The community was averse to outsiders, and thought that women who come from other areas try to talk and engage with the Meghwal women were corrupting the latter. We had to work on building trust and forming our own relationships with them. We lived with them, ate with them, participated in their festivities, and tried our past to make them feel like we were part of the community. We’ve also had to keep up with the changing trends of the time to ensure the women can keep earning. The village was also facing acute water shortage, which meant that women would spend hours travelling long distances to fetch water, and not have time to work. We installed facilities in each household so they would have supply for 7-8 days at a stretch, but the problem has not fully been eradicated,” she says.

She adds, “Earlier, there were no cars or such facilities to travel, so remote areas could only be accessed via foot or on camels. Taking pregnant women to hospitals was a task, and often, only either the child or the mother would survive. We trained birth attendants for that, and how to refer high-risk cases to hospitals.”

“I wanted to ensure that other than just empowering them with work, we were addressing their holistic needs as well. Over 40 years, we have worked to provide them sanitation, sexual health awareness, education for their children, water security, taught them sustainable agriculture, and advocated for their food entitlement,” she says.

For her work, Lata was recognised by the Government of Switzerland and felicitated with the International Prize for Women Creativity in Rural Areas, as well as the Mahila Shakti Award and Senior Citizens Service Award by the Rajasthan government. “These awards have only pushed me to continue what I was doing, with renewed hope that my work has made a difference. I always tell the women that it’s because of them that I have received these awards,” she says.

Lata says her learnings have come from her mother. “She would always tell me that while society has many ways to dictate what a woman should or should not do, I had to remain focussed enough to carve my own path. She encouraged me to be educated, and I finished my postgraduate degree in law before coming to Barmer. Her words have inspired me to ensure that other girls had the opportunity to attain their dreams,” she says. The same teachings have inspired Lata’s 40-year-old journey in making sure that generations of Meghwal women in Barmer don’t become eventual casualties of war.

Edited by Yoshita Rao

Shankar Jaat from Salera village Rajasthan is a traditional farmer, growing tomato, beans and wheat on his 1.25-acre land. However, the 45-year-old marginal farmer never earned more than Rs 60,000 a year, because unlike other fertile regions of India, the state’s harsh weather and arid climate conditions do not allow farmers to get surplus harvest. Shortage of water often limits farmers to only one crop rotation per year. They often rely upon the mercy of the monsoon for a good harvest.

However, over the years, Shankar has adopted scientific techniques that have now aided him in earning Rs 4 lakh a year, with the same crops on the same amount of land.

“I started growing tomatoes on the farm in 2016. But the yield was low. I did manage two crop rotations, but could barely cover the expenses of a family of six,” Shankar tells The Better India.

He says that after training and learning scientific techniques under the Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation (BAIF) Research Foundation, his income has steadily improved.

A 70% reduction in water requirements

“Experts in the field helped me procure the ‘1057 variety’ of tomato from Dev Company on one beegha (0.6 acres) of land using techniques of mulching and drip irrigation. I learned organic methods of growing the fruit by making jeevamrut, a combination of cow dung, cow urine, water, gram flour and jaggery,” he says.

Shankar also started systematic plantation of crops for efficient utilisation of space. Additionally, implementing mulching on the land helped him reduce the rate of evaporation. “The use of these two techniques alone saved water requirements by 70 per cent,” he says.

Instead of the earlier practice of watering the farm for an entire day once in three days, Shankar started watering the plants every day for 20 minutes. He immediately reaped the results of a good harvest. “The same method was replicated on an additional 0.6-acre land. The collective harvest helped me achieve bumper produce and earn lakhs of rupees,” he adds. Shankar says he continues to grow wheat on the remaining land, which earns him additional income.

“I struggled with spreading mulching. BAIF helped me with expenses on the initial 0.6-acre land, but arranging the loan for investing in expansion of cultivation was a challenge. I borrowed money from relatives,” he adds.

An outcome that inspires others

Nagin Patel, associate programme manager at the foundation, says, “A demonstration is provided to farmers on their land to show them a methodical approach to adopt in farming. The farmer saves electricity and expenditure on pesticides and insecticides, which in turn reduces the production cost.”

Nagin says the exercise helps farmers build confidence in shifting from traditional farming methods to adopting a systematic approach. “Keeping distance between the plants, reducing excess irrigation, and regular maintenance of plants helps improve the harvest,” he says, adding that the overall outcome betters the lives of the farmer and his family, while motivating others to follow the same process.

Shankar has become an inspiration for his success, and around 50 people from neighbouring villages have visited his farm. “Farmers approach me to seek guidance about the methods I have used. Three from my village have decided to adopt this scientific and organic approach,” he says.

The farmer says the additional income has helped him provide better education to his children and lead a better life. “I have never earned so much money from agriculture in my life. I am glad I took the risk,” he adds.

Edited by Divya Sethu

Back aches due to regular load on the spine are becoming increasingly common among people across various professions, be it labour-intensive work or tiresome desk jobs. In India, 60% of the population has suffered from some form of lower back pain during their lifetime. While for some, the pain is a mild discomfort, in others, it can pose serious consequences such as chronic back pain, compressed spinal cord injury, or a slipped disk.

Ganesh Ram Jangir (32), then a student of Class XII, had been burdened by the same issue while working on his field in Newndra village in Rajasthan’s Nagaur district. He’d spend his time sowing seeds, plucking weeds and harvesting crops. But at the end of every day, he’d be left with a throbbing pain down his spine, and the discomfort would make it hard for him to fall asleep.

“My parents, and others who toiled on the fields, admitted they experienced similar pain. Some said they continued to work despite the ache, while others sought temporary solutions such as painkillers,” Ganesh says.

This incident prompted him to innovate a solution that would reduce load on the spinal cord. The device, named the Jaipur Belt, was launched in 2019, and is patented across eight countries, including India. Around 300 people are currently using this device, and 60 of them are farmers from Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

Reducing pressure exerted on the body by half

“The users include construction site workers, as well as factory workers in large companies such as Bosch and Maruti Suzuki. The device is also being used by office-goers who spend prolonged hours sitting or standing, and even people who have spinal cord injuries,” he says.

Ganesh decided to work on this solution to ease the back pain of labourers while pursuing his engineering degree at Jaipur Engineering College and Research Centre. As part of his research, he spoke to several farmers and construction workers in his village. “Whoever I spoke to agreed that body pain, especially back pain, was a regular occurrence. While most of them resorted to painkillers to ease their pain, others depended on alcohol. Some workers said that they needed to drink to get a good night’s sleep,” he says.

In 2008, Ganesh presented a design of a belt that would support a person’s back and reduce the load on the spine, as a final year project. According to his design, the belt was to be worn around the shoulders, and back-support would be provided by the padding on the shoulders, lower back, and thighs. The device also has cushioning to provide comfort.

“While wearing the belt, a person could do the same work as before, but only exert half the pressure on their body. This project was selected by the National Innovation Foundation, and they helped me perfect the model,” says Ganesh.

‘Life-changing’

After graduation, Ganesh worked with a software company for a while, but in 2014, he quit and returned to his hometown to launch Newndra Innovations. With help from practicing doctors and mentors in the science community, Ganesh began working on developing the final prototype of the Jaipur Belt.

“The final prototype was a solution that works on the fundamentals of mechanics. The device reduces the pressure exerted on the spinal cord when doing a particular task. For example, if a person is lifting an object weighing 10 kilos, he would need to exert pressure of 10 kilos to lift it. However, while wearing the belt, he would exert only half of that pressure, because there would be tight support holding his upper body and evenly spreading the weight around his waist,” Ganesh says.

The Jaipur Belt has been made using thermoplastics, metal, plastic, and cushions. It is to be worn from the shoulders to the thighs, and is lightweight. Steel rods around the waist offer support, adjustable straps offer a snug fit.

The Jaipur Belt received its patents by 2019, and was then officially launched. It costs Rs 9,000 and comes in two size variations. To date, 300 people have purchased it, including farmers, construction workers, automobile manufacturers, office goers, retired army officers suffering from spinal cord conditions, and people with chronic back pain.

Colonel P K Vasudevan (61) a resident of Chennai, Tamil Nadu started using the Jaipur Belt five years ago. He was looking for a solution to ease his back pain, caused by a spinal cord injury during his time in the army.

He says, “The injury was caused by a bullet wound and I had trouble bending forward, standing or sitting for long hours, or moving furniture. Earlier, I would do yoga and other exercises to ease the pain. However, the Jaipur Belt proved to be life-changing. After I wore it, I could do intense activities including gardening and driving. I even walked up the Tirupati Hills wearing this belt. It is a novel device, and is suitable for any body shape, as it is adjustable.”

If you wish to purchase the Jaipur Belt, visit the official website.

Before placing the order, you must enter your height and weight to select the correct size. Once, the company has received it, they will call you to confirm the same.

Edited by Divya Sethu

Nearly a fortnight ago, Warivo Motor, a Jaipur-based electric vehicle startup, launched their latest range of premium e-scooters called the Falcon Ace. With a top speed of 60 kmph and battery range extending from 75 to 80 km on a single charge, this e-scooter is equipped with reverse gear, a Bluetooth speaker, port for mobile phone charging and double disc brakes.

“Development on this e-scooter began a couple of months back. Customers have the option of choosing to install a lead acid battery or a lithium-ion battery in their e-scooter, depending on how much they can afford. The 60V 28 AH lead acid battery version of the Falcon Ace would cost customers Rs 56,500 (ex-showroom), while the 60V 30 AH lithium ion battery-equipped e-scooter would cost Rs 76,000 (ex-showroom). The scooter has reverse gear features, mobile phone charging capacity, bluetooth connectivity, tubeless tyres and anti-theft alarm features as well,” says Anurag Nathawat, CEO, Sales and Marketing, speaking to The Better India.

This isn’t the company’s first rodeo in the electric vehicle segment. Prior to launching the Falcon Ace, it was selling seven models of predominantly low-speed electric scooters.

“Most come with a top speed up to 25 kmph to 40 kmph. The law states that a motor vehicle having less than 250 watts of power and traveling at a speed less than 25 kmph is exempt from requirements like a driver’s license. Our e-scooters have exemption certificates from Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) to this effect. Therefore, most of our e-scooters don’t fall under the jurisdiction of any Road Transport Authority. All our e-scooters are equipped with reverse gear features and in-built mobile phone chargers,” says Anurag.

These low-speed e-scooters are equipped with both lead acid (12 V 62 Ah) and lithium ion (60V 40 Ah) batteries. While the former offers 500 charge cycles, the latter comes with 1500. The startup claims that their batteries come with “zero maintenance cost” with a one-year warranty in lead acid and a three-year warranty in lithium-ion batteries.

Their batteries take anywhere between five to eight hours to attain full charge and utilise over one unit of electricity, which is approximately Rs 10, claims the startup.

For this line of e-scooters, the company’s target audience is senior citizens and young teenagers travelling to their educational institutions, and not for those between the age group of 25 to 35, who are looking for better speeds and premium features.

“With our new premium model, we wanted to offer our customers better speeds, battery range and improved design, greater sturdiness with quality suspensions and a holistic driving experience. These were the major requirements when launching this new e-scooter model. Moreover, like all successful ventures, it’s imperative that we also evolve with the times. This helps with customer retention. With the Falcon Ace, we wanted to expand our customer base. Today, our market is predominantly in Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab. At this moment, we have about 32 dealerships across Rajasthan alone and are looking to expand into Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh markets,” says Aditya Joshi, the regional sales manager, speaking to The Better India.

With an assembling unit in Ellenabad in Sirsa district, Haryana, the Jaipur-based startup sources some of their components from India, while things like battery cells are imported from countries like Germany and China.

Established in 2018 by brothers Sanjay and Ravi Garg, the company sold about 2,200 e-scooters in the last financial year. It’s a bootstrapped venture that isn’t seeking funding from venture capitalists and other investors.

Both brothers have over 25 years of experience in the automobile industry. Aside from the startup, they run dealerships across Rajasthan selling two-wheelers from TVS Motors and operate a small micro-finance company as well. However, things began to change sometime in 2016 when the brothers saw the changing contours of the automobile industry.

With a growing public demand and increased government support for the EVs, the brothers changed track and ventured into manufacturing e-scooters.

“The next step is to manufacture high-speed electric vehicles with faster charge times and our promoters are already looking to expand their manufacturing capacity in the coming months,” says Anurag.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

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IIn 2018, boxing champion Arundhati Choudhary (18) was basking in the glory of having bagged a gold medal at the Khelo India School Games, when a fateful incident suddenly threatened to uproot her career. While training in her hometown of Kota, Rajasthan, she was foul punched by an opponent multiple times. The head injury was so serious that Arundhati was hospitalised for a month. She says the incident was an act of vengeance, as a girl’s win did not sit well with a few local conservative boxers.

Arundhati picked her next battle wisely — instead of engaging in a fight with these naysayers, she decided to focus on the upcoming ASBC Youth Asian Men & Women Championship, held in Mongolia, and put an end to the regressive perceptions that surrounded her career.

For months, she underwent rigorous training under her coach, Ashok Goutam. Unperturbed by the occasional blackouts during these training sessions, she went on to prove her doubters wrong with her stellar performance in the championship, where she bagged a bronze medal. “Had I not been injured, I would have clinched gold,” she notes.

“Even in our supposedly equal society, those boys tried to impose their patriarchal views by trying to tell me that an Indian girl is incapable of making her name internationally. I was not going to let their insecurities and outright opposition dictate my dreams,” Arundhati says.

This was not the first time that Arundhati had stood up for herself, and it certainly won’t be the last. She is quick-witted and known for her skilful and power-packed moves. The three-time Khelo India champion became the first female boxer from Rajasthan to win gold at the AIBA World Youth Boxing Championship in 2020.

Arundhati hails from a middle-class background. Having been born and brought up in the hub of IIT coaching, her joining the premier institution was almost predestined. But she had a different plan — to play basketball at the national level. Here’s how that dream eventually paved the way for a career in boxing.

Putting up a fight

Arundhati describes herself as a restless child, and says she was always an active participant in outdoor games in her colony and school. She was taller than most girls her age, which landed her a spot in the school’s basketball team. She says winning games gave her a high, and she focussed on the sport more than her studies, eventually making team captain. She led her team at the state level and won several games.

While her parents were proud of her achievements, they had always pinned their hopes on her education, specifically in IIT.
Recalling a particular argument with her parents about playing sports professionally, Arundhati says things got so heated that it left her in tears.

“After much convincing, my father agreed, but asked me to choose a sport which can be played solo. That’s how boxing entered my life. If you don’t count the number of times I have punched boys in school or been involved in physical fights, I didn’t have any experience in boxing. When I finally took the decision, my relatives expressed their discomfort. They believed I won’t find a ‘good’ husband if I break my face while playing. Fortunately, my parents stood by me and that made a huge difference,” Arundhati recalls.

With help from her school, Arundhati managed to get a Wushu (a type of martial arts) coach. Even though Ashok had never dabbled in boxing, he came on board after seeing Arundhati’s determination.

“At 15, Arundhati had the drive and ability to learn new skills. The initial days are always the toughest, as the player’s body is adjusting to the new intense physical routine to develop core strength and stamina. For Arundhati, too, this was excruciating, given that our training began at 4.30 am every day. By 7 am, she would go to school, and come back for training in the evening. She did a good job balancing both boxing and studies,” says Ashok.

The duo worked hard every day, and Ashok would watch boxing videos to learn the techniques and strategies of the sport. Their hard work paid off when Arundhati was selected for a national camp when she was in Class X. She remembers scoring first division despite studying only for 12 hours.

Knocking down prejudices

For a long time, the boxing world has been a male bastion. It was only in 2012 that women’s boxing was officially recognised as an Olympic sport at the London Games. Closer home, world champion Mary Kom had become a household name. But she was miles away from Arundhati’s hometown, and there were no role models she could look up to in Rajasthan.

There was no real ring for fights or equipment for training. To Arundhati’s delightful surprise, her father Suresh spent money and arranged for the same. This is highly unusual, says Arundhati, given that fathers in her neighbourhood generally reserve the money for their daughter’s wedding.

Once Suresh saw his daughter’s potential, he went all out in supporting her dream — from buying the best quality almonds to support her mental stamina to making sure she participated in tournaments without worrying about anything else.

Likewise, her mother Sunita stepped away from traditional gender roles and normalised the fact her daughter was not obligated to learn household chores. In a community where something as simple as wearing shorts raises eyebrows, this mother proudly chose to be a feminist, just so her daughter could make India proud.

“My parents have had a huge role to play in social prejudices slowly dissipating from my life. I knock out my opponents in a game and my family does it in the real world,” adds Arundhati.

Images sourced from Arundhati/Instagram

Edited by Divya Sethu

Thanks to its environment-friendly and harmful chemical-free advantages, consumer belief in organic food is a recent trend. But 70-year-old Ratan Lal Daga is an exception – far ahead of the curve. Ratan Lal began organic farming way back in 2003 and is a pioneer in the sector.

Like many others, Ratan, a farmer from Bhansar Kutari village in Rajasthan, was also a conventional farmer successfully practising the profession on 60 acres of ancestral land. Interestingly, even back then, he did have the habit of attending workshops and learning different agriculture methods from other farmers by travelling across India.

On one such occasion in 2000, he attended a session on organic farming in the Agriculture University, Bengaluru. Little did he know, those couple of hours would change the course of his farming forever.

“The vice-chancellor spoke about the ill-effects and negative impact of chemical fertilisers and pesticides in farming. Organic farming was a less known concept then. But, I had already experienced the points touched on while explaining the negative impacts,” Ratan tells The Better India.

He observed that his chemical fertiliser usage had only increased over the years as the quality of the soil and its fertility kept deteriorating. “Using heavy amounts of chemicals was a common practice. The soil was hardening by the day, requiring more water, and crops became more susceptible to pests. Moreover, the labourers often complained about itchiness and irritation on the skin while using chemical fertilisers. It was because of the toxicity,” Ratan says.

Ratan says his workers also often visited the hospital. “The talk by the vice-chancellor started making sense and confirmed my doubts about the reducing quality. I immediately decided to make a shift to organic farming,” he adds.

At present, Ratan practices organic farming on his entire land with his self-made blends of organic feed and fertilisers made from curd to grow about 20 varieties of fruits, vegetables and crops. His mastery in organic farming earns him Rs 80 lakh a year.

Mastering organic farming with unique recipes

However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Ratan suffered a severe setback when he made the sudden shift on his farm. “Much of the produce was either lost, or the crop failed. It was because of the absence of microbes and micronutrients in the soil. With no chemical use, the plants and seeds did not receive the required nutrition,” Ratan says.

He switched back to chemicals. But he continued to make systematic efforts to increase his soil fertility through natural methods and steadily decreased chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Ratan used cow dung, compost and other organic materials to revive the natural elements and make soil healthy.

“I gradually moved from using chemicals to entirely farming organically by 2003. However, it was not until 2007-08 that the soil was completely free from toxins and showed no trace of chemical elements,” Ratan says, adding that he conducted tests to check the contents of the soil.

Speaking about the transition, Ratan says there was less awareness about organic farming techniques in the early 2000s, and he struggled to find correct ways to pursue them. “I researched a lot on the methods and connected with farmers practising organic farming. Meanwhile, the crop yield dropped in initial days and took a while to increase,” he adds.

He says that customers were also not ready to pay a premium for organic produce. “It was important that customers buy and try the organic vegetables and fruits to understand the difference. Once the buyers realised the taste and quality, they returned to buy more,” Ratan adds.

Making a unique fertilizer

Ratan says that his struggling years led to creating unique blends providing the best nutrients to the soil. “I was using Jeevamrut, a mixture of gram flour, cow dung, cow urine jaggery and other natural materials. However, I kept thinking and studying the nutrients that plants absorb through the soil and how the quality could enhance. I treated soil as a human body and tried to feed it with natural nutrient-rich materials,” he adds.

The farmer started creating a mix from fodder residue, groundnut extracts, curd and other items from farm waste. The repeated experiments led to creating a fertiliser – turat furat khaad. “It is a mix of jeevamrut and residue of lentils, neem leaves and leftover fruits such as gooseberry, papaya and ber. In another mix – doodh hariyali khaad, I mix five litres of milk and curd, fermented in a copper vessel for about ten days. The mixture turns green and works as a replacement of DAP, a chemical fertiliser,” he says.

Ratan says that he replaced gram flour used in jeevamrut with lentils. “It reduced the chances of fungus in plants caused by gram flour. I also sprayed turmeric water on plants to prevent infection,” he adds.

Such experiments helped him grow a wide range of farm produce. Ratan grows lemon, pomegranate, custard apple, mango, bajra, moong, grams, sesame, cumin, coriander, fenugreek and other vegetables. “The organic methods provide better yield. The average wheat production for farmers in the region is 17 quintals but, I reap about 20 quintals,” he says, adding that he has adopted an intercropping farming technique that helps the natural exchange of nutrients in the soil.

An ambassador for harmful chemical-free lifestyle

Ratan says the cost of production has gone down with the innovative organic methods. “The buyers appreciate the quality of farm produce, and customers come from all corners such as Nahaur, Pali, Baltora, Jodhpur and neighbouring areas. The calculations show that I earn about Rs 20-30 lakhs as profits in a year,” he adds.

His successes earned him awards and have made him famous and an idol in the farming fraternity. In 2007, the then chief minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat felicitated him with Swadeshi Gaurav Award, while in 2017, he was granted Mewar Gaurav Award, among others.

“I deliver lectures at agriculture institutes such as National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI), Jodhpur. About 70 farmers have made a shift to the organic farming in the neighbouring areas,” he says.

Bhawna Sharma, founder of Ganga organics in Jodhpur, is one such student of Ratan. “People fondly call him Dadaji. I worked as an assistant researcher but started taking lessons on organic farming from Ratan. I am practising the same since 2016 and sell organic fertilisers to farmers especially, from arid regions like western Rajasthan as the rainfall is less,” she says.

She adds that organic fertilisers help increase the yield in such farms.

Ratan’s farm has hundreds of visitors, including NGOs, workers, students and farmers from other states. “Students often stay for 15-20 days to seek training,” he says.

However, he feels that more efforts are needed to help farmers adopt organic farming. “The main reason farmers refrain from pursuing organic farming methods is the uncontrolled growth of weeds. It becomes difficult to keep them at bay. Hence, I am finding ways to reduce weeds and unwanted grass,” he adds.

Ratan emphasises that farmers must understand the need for organic farming and realise the health impacts of poisonous chemicals they are consuming and giving them to masses through chemical fertiliser farming.

“People should also grow organic food at home. It will help people realise the importance of farming and chemical-free food,” he adds.

Edited by Vinayak Hegde

Growing up in Boraj, a small village in Rajsamand district, Rajasthan, Narayan Lal Gurjar and Puran Singh Rajput had watched their families struggle with water scarcity while farming their entire lives.

After school, Narayan pursued a degree in agricultural engineering, while Puran proceeded towards a standard B.Tech in electrical engineering. Despite undertaking different courses, both men understood that their education and interest in science would one day lead them towards finding solutions to problems that their families had faced.

In 2018, they founded EF Polymer, an agritech startup, which came out of a project Narayan pursued in college, to help farmers save water in drought-prone areas. After multiple trials, they came up with Fasal Amrit, an organic super absorbent polymer made of bio waste from juice shops, which not only enhances the soil’s ability to retain moisture and thus lessen the amount of irrigation required, but also reduces the quantity of chemical fertiliser needed.

Since it is made of organic waste, it contains a great number of micronutrients to support better crop growth. Besides, it is organic in nature, as well as chemical and pollution free. It’s also interesting to note that Fasal Amrit is 100% biodegradable six months after application.

“As children, we’d seen our families struggle with water scarcity while working in the fields. This was our inspiration for establishing the startup. My father asked us to leverage our passion for science and understanding of agriculture to solve our problems. Despite multiple trials and errors, we continuously worked on a solution to address water scarcity for farmers in drought-prone areas such as Rajsamand district, and soon landed a prototype, while still studying in college. Using this prototype, we competed in multiple competitions, slowly improved the product, and eventually got the chance to register as a startup in 2018,” Narayan tells The Better India.

How to make Fasal Amrit?

It’s essentially a three-step process:

Step 1: Collect the raw material (fruit peels, vegetable trims) from juice vendors, farmers markets, restaurants, hotels, and universities’ food counters.

Step 2: This raw material is dried in solar tunnel dryers and then grinded into powder form. The powder of fruit and vegetable is processed to extract pectin and cellulose which is then used as the main raw material for polymerisation.

Step 3: After polymerisation, the EF Polymer team adds micro-nutrient extracted from the organic waste, which is very helpful for crop/plant growth.

‘Elixir for farmers’

“We came up with this name for our product since Fasal means crop, while Amrit stands for the elixir of life. When we developed our first prototype of Fasal Amrit, we felt it could be a life saviour for crops in areas where water is scarce. It’s a hydrogel or a polymer, which absorbs water and swells when it comes in contact with the liquid. The farmer has to mix this product into the soil because it’s in the form of a powder. They have to equally distribute this powder in the area they are going to grow their crops. We also suggest they mix our product with the seeds they’re going to sow, any kind of fertiliser, organic compost and, if nothing else, with the soil on the field,” says Puran tells The Better India.

Once mixed with the soil, the Fasal Amrit powder enhances its water retention capabilities. The amount of Fasal Amrit to be used depends on the area a farmer is targeting. “Say, a farmer has 1 acre of land. We then recommend they use 5 kg of Fasal Amrit. However, this again depends on the soil type. For example, there is a big difference between black soil and sandy soil. We recommend a higher concentration for sandy soil because its water absorption capacity is poor,” he adds.

How does Fasal Amrit work?

Let’s take the example of a farmer growing wheat in the Rabi season. Wheat usually requires five to six cycles of irrigation. If the weather is very cold, it can maybe grow with four cycles of irrigation. Each cycle occurs in intervals of 20 to 25 days.

Every 25 days, the farmer has to irrigate his crop. Now let’s take the example of a region where water is scarce, such as Rajasthan, Vidarbha, Gujarat or Telangana. When farmers there start sowing in the months of October and November, they have adequate supply of water because the monsoon season has just concluded.

“However, in the months of February and March, when wheat grains are about to emerge, water shortage is most likely because of rising temperatures and lower groundwater levels. This proves to be difficult for farmers during the fourth or fifth irrigation cycles. This is a very critical stage for the crop because if there is no water during the fruiting process, it won’t grow healthy, affecting both quality and quantity of harvest,” says Puran.

“Our polymer increases the moisture in soil. Say the farmer irrigates his wheat crop every 25th day. Using our product, that 25-day interval increases to 35 days, because it helps the soil retain water better. During a recent pilot project we conducted in the Bundelkhand area of Uttar Pradesh, we saw farmers irrigate after every 40 days. This allows farmers who have to irrigate every 25th day, and run out of water by the fourth or fifth cycle of irrigation, to save water. Instead of six cycles of irrigation, they now only have to employ three or four cycles, thanks to Fasal Amrit,” explains Narayan.

“Our product helps farmers save about 30 to 40% of water (reduce the cost of water or irrigate more crops/plants with saved water), lessens the requirement of chemical fertilisers by 20%, and in some cases increases crop yields by 15%,” claims Puran.

Does it work for all farmers?

Since its inception in 2018, the startup has enjoyed two key breakthroughs. In 2019, EF Polymer was selected for a one-year residency incubation programme by the Japanese government at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST). Besides funding to the tune of 10 million Yen (approx. Rs 65 lakhs), the startup enjoyed access to markets, mentorship, clients, training and established a good network with other investors.

The following year, it won the Social Alpha Agritech Innovations Challenge supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Tata Trust in partnership with IIT Kanpur. Winning this competition saw them receiving funding from the Uttar Pradesh government.

“Tata Trust is working with small and marginal farmers in Bundelkhand to increase their incomes. That’s where we got the opportunity to pilot our product on 200 acres of farmland. Tata Trust covered the cost of buying our products and farmers across Bundelkhand utilised it. We were working in about seven districts with different farmer producer organisations (FPOs) and local non-profits. The biggest difference we saw was in terms of rising intervals between irrigation cycles from 20-25 days to 40 days, increasing density of wheat harvest, and dark green-coloured pigmentation, which signals a much healthier crop. Another major difference was the crop yield during harvesting. Unfortunately due to COVID restrictions, in the last month, we were not able to visit the locations. Our implementation partners are working over there to help us get the necessary data. Once we get the data, we can share the impact of our product on yields,” Puran explains.

Narayan says that so far, EF Polymer has been able to sell 1,800 kg of Fasal Amrit to various farmers, covering nearly 400 acres of farmland. This, he claims, is purely organic demand since they haven’t done much to market it. They only started selling it in July 2020.

“Our future plan is to scale up our business. We are trying to achieve further validation for our product. We are trying to collaborate with the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in different locations, proposing them to conduct a scientific study with our product on particular crops so that more scientific data about the amount of water or chemical fertilizer our product can save, effect of our product on the soil, and impact on yield can be measured,” says Puran.

“We are also trying to collaborate with some well known agricultural universities like the Maharana Pratap Agriculture University in Udaipur to obtain validated scientific data about our product. With their validation, we can pitch our product to governments. We are also reaching out to more FPOs to organise pilot demonstrations with a few farmer members. If the pilot succeeds, we will pitch to other farmers in the FPO. Because we come from a family of farmers, we don’t want to cause them any harm. Having said that, we know our technology is better and has positive effects, but it may not be for every farmer. That’s why we do these demonstrations in different parts of the country,” says Narayan.

The future looks bright for the Rajasthan-based startup. Last month, they raised 40 million Yen (Rs 2.7 crore) in a seed funding round from Japan-based venture capital investors. As their product earns greater validation, we will see more of them in the years to come.

(Edited by Divya Sethu)

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IIT-Bombay graduates Amit Kumar and Abhay Singh’s Kota-based startup, Eeki Foods, grows high quality, residue-free Indian staple vegetables and fruits like tomatoes, cucumbers, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, chillies and eggplants using hydroponics — growing of plants using nutrient-rich water.

Unlike the plethora of business ventures engaged in hydroponics, Eeki Foods is not primarily focussed on growing leafy vegetables, particularly of the exotic variety like arugula, lettuce or kale. Their focus is on traditional Indian staples.

Going further, the startup does not use coco-peat (husk) or any other growing medium. Instead, they employ what they call “an [Internet of Things] IoT-enabled, completely medium-less growing chamber’s technology”.

“Most startups engaged in the business of hydroponics in India are focussed primarily on growing leafy vegetables, particularly the exotic kind. There are a lot of hydroponic kits available online and leafy vegetables grown from them can fetch you good prices. However, most of these ventures have been relegated to boutique businesses. They haven’t been able to scale up because the demand for exotic vegetables is not as high as traditional Indian staples like tomato, cucumber, eggplant and chillies. A company that can grow high-quality Indian staples, as well as exotics, is more likely to scale up and have a much larger market,” says Abhay Singh, co-founder of Eeki Foods, speaking to The Better India.

To facilitate the scaling-up process, the startup has developed their soon to be patented ‘Growing Chambers’, which, they claim, offer better control over taste and nutrition value and the produce is cheaper than hydroponic companies that use mediums like coco-peat.

Their business model centres around commercial farm setups with individual farm partners. While individual farm partners put in the initial capital, the startup oversees the responsibility of growing and selling produce in the market. The farm owner earns a share of the sales.

“Our fully functional commercial farm in Bhilwara measuring 0.5 acres, for example, grows 7,000 kg of produce a month, which predominantly includes tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. We sell our produce at an average of Rs 50 per kg, thus clocking monthly revenues of about Rs 3.5 lakh per month from this farm. Today, we have about 300 B2C (business-to-consumer) companies in Kota, Rajasthan. During the lockdown, we were directly selling to customers in Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh, and a few stores in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Our vegetables are grown and sold locally under the brand of Eeki Foods, providing traceability and authenticity as well as the ‘farm-to-fork’ experience,” says Abhay Singh.

Incorporated in early 2019, the startup began its journey with a small 500-square-feet rooftop farm as a proof of concept, where they experimented with different hydroponic techniques. This needed an initial investment of Rs 15 lakh from their savings. Nearly a year later, they developed their first fully functional R&D farm in Kota. Aside from this farm, today they have a fully commercial farm in Bhilwara and are on the cusp of operating another one in Talera, while construction work has commenced on two more farms in Kota. Today, they currently have five different commercial farm partners in Rajasthan but are looking to enter the National Capital Region (NCR), Chennai and even Ladakh.

By the end of FY 2021-22, they are looking to set up 12 farms, catering to high-end grocery retail stores, establishing partnerships with local vegetable distributors and sellers and achieving a monthly revenue target of Rs 40 lakh.

From IIT to Growing Food

As students, Amit and Abhay were like many of their engineering peers. They were heavily involved in college activities surrounding robotics, automation and IoT, etc. After graduating with a B.Tech in Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science in 2014, they worked in the same domain. But after their last job, they wanted to do something which would have a lasting impact on civilisation. They wanted to figure out solutions to problems surrounding key cornerstones of human civilisation like transportation, communication, and eventually zeroed in on food.

For the first six months after quitting their jobs in early 2018, they were visiting farms, particularly organic ones, across different parts of India. In this period, they garnered some understanding of the limitations of conventional agriculture, particularly organic farming, like the lack of organic manure availability, market accessibility and successfully battling the vagaries of nature. They didn’t see conventional organic farming as a scalable option.

“We eventually landed on hydroponics sometime in the middle of 2018 and visited many of these farms in Chandigarh, Goa and Rajasthan as well. We realised hydroponics could seriously supplement the existing ways of growing crops. Both of us soon embarked on existing techniques of hydroponics like aeroponics, nutrient film technique (NFT), using coco-peat and indoor farming. We even bought hydroponics kits from all the major suppliers across different cities. After evaluating all the setups before us, we concluded that none of them could grow daily Indian staples on a large scale,” says Amit.

Quality Produce at Lower Prices

The two issues that required addressal were scale and cost.

There are startups like Nature’s Miracle based out of Noida, which grows fruit-bearing vegetables as well. But these entities engaged in hydroponics sell their produce at a much higher cost than what consumers would typically find in their local retail market. This is because of the growing methods and technology they use.

Abhay explains, “Initially, we employed the same technology like using coco-peat as a growing medium for fruit-bearing vegetables like eggplants or bitter gourds, but it increased our total operating cost. This is because growers have to regularly replace the coco-peat, or other media like volcanic stones, every two years. For certain sensitive crops, these timelines fall to a four to six month-cycle to maintain steady PH levels under which these vegetables are grown. If you do not replace these mediums regularly, you have to treat them.”

What they figured out was that to decrease the cost of production, Eeki Foods would have to get away from any growing media for fruit-bearing vegetables. This is what they have been able to achieve with their soon to be patented Growing Chambers, which do not use any sort of growing media like coco-peat, volcanic stones or conventional soil.

“This enables us to lower the cost of growing. We can grow produce at, say, Rs 12 per kg, as compared to vegetables grown with coco-peat, which may cost you Rs 22 per kg, depending on the crop. We are growing high-quality produce at a much lower cost. Now, we can sell our produce at nearly the same price as vegetables sold at a conventional thelas. For example, if in a month, if tomatoes are selling for Rs 40 per kg in the retail market, we sell them for Rs 47.

He adds, “On an average, we are selling our fruit-bearing vegetables at 40 per cent less than our competitors who may use coco-peat or other growing mediums, depending on the crop. For example, we sell tomatoes at 20 percent less and cucumbers at 50 per cent less than our competitors.”

The startup spent two years developing these Growing Chambers for a variety of crops. Suffice to say, each plant family requires a different growing chamber. Tomatoes, for example, would require a higher root zone temperature than say bitter gourd. The objective of these Growing Chambers is to mimic what a plant requires in terms of temperature, humidity and everything else without the use of any growing media. They have nearly drafted a patent application and will file it very soon. They believe their patent application will come through within a year. Having said that, they are still working on further improving the system with Dr. Deepak Arora, an Associate Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT-Jodhpur.

“Within a year of filing the patent application, we hope to obtain it for each crop family, like Solanaceae [brinjal, tomato, chillies] or Cucurbitaceae [encompassing 800 species of plants like bitter gourd, cucumbers, melons], which requires their own specific Growing Chamber set up and design. In other words, on our farm, we will have exclusive growing chambers for different families of crops. For other standard leafy vegetables like spinach or lettuce, our method of growing employs the standard NFT system,” explains Amit.

When it comes to commercial farm setups, individual farm partners will have to invest the initial capital, which is determined by location, acreage and government subsidy. Eeki Foods takes charge of growing these crops remotely and selling them locally.

“For every crop, the returns change. Our farm partners will get their Return on Investment (RoI) in four years. We have currently five different farm partners in Rajasthan. To monitor them, we have built a farm IoT system, which helps us to remotely monitor and control all the critical parameters of growing. While activities like cleaning the polyhouse, pruning, cutting or plucking the fruit is done manually, the process of irrigation, fertigation and temperature management, and all other critical parameters of growing is automated, thus allowing the crop to grow in good health,” says Abhay.

Meanwhile, the future looks bright for the Kota startup engaged in hydroponics.

This month they raised Pre-Series A funding from GSF Accelerator, although they were unwilling to disclose the amount. Besides, they also have a multitude of other investors like Naho Shigeta, Founder and CEO of Infobridge Holdings; Shalin Sanjay Shah, Director at Core91 VC; and a Gulf-based Syndicate.

“Our objective is to demonstrate that our technology can be used to grow crops across India under different climatic conditions and at a much cheaper rate than other hydroponic ventures,” says Abhay.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

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In March 2020, Raghu Pratap Singh, a Jaipur-based architect, accompanied his cousin to their property in Achrol, Rajasthan, which is about a 30-km drive from the city.

His cousin, Heena Sukhani and her family, wanted to sell their unused property and asked him to tag along to suggest his architectural views. Raghu was immediately impressed with the location and recommended that the family build ‘something unique’ to gain from it.

The family temporarily parked the thought of selling their property. Coincidentally, the visit happened around 18 March 2020, after which a nation-wide lockdown began.

A few weeks later, Raghu presented an eco-friendly design of a house to his family. “My extended family was impressed and gave me the approval to go ahead with the idea as it was economical too,” the 26-year-old says.

Raghu built an eco-friendly house that harvests thousands of litres of water, has zero use of tiles and plaster. The house used 40 per cent less cement against the conventional requirement. He even implemented innovative designs to keep the house cooler. The result? The house remains cool by 8℃ in the Rajasthan heat even as the temperatures outside peak up to 50℃ in summers.

Magic Of Physics

Raghu tells The Better India that he created the house for his passion for building sustainable properties. “I completed an interior and architecture design degree in 2018. I was impressed with sustainable architecture, a subject taught during my academic years. The thought of using natural resources and reducing the need for artificial amenities always motivated me to find sustainable solutions,” he says.

Raghu adds that not many decades ago, the wadas from Maharashtra and Southern India, the Havelis in Jaipur and Gujarat, stone houses in Ladakh and other Himalayan regions intrigued him. “These architectural marvels show us the efficient use of natural resources for sustainable living. I always feel fascinated and inspired by the same and try to apply it in my work,” he says.

Raghu says through his firm, Tatvam Jaipur, he created the house, Tatvan Vas, inclusive of two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, swimming pool and two baths. The house spreads across 6,500 sq feet.

Sharing his insights on his eco-friendly concepts, Raghu says, “The construction required 300 bags of cement instead of the 500 or more. We used egg yolks and marble powder for the binding purpose, which helped reduce the overall requirement of cement. There is no layering of the structure. Terracotta bricks have been used during its construction, ensuring climate-responsive behaviour.”

Raghu says the hollow spaces between the bricks ensure the indoor temperatures remain cooler during summers and warmer during the winter months.

“The house plan is designed utilising adequate cross ventilation. The sunlight hits all the rooms, eliminating the need for using external sources in the daytime,” he says, adding that the arrangement ensures that electricity is not required during the day, which saves energy.

Raghu explains, “The sun travels east to west via the south, thereby the major heat gain and the direct sunlight falls in the south-west direction. The space planning has been executed such that most of the living quarters face north with minimum exposure to the sun. The set up reduces the heat gain of the building and helps us cope with the hot climate of Rajasthan. This becomes a natural temperature controlling system.”

He further adds that understanding the wind patterns and paths helped in controlling the temperatures through natural ways.

“According to Bernoulli’s principle, an increase in speed of fluids or air leads to a decrease in pressure. So if we blow hot air through narrow passages, the temperature falls. The use of jaali in Rajasthan applies the same concept. We applied this theory at Tatvam Vas in the corridor space between the bedroom and living room that provides substantial cross ventilation. Another way of harnessing the wind was to have the same-size windows facing each other to amplify ventilation,” he says.

Additionally, Raghu says, a buffer space is kept around the periphery of the entire building to facilitate air movement in the interior and exterior. “The built-up area is away from the boundary to provide enough space for regulating wind and air. The detailed layout ensures that the temperature lowers significantly in the process,” he adds.

A Swimming Pool That Recycles Water

Raghu adds that significant steps have been taken to use natural materials for aesthetic purposes. “From the flooring to the colour pigmentation, various techniques have been applied to fulfil the purpose precisely with their best suited natural alternatives,” he says.

“Kota stone, a naturally occurring material, has been used in the bathroom and exterior spaces. Heavy use of iron was done in places such as the stairway and upper deck formation. Brass has been used delicately to provide expansion joints [a joint filler between flooring blocks]. Instead of opting for tiles, we used the science from indigo dyes to naturally colour the pool by conceiving a mortar mix. The indigo dye makes the pool appear blue without the application of paint or any other surface layer,” he says.

Raghu adds that most of the furniture is carved out of Sheesham and acacia, babool wood. All doors have used up-cycled wood extracted from old gates discarded from various heritage properties around the city.

As an element choice, they decided to go for bamboo chic curtains. “All materials are sourced from the proximity of the site to avoid increasing the carbon footprint and keep the process vernacular,” Raghu says.
The property also has a rainwater harvesting project that stores 6,000 litres of water which is used for gardening and domestic purposes.

“The same water is used to fill the water level of the pool that gets evaporated over time. The swimming pool water is reused with advanced filtration technology. The pool water is recyclable for up to four to six years,” he adds.

Raghu says another feature that he focussed on is sanitary waste management. “We devised a system that collects the solid waste to a cesspit installed underground, which converts it to compost. Also, the liquid waste generated in the kitchen and bathing area is recycled through a septic tank method,” he adds.

Ganesh Gulve, an architect who mentored Raghu through the project, says, “The approach taken by Raghu was out of the box. He was brave to experiment with these concepts. Sensitivity towards sustainability is of utmost importance to carry out such projects.”

He adds that adopting convenient options is simpler, instead of looking for challenging approaches. One should opt for environment-friendly and low-carbon footprint options to serve their needs.

Raghu’s cousin, Heena — a fashion and textile designer, says she is glad about the way the property has turned out in a year’s time. “We did not see an opportunity for the plot earlier but when Raghu proposed the concept, this became a potential long-term investment option,” she says.

She adds, “The stay gives an experience of vibrancy and subtleness,” she adds.

Raghu says, “The approach towards the project was not only based on aesthetics but also the utility of the materials and vernacular elements. The ecological aspects blend effortlessly in a manner crafted out of nature and science.”

Edited by Yoshita Rao

In 2017, when Dr Amrita Duhan, the only woman Indian Police Service (IPS) officer in her cadre, bagged three trophies at the police academy, she became a role model for women across the country. Throughout her life, she has overcome hurdles to achieve her dreams and today she dons a number of hats from doctor and mother to police officer.

Hailing from Rohtak, Haryana, Amrita completed her MBBS and then went on to do her MD in Pathology. Later, she began working as an assistant professor at BPS Medical College for Women. During this time, she got married and had a son named Samar.

Her stable career path and settled family life didn’t stop her from dreaming bigger.

When her younger brother got selected for the IPS she was inspired to take the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Service Exams (CSE). She began preparing for the exams on weekdays and reserved her weekends for her son. In 2016, her dedication and sacrifice paid off and she cracked the exams on her first attempt without any coaching.

When Amrita started her training at the National Police Academy, she was 33 and was not used to physical activity. She trained overtime, and despite sustaining injuries, she was selected as the best outdoor probationer and the best all-round probationer at the end of the training period.

Currently, she is posted as the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Traffic, in Jaipur, Rajasthan, and continues to be an inspiration to us all.

Watch this video to see the inspiring journey of IPS officer Dr Amrita Duhan.

After schools shifted to an online teaching mode, 17-year-old Nisha Pathak was worried about her increase in screen time. To avoid spending too much time looking at computers and to keep herself active, the Class 12 student of Neeraja Modi school, Jaipur, Rajasthan, took up farming.

“I wanted to keep myself engaged in activities that did not require looking at a screen. Apart from that, I wanted to grow the veggies and distribute them to underprivileged families living near my home,” says Nisha, adding that she learnt how to prepare seeds and plant them from a gardener in her community premises.

Initially, she grew vegetables like potatoes, onions and tomatoes. The harvest was distributed among underprivileged families who were living in neighbouring areas and were unable to procure fresh vegetables regularly.

Nisha realised that growing vegetables would take a few months. However, she wanted to provide a nutritious alternative to the families who could not afford vegetables regularly. She decided to grow microgreens and conducted workshops for underprivileged women, so that they could grow them at home.

“I did not want to burden them with extra expenses by asking them to buy containers or pots to grow the microgreens. As a sustainable solution, I decided to recycle empty milk packets to grow them,” says Nisha, in an interview with The Better India.

To date, she has conducted workshops for 10 underprivileged women and even took virtual workshops for 35 neighbours.

Here’s how you can grow microgreens in milk packets:

Things you will need:

1. An empty milk packet
2. Potting mix
3. Fenugreek or mustard seeds.

Step 1: Soak a fistful of fenugreek or mustard seeds, in a bowl of water overnight.

Step 2: Thoroughly wash and dry a milk packet.

Step 3: Using a pair of scissors, pierce a hole at the bottom of the packet to drain excess water.

Step 4: Fill 3/4th of the milk packet with organic potting mix.

Step 5: Evenly spread the soaked seeds and cover them with a thin layer of soil.

Finally, sprinkle some water and place it in a space that does not receive direct sunlight. Continue spraying water every day and within seven days the microgreens will be ready to be consumed.

Once the leaves are harvested, you can repeat the process in the same milk packet. However, you need to remove the top layer of soil and add fresh potting mix.

These tiny leaves are packed with more nutrients than fully-grown vegetables and do not need to be cooked.

“They can be sprinkled over dishes as a garnish and consumed fresh,” says Nisha.

Edited by Yoshita Rao

Karech, a village around 75 km from Udaipur, is probably the last village in western Rajasthan. The residents belong to tribal communities and their subsistence depends on agriculture, livestock rearing and the sale of firewood from forests. However, in recent years, they have observed increasing desertification threaten their village.

It was in early 2000 that residents like Hansa Ram, former village head, noticed degrading common forest lands. The phenomena indicated that the village was moving towards desertification. Factors responsible for this included soil erosion, loss of vegetation, depleting surface water and groundwater resources, and other anthropological aspects such as deforestation. The deteriorating conditions had forced the residents to seek opportunities outside, leading to migration.

In fact, according to a report published by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India is losing 30% of its land to desertification and Rajasthan is among the six states facing acute degradation.

However, in 2021, the villagers in Karech have a different story to tell. They no longer face the threat of losing their forests to desertification, as they have managed to restore 339 hectares of common land owned by the village community for collective use.

By the community, for the community

Hansa Ram says, “The village is located in the foothills of the Aravalli hill ranges, which prevent the harsh weather of the desert from entering the neighbouring Mewar region as well as eastern Rajasthan. Due to the loss of green cover, our village did not have a barrier, and we lay exposed.”

He adds that overgrazing, exploitation of forest resources, and deforestation led to the rapid disappearance of land, and that the area could have been encroached by the desert. “We wanted to address the problem but found it difficult to bring 600 villagers together due to the social hierarchy,” he says.

In 2002, the villagers took help from the Foundation of Ecological Security (FES), an organisation that works for the regeneration of degraded natural resources, including village commons such as forests, pastures, wastelands and water resources.

Punaram Gadasiya, then sarpanch (head of the village) of Chitrawas (of which Karech village was a part), met FES members who were coincidently surveying common lands to explore opportunities of facilitating restoration of degraded lands through community action in the region.

“The discussions led the sarpanch to share these problems, and the village decided to seek FES’s assistance for claiming and restoring their forest commons,” Hansa Ram says.

FES helped the villagers form the Van Suraksha aur Prabandhan Samiti, a forest protection and management committee, under the Joint Forest Management provisions. The committee, led by Hansa Ram, started working to protect, conserve and manage community resources.

Karech residents in a meeting.

Moti Ram, another resident of Karech, says, “It was challenging to bring together people of higher and lower castes to sit under one roof and discuss the issues around the protection of common lands. Slowly, however, the mindset changed as discussions progressed and people realised their goals were common.”

Moti Ram says villagers collectively chalked out plans and implemented rules for conservation and resource management and followed to date. “Only one person from each family is allowed to collect firewood and forest resources to ensure optimal use of forest resources. Moreover, a dedicated area is allotted for grazing, while the remaining area is allowed to regenerate. Each year, 9 hectares of the common lands are kept open for livestock grazing,” he explains.

Additionally, the villagers refrain their cattle from grazing on young saplings and grasses to ensure adequate growth. To make sure that villagers abide by the rules, each family from the village participates in the vigil using the lathi system, where households take turns to patrol the forest areas.

“The system ensures there are no violations, and fines are slapped if any villager is spotted breaking the rules. For example, violators pay a fine of Rs 50 if their cattle are seen grazing in the restricted area. There are heavy fines for collecting excess firewood,” he adds.

The residents implemented the practices in patches of 50 hectares at a time. Today, the village boasts of a dense green cover across over 300 hectares that serve as a source of livelihood and sustainability for the communities, as well as a barrier protecting the settlement from desertification.

Residents also diverted water from a nearby stream for cultivating crops. Over the years, the increased green cover has helped improve groundwater levels, thus allowing the soil to retain moisture and yielding kharif and rabi crops.

“Earlier, the farmers could hardly take a single crop, but can now take 2-3 harvests on the increased farmland area. Wheat, corn, toor, mustard, moong and groundnut are some of the crops cultivated,” Moti Ram says.

Alongside protection, soil and moisture conservation work, as well as tree planting activities are undertaken to revegetate the forest commons. The villagers planted 1 lakh native trees, conduced grass seedings and worked towards natural regeneration of the forest.

However, Abi T. Vanak, senior fellow at the centre for biodiversity and conservation at Bengaluru based ATREE, advises caution before taking forestation drives. “Degraded lands need to be ecologically restored keeping in mind both the baseline vegetation, as well as the cultural and social context. Trying to grow a dense forest in a dry landscape is as damaging as cutting trees in a rainforest,” he says.

Exemplar of resilience

Asha Chovaliya from FES, who has closely worked with the community, says that a Women Advisory Committee was also formed for better resource management. “The community planted bamboo, gooseberry, mahua, custard apple and other fruit trees that could help people earn money. Women understand the value of economics and conservation better and hence were allotted the rights. They now take pride in having control and protecting their resources,” she adds.

The village is now moving ahead to access Community Forest Rights under Forest Rights Act (2006). “The residents are working to gain more control over their common lands and resources, which will help them work better towards improving the environment and managing forest resources for improved ecological, social and economic outcomes,” she adds.

Having transformed over the years, today, Karech has become an exemplar of resilience and sustainability. The villagers have fought a battle with climate change and inspired neighbouring villages across four blocks. Their efforts demonstrate how local communities can manage shared resources and play a crucial role in environmental conservation while also strengthening local livelihoods.

Edited by Divya Sethu

Bhurelal is barely 10, but his dreams are big. The resident of Rajasthan’s Khempur village aims to be an international skateboarding champion, and his journey has already begun. It’s a wonder to learn that Bhurelal was selected to represent the state at the 58th National Roller Skate Championship 2020-21, given that until three years ago, he had never even heard of skateboarding.

He stepped outside his village for the first time, but didn’t let his nervousness take over. He put on a good show in Mohali, Punjab where the championship was organised by the Roller Skating Federation of India (RSFI).

For Bhurelal, the Desert Dolphin Skate Park is his world, which he conquers daily by throning the skateboard. Whether it’s the frontside 180, kickflip, or power sliding, the young boy glides around as smoothly as melting butter on a pan.

His eagerness and enthusiasm to learn an alien sport and own it like he has been doing this for aeons is something that shows clearly in other children of Khempur as well.

Take, for instance, Kusum, who is in her teens. She was one of the first girls in the village to step on the board and attempt this unknown sport. She transcended gender barriers and even inspired other girls to learn.

If today the children of this village can acquire a new skill, spend time constructively and make their families and state proud by participating in skateboard championships, it is all thanks to two sisters who decided to make a film in Khempur in 2018.

Manjari and Vinati, who are daughters of yesteryear actor Mac Mohan, constructed a sprawling 14,500 square feet park in the village for the shoot. The beauty of the park is that after the filming was completed, it was given to the aspiring skaters to practice.

“Usually, filmmakers prefer a set that can be dismantled once the movie is over. But here we were making a film on how a rural girl can do wonders if the right opportunity and platform is presented. So it made sense for us to replicate the same in real life as well. We took the necessary permissions and constructed the park in five months. During that time, local children were curious to know more. So we started imparting lessons way before we started the shooting process. Needless to say, we took local children in the film and they found a career they can explore,” Manjari, director of the film tells The Better India.

The sister duo helps us connect with the children via a video call. It is fascinating to see the children ace every move with so much confidence. The young skaters share how skateboarding has impacted their lives.

Unlocking freedom

Through their NGO, ‘Living Grace Foundation’, Manjari and Vinati have been providing free training and skating equipment to these kids for three years now. Over a hundred children, of which 35 are girls, have undergone the training.

Initially, parents refused to send their kids to learn, fearing that they would break their bones or be severely injured. This was worse for girls, as the mothers believed it could put marriage prospects at risk. After much convincing and assurance, the endeavour began with a handful of children.

Getting rid of shyness and fears was the first visible change in the village. It was probably the first time that girls and boys began mingling with each other at the skating park. Here, no one saw caste, gender, age or any other labels, and instead helped each other improve.

Vishnu Banjara (15) and her brother, Shaitan (12) started learning skateboarding together. While their mother was apprehensive about sending Vishnu, she came around eventually after seeing her daughter perform so well.

“Several girls like her faced resistance. I remember a girl who really wanted to do it but couldn’t because her marriage was fixed. Fortunately, due to girls like Kusum and Vishnu, parents are allowing their girls to learn the sport. The best part was watching young girls be unafraid of getting hurt or falling. These girls are raised with so many restrictions, but once they step on the board, they unlock freedom,” says Vinati, who wrote and co-produced the movie.

A similar change was seen among the boys as well. They had never seen women filmmakers calling the shots or their own sisters being fearless.

“I wasn’t sure if girls could skateboard or even participate in any other sports. It is nice to see them doing activities apart from household chores. Skateboarding is like a gift we have received and I hope to make India proud in future by going to other countries for the sport,” says Bhurelal.

Meanwhile, Shaitan, who was one of the four boys to attend the championship in Punjab, says he was ecstatic to visit another state. “I was away from home for the first time but seeing the outside world made me happy. I love spending my free time skateboarding.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, classes have been put on hold, but the NGO will soon resume its activities and invite international skaters to conduct workshops. They hope to prepare girls like Kusum and Vishnu for national championships this time around.

Edited by Divya Sethu

On a Wednesday afternoon, Anil Shou (31), a resident of Budhnagar, Rajasthan, received a distress call from his mother who was working on their farm.

“A Chinkara [Gazelle] that was roaming around our farm was attacked by a bunch of stray dogs. My mother quickly got into action and chased away the dogs. But, the chinkara was bitten on its hind legs and was unable to move. So we made a phone call to Farsa Ram Bishoi, a well-known wildlife conservation worker in our village,” says Anil.

Born and raised in Budh Nagar, 25-year-old Farsa Ram Bishnoi cannot hear or speak. However, he acts as the voice for all the wildlife around him.

Not only does he provide them with food and shelter but also gives them first aid, if they are injured, and even takes them to the veterinarian, if necessary.

Now, this hero from a small town has become an internet sensation after Indian Forest Service officer Ramesh Pandey shared a video of him on Twitter.

In the video, Farsa Ram is seen racing out of the farmland, carrying the injured Gazelle on his shoulders.

We conserve wildlife for the purpose of conservation in our country. It’s not a fashion. Communities like Bishnoi in Rajasthan have given lives to save animals.
VC: Anon #wildlife #conservation pic.twitter.com/KEkfshim2P

— Ramesh Pandey (@rameshpandeyifs) July 1, 2021

When Anil heard about the injured Gazelle, his first action was to video call Farsa Ram and show him what had happened. Then he shared the location with him and within 10 minutes, Ram reached the location.

“Usually, I would call the forest officials to the spot so that we can transport the injured animal to the nearest town where the veterinary clinic is situated. However, this Gazelle was hurt in the middle of the farmland where vehicles cannot enter. So, I swept up the animal and carried it on my shoulders till the road,” says Ram.

During this time, the Gazelle remained calm. Ram believes that the animal understood that the humans were trying to help it.

“This is not something that only I do, there are many people in my community who spend all their lives taking care of animals. I grew up seeing them and being inspired by them,” says Ram.

After IFS officer Ramesh Pandey shared the video, it was reshared over 1,000 times and has over 4,500 likes. After he shared the video, several people from the Bishnoi community expressed their joy to see their community and youth being recognised.

Ramesh says, “I am glad to bring this story of conservation to light and give the real hero his deserved recognition. With the efforts of youngsters like Ram, collectively we can protect nature.”

Edited by Yoshita Rao

In the first week of July, Asha Kandara, a sanitary worker in Jodhpur Municipal Corporation (North), became a permanent employee to be assigned as a sanitary inspector.

Little did she know that a better reward awaited days after this significant development in her life.

On 15 July, Asha learned that she cracked the Rajasthan Administrative Services (RAS) examination and ranked 728th. Though the rank may not seem impressive, her journey towards becoming an officer is inspiring.

She is a single mother to her son and a daughter. Her five-year-long marriage ended when she separated from her husband.

“As a sanitary worker, she struggled to make ends meet. Asha works in a community of sweepers, and education is not always a priority for them,” says mayor Kunti Deora Parihar of the JMC.

Speaking to The Better India, Kunti says that Asha toiled during the day while enduring the bitter taunts from society and studied in the evenings to prepare for the Rajasthan Civil Services Examination (RCSE).

Ill-treatment and discrimination pushed her to prove society wrong.

“People taunted me asking whether I am a ‘collector or an officer’, just for doing my job. My humiliation gave me the strength to become something in life and give a befitting reply to society,” she said to Zee News in an interview.

“She applied for the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) but did not fit in the age criteria. However, she was eligible for RAS and appeared for the same in 2018,” Kunti says.

However, the results of the exam were delayed due to the pandemic.

Nevertheless, Kunti says that Asha’s hard work shows how dedication and sincerity can help achieve success. “Her success will inspire other women and community members. It will give them confidence and motivation to pursue goals that they feel are beyond their league,” she adds.

The mayor says, “It is certainly a proud moment for the Jodhpur Municipal Corporation and Rajasthan. She has defied all odds to earn her place. I hope she joins as an officer in the future to serve the civic body.”

Asha will be joining as a Deputy Collector for her first posting.

Edited by Yoshita Rao

Often referred to as the Gateway to Thar, Rajasthan’s Jodhpur sits proudly at the edge of the famous desert, and is popular for its temples, palaces and forts, including the Mehrangarh Fort. But there’s something peculiar about the surroundings of this heritage site in particular.

The fort is surrounded by green cover at its foot and is home to thousands of trees as well as hundreds of species of birds and local wildlife.

In 1987 Prasannapuri Goswami, a native of the area, decided to change the landscape of this fort and its surrounding areas. His dream spanned over 34 years, and the 22-hectare area, which once lay barren, is now surrounded by 50,000 trees.

Nurturing a childhood dream

Prassanapuri, now 74, says that he spent his childhood wondering why the area around the fort was always barren and dry. “I lived in the nearby Khejri chowk and passed the fort on my way to school. I always wondered if greenery could add to the architectural marvel amid the lifeless land,” he tells The Better India.

In 1987, Prassanapuri began teaching at a girls’ school. The school was less than a kilometre away from the fort, and Prasannapuri religiously visited the foothills, known as Sant Chidiyanath, after school hours to plant saplings between the Jaswant-Thada and Mehrangarh stretch.

“It was difficult, as the saplings found it hard to survive in a region with such less rainfall. They needed strategic placement for their survival,” the former teacher explains. Prassanapuri says that since he had witnessed the fort area weathering all conditions through his growing years, he knew how the water flowed during monsoons, and which patches were thus ideal.

So he began planting trees in areas where rainwater seeped in. Slowly, he spread the plantation to other patches. “I started with thorny plants and bushes that require less water. There was no water supply in the hills. It had to be procured from nearby public places. Sometimes, I filled and carried bottles from a pond located far away during peak summer months, just to make sure the plants would survive,” he says.

Meanwhile, locals in the area doubted his intentions and even laughed at him sometimes. On one occasion, a few people uprooted 200 plants overnight. “They used to taunt me, questioning how I could water the plants when the residents struggled to find drinking water for themselves,” he says. However, Prasannapuri was determined to make his dream come true.

His work soon caught the notice of the royal family. “Maharaja Gaj Singh learned about my efforts and allotted two staff members to assist me,” he says.

Prasannapuri adds that eventually, the district administration also took cognisance of his work. In 1995, the administration facilitated the setting up of fences around 22 hectares of land so the chances of survival of the plants would increase.With enough protection and under Prasannapur’s care, hundreds of trees started growing in the area.

Inspired by his success, many locals as well as school students started volunteering for the initiative. “The students helped under the National Service Scheme (NSS) and other academic events that took place through the year,” he says, adding that he formed Mehrangarh Pahadi Paryavaran Vikas Samiti, a volunteer body working to make the area greener.

Prasannapuri says that over the years, various entities such as the district administration, forest department, traders body, education department, and the Mehrangarh Museum Trust have helped with monetary aid worth Rs 32 lakh. In 1999, he received help from the forest department to create a herbal park and increase the green cover.

However, in 2005, Prassanapuri paid a heavy price for his green cause through the loss of his son, Pramodpuri. “I was away posted in Jalore district for work and asked my son to tend the plants during my absence. One day, the wind blew where he was standing while spraying pesticides on the plants. He fell unconscious within minutes and lost his life after two days in the hospital,” he says.

However, Prasannapuri says that the loss of his son made him care more for the environment and his plants even more. “Some plants are as old as my 28-year-old son, and I consider the trees my children now,” he says.

Opportunity to connect with nature

“There are over 50,000 trees on the 15-acre patch, and the remaining 7 acres have been designated to create a herbal park,” Prasannapuri says.

He adds that success has brought multiple benefits at different levels. “Firstly, the barren and dry land has turned into a green zone. The area around the plantation is cooler and pleasant. Hundreds of people visit the area during the day for walks and working out,” he says.

Prasannapuri says that the move has also helped prevent illegal encroachments in the area. “If not the plantation, I was afraid of losing the hill to increasing encroachments, thus threatening the beauty and integrity of the fort,” he says.

The mini forest has also brought respite to the wildlife, with species such as porcupines, Indian hedgehog, snakes, owls, rabbits and monitor lizards now thriving in the area. “The green patch is now home to 195 species of birds, 130 varieties of medicinal herbs and hundreds of fruit-bearing trees,” he says, adding that the entire ecosystem has contributed towards improving the quality of the soil.

His work has inspired others to improve the green cover in the city. Mahesh Vyas is one such person, who was inspired by Prasannapuri’s work and created a green patch in his neighbourhood. “I have known about Prasannapuri since my college days and visited the hill in 2009 to volunteer with him. I tried to create a green zone with hundreds of plants myself. However, it failed due to the overflowing of a nearby pond,” he says.

Mahesh adds that a patch in his residence near Lalsagar Pond became a dumping ground and a breeding place for mosquitoes. “The cases of chikungunya increased, and we decided to clean the water body and try again. With Prasannapuri’s guidance, we created a green zone with 600 plants under the Brij Bawari Yuva Seva Samiti, a volunteer group contributing to the cause,” says the 38-year-old.

Meanwhile, despite all his achievements thus far, Prasannapuri continues to work as hard as he did when he began. “I retired in 2008 and have since invested more time towards the cause. I spend about six hours a day looking after the plants and protecting them,” he says.

On a concluding note, he says, “I am glad to have contributed successfully in creating green lungs for the city. The locals visit the area for fresh air and can reconnect with the environment. They have an emotional attachment to the saplings they have planted or watered. They care more for the trees now than they did before.”

Edited by Divya Sethu

While Alphonso mangoes from the Konkan region, as well as the recently popularised 3.5-kilo heavy Noorjahan mangoes in Madhya Pradesh, are basking in the glory of their popularity on social media, there is another superstar from the fruit variety in the making.

Hiding in the corners of Girdhapura, roughly 15 km from Kota, the IIT hub in Rajasthan, Shree Kishan Suman, an award-winning innovative farmer, is cultivating three saplings of Miyazaki mango in the desert area.

Miyazaki, an exclusive variety, is known as the world’s most expensive mango, costing up to Rs 2.7 lakh a kilo.

Shree Kishan, who has a landholding of 2 acres, says the mango has flaming red skin on the outside and bright orange pulpy fruit inside, somewhat resembling jelly. “The mangoes are sweet and grow up to a size similar to other mango varieties. It is their rarity that makes them so costly,” he tells The Better India.

Interestingly, the Miyazaki mango, grown on the Kyushu island of Japan, comes from the Irwin mangoes cultivated in Florida, USA. They came to Japan in the mid-80s to grow in warmer climates. The mangoes are known to have 15 per cent more sugar than their counterparts. If grown in optimum weather conditions, each Miyazaki mangoes can weigh around 350 grams and develop a distinct red colour.

Shree Kishan says he learned about the mango variety on YouTube and was impressed. He discussed his findings with his friend to increase his understanding of the fruit’s commercial value as well as feasibility in Indian weather conditions. “I thought of getting the saplings and earning money from the exotic variety. In 2018, my friend gave me three saplings that he had sourced from Thailand,” he adds.

‘Risks and experiments can reap success’

Since then, the farmer has been tending to the saplings with adequate nourishment and keeping them healthy. Once the plants grew 4-feet tall and started bearing fruits, Shree Kishan posted their pictures on social media, which attracted massive attention.

“The fruit can cost anywhere between Rs 21,000 and Rs 2 lakh per kilo in the international market. The plants are still fruiting, and I have not started selling them yet,” he says, admitting that for now, he does not intend to sell commercially and wants to share them with family and friends instead.

He adds that netizens who checked his post on social media have been calling to procure a graft from him. “Potential buyers are ready to pay Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000 for a sapling,” he says.

Shree Kishan notes that he does not feel the need to protect the mango saplings with dogs or security personnel right now, but may require them in the future.

Meanwhile, Sankalp Singh Parihar, another mango farmer and a grower of Miyazaki variety in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, says, “I started growing them in 2016 and have started bearing fruits. The topmost offer I have received is Rs 21,000 for a kilo, but I have not sold them commercially as yet.” Sankalp got his saplings from a person during a train journey and since realised the unique value of the fruit variety.

Shree Kishan says that farmers should innovate and involve themselves in horticulture. “Many farmers fear that markets are unstable and so they may not receive good income. But a solution to this is processing the fruits and selling them for a better value. This also generates employment and ensures steady income through the year,” he says.

He adds that farmers avoid taking risks fearing losses, but should not worry as the risks are equal irrespective of the crops. “There are risks involved in cultivating traditional crops that have been grown across generations. Even cultivating a new crop comes with the same amount of risks. But this mango variety offers the potential to reap huge benefits. Hence, farmers should not hesitate to experiment,” he says.

Check out the mango varieties found across India here.

Edited by Divya Sethu

O In 2014, Dr Subhash Mehta, a Rajasthan-based general surgeon, suffered a slipped disc. While undergoing treatment, his medical practice had to be put on hold, as he was rendered bed ridden during the recovery period.

Since most of Dr Mehta’s patients belonged to rural areas, they could now no longer travel and visit him for consultations in Kota. So to deal with this sudden gap, he decided to hold consultations over video calls.

Dr Mehta’s son, Shreyans (30), an industrial engineer who was working with a startup, decided to take a leave to help his ailing father. “I picked up a laptop and secured all possible internet dongles to ensure there was adequate internet connectivity so that my father could reach the patients. After we started, the number of patients reached close to 5,000 in just 45 days,” he tells The Better India.

Shreyans says that while interacting with the villagers, he realised the burden of high costs of medical treatment borne by the financially weak rural residents.

“Very few doctors prefer treating residents of rural areas, who, as a result, have to travel to urban areas and spend around Rs 500 for a trip. Often, the patient does not travel alone and is accompanied by a relative or friend. The cost of consultation and medicines add to the expenses. Sometimes, the trip becomes more expensive than the treatment cost itself, especially when follow-ups are involved,” he says.

This inspired Shreyans to quit his job altogether and develop a digital platform to save thousands of rural patients from the hassle of such high costs, and make medical care accessible to them for as low as Rs 99.

‘A 360 degree solution’

Shreyans says 95 per cent of the patients who came to his father were satisfied with the video consultation. This further fuelled the idea to digitise medical consultations in Shreyans’ mind.

He scaled up the model to 12 villages, including neighbouring states such as Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. By the beginning of 2015, he had expanded his reach to 800 villages and reached states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

His experience only taught him more about the issues that patients in rural India face.

“My work revealed that doctors spent an average time of 120 seconds with one patient. So the money and time a patient spends on only a couple of minutes is unfair. Many were disappointed when the doctors were unavailable. Moreover, as patients did not always stick to a single doctor, many medical practitioners did not have their history as well. Hence, the patients’ resistance or intolerance towards certain drugs was unknown to the doctor,” he says.

Shreyans says that medical history is crucial for the doctor to refer to. Moreover, he learned that people in tier II and III cities depended significantly on local pharmacists for medical treatment, as they bought medicine on the advice of a chemist rather than visiting a doctor. The economics of the doctors also heavily depends on the nearby pharmacy.

To address these issues, Shreyans invested Rs 6 lakh from his savings, roped in his friends Nikhil Baheti, a computer science graduate from BITS Pilani, and Saida Dhanavath, a graduate of IIT-Bombay.

The three-member team devised mobile applications and launched their startup MedCords in 2017, making healthcare hassle-free and affordable.

Nikhil says the two apps work on multiple levels – in sync with the patient, doctor and local pharmacists.

Explaining the functionality, Nikhil says, “The patients use an app, Aayu. It helps them register personal details and access doctors for online consultations. They can then book an appointment and avail the services. The doctor uses the same app to interact with the patients. However, he also has access to the patient history and medicines prescribed on previous occasions.”

He says that access to the medical history of the patient in the database assists doctors in offering appropriate treatment and prescribing medicines. “The patient can get an appointment within 30 minutes of booking for Rs 99 for the first consultation, and Rs 149 for the second,” Nikhil notes.

Furthermore, the doctor shares the prescription with the patient on the app, who can use the same platform to locate medical stores in the neighbourhood. “The patient can compare the cost of medicines at different stores and choose one that suits them best. The medicines are delivered within 30 minutes,” Nikhil says.

Furthermore, the app offers content related to health in the form of blogs, videos and personal care guidance.

Meanwhile, medical store owners have a dedicated app called ‘Sehat Sathi’ that enables access to the orders and executes the delivery. Both the apps and all three interfaces share the same backend, thus enabling smooth functioning and data sharing between the parties.

Quality medical care synced with affordability

Riyaz Ansari, owner of Rajdhani medical store in Kota, says the app has proven to be a game-changer for his business. “Earlier, a few patients who had the phone number of the store ordered medicines on call. But the app has made business convenient. I can cater to more customers, offer discounts, and deliver the medicines at home,” he says.

Riyaz says he joined the digital platform in December 2020. “My business has increased by 20 per cent as the customers often order products other than medicines as well. I also have orders coming from a wider geographic area, which was earlier limited to the neighbourhood,” he adds.

Anwar Hussain from Kota has used the Aayu app for seven consultations for his family members. “I can book an appointment in 15-20 minutes and receive a prescription at the end of it. The app also helped during COVID-19, when the scare of the virus was high. My uncle needed medical support for his illness as he suffered a cold and cough. But if we visited a clinic, the doctor would demand a COVID test for him before the consultation and add to the medical expenses. However, the medicines prescribed over the app helped my uncle recover in five days,” he says.

Meanwhile, Baljit Singh Khiva, a Pune-based entrepreneur, says, “I am not always keen on visiting a medicine store and decided to use the app for buying medicine and hair oil. The order was delivered within half an hour against the 45 to 60 minutes taken by other product delivery platforms,” he says.

Baljit says the timely service impressed him, and that he was not charged additional delivery costs.

So far, MedCords has reached 600 cities, tied up with 25,000 medical stores and collaborated with 5,000 doctors to offer medical care on one’s fingertips. It has a medical record of 18 lakh patients. By 2022, it wants to increase the numbers to 50,000 medical stores, rope 7,500 doctors and benefit 30 lakh patients.

Saida says the company earns revenues from the subscription model and consultation fees. “The fee is low, and doctors mainly aim to serve the patients and not just earn money out of the consultations. They feel proud to be serving the needy without keeping monetary gains as priority,” he says.

Shreyans says that using tech is the only solution to make healthcare accessible to the masses at an affordable rate. “Doctors avoid travelling to rural areas. Tech will reduce such barriers to consultations. Moreover, the patient can save money and time to receive quality treatment at affordable cost,” he adds.

Edited by Divya Sethu

Ramila and Devilal Vyas’ efforts in making 102 villages in Rajasthan’s Dungarpur district child labour free was a landmark victory in 2004. In the early 2000s, children from marginal families in Dungarpur had migrated to work in cotton fields of Gujarat as the BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) cotton plant required nimble fingers for pollination work.

Along with UNICEF and local government bodies, the couple identified and rescued 4,200 trafficked children from the neighbouring state.

But this victory came at a cost. It led to mass scale adoption of cotton farming in tribal-dominant regions. The labourers, who had migrated with their children to Gujarat, used their newly acquired expertise and experience to plant cotton crops in their small land holdings.

Here’s the thing about cotton farming. Although it generates higher returns, it is a water-intensive crop and needs a high volume of chemical fertilisers to prevent pest attacks. In an arid region like Rajasthan, the cotton growing farmers quickly fell into debts to meet the input costs. Cotton not only drained their savings but also proved detrimental for the environment.

What followed in the years to come was excessive debts, farmer suicides, crop loss and low fertility of land.

To mitigate these problems the Vyas duo, who have been working in the social sector since 1975, decided to replace cotton with turmeric.

They tell The Better India that they chose the golden spice for two reasons.

“Turmeric is grown by many families in their backyard for self-consumption so scaling the cultivation wouldn’t be challenging. Secondly, the spice has barely any input costs, gives high returns and requires less water,” Devilal says.

He adds, “The herculean task was helping farmers switch from chemical to organic farming. It takes months or even years to get rid of an addiction and our lands wouldn’t yield without chemicals.”

Devilal, an agro-economist by profession and Ramila, a homemaker, are founders of Jan Shiksha Evam Vikas Sangathan (JSVS), an NGO that works towards people’s welfare. Through the NGO, they launched ‘Mahi Haldi’ initiative to bring a turmeric revolution and convinced more than 2,500 farmers to make the switch.

Bringing back the golden spice

As children were enrolled back in school by JSVS and UNICEF, the additional income came to an end for hundreds of families. This prompted them to cultivate cotton with a monthly income expectation of Rs 30,000 per bigha.

However, the fairytale bubble burst a year later when input costs for chemicals, seeds, weedicides and water grew exponentially. They took loans up to Rs 40,000 at an interest of 30%. Even if the yield gave expected returns it was not enough to repay the loan amount.

“Our incomes remained the same but investments kept increasing,” says Manganlal, a farmer in his 40s. He undertook a loan of Rs 25,000 to install a water pipeline around 2007. Like him several farmers installed hand pumps, pipes and borings with an aim to solve water problems. But recurrent droughts only made the situation worse.

To maintain the high yields, Manganlal increased the spraying of chemical fertilisers but two of his cattle died from its consumption. He too frequently fell ill from inhaling the poisonous gases released by fertilisers. There was no way to come out of this downward spiral, thought Manganlal.

It was then that the Vyas duo came with a ray of hope for many farmers. After four to five consecutive years of crop losses and debts, the desperate farmers didn’t mind experimenting with an alternative. However, one common feature that attracted most farmers towards turmeric was the buyback policy that Devilal was offering.

“The biggest worry of farmers is not having enough market linkages. So we assured them of buying their entire produce and giving the same or more returns as cotton. We procured a processing unit to convert the turmeric into powder and sell it further to dealers and shopkeepers.”

The couple invited experts on organic farming to impart training on seed plantation methods, making vermicompost at home, water usage, preparing the land and so on. Initially, not more than 50 farmers implemented organic methods as many faced crop losses.

“The first year was particularly hard as my land was used to pesticides so the transition took time. My investment cost was Rs 8,000 for seeds and setting up a vermicompost bed. I saved a lot on labour work as turmeric plantation is easy. The loss didn’t really affect my overall income. From the following year my input costs were minimal and my land accepted the manure,” recalls Manganlal who switched to growing turmeric in 2012.

The couple got turmeric seeds from Erode in Tamil Nadu to cross breed with local seeds and develop a premium variety. Veena was one of the first farmers in the district to use the hybrid variety eight years ago. She says, “My yield almost increased by a quintal. I even won an award from Krishi Vigyan centre for growing 600 grams of turmeric in one bundle. The average output is 200 grams.”

With successful examples like Veena and Manganlal, the movement spread rapidly and more farmers joined the movement. Since turmeric is planted in rows, leaving an empty space in between, the farmers turned to intercropping methods.

This meant planting of spices and vegetables such as spinach, brinjal, lemons, chillies, coriander, etc, in between rows of turmeric. This ensured additional income and a backup in case any one crop fails.

“I am able to save more with the additional income which will be used for my children’s education,” Veena notes.

With 2,500 farmers practicing mixed cropping, with turmeric as a dominant crop, JSVS’ annual production touches 50 tonnes, which is sold in places like Udaipur, Jaipur, Ajmer and some parts of Maharashtra.

The produce is sold to 3,500 Self-Help Groups (SHG) who further sell it to customers via their grocery stores. The idea of selling it locally instead of big spice giants was a deliberate one, says Ramila, who adds, “Local people get organic turmeric at affordable rates as buying from stores is not an option. This ensures inclusivity. Additionally, the SHG members are financially empowered.”

The initiative helmed by Devilal and Ramila shows that it is possible to get rid of chemicals and harmful fertilisers while ensuring that farmers get a steady income, if not more.

Edited by Yoshita Rao

The power crisis in Rajasthan is a perennial issue that affects farmers, students and other businesses across the state. Dr Amit Yadav, an orthopaedic surgeon from Jaipur, had suffered through this like countless others.

“Thermal units often shut down, aggravating the crisis. There are frequent power outages. Moreover, in recent years, the electricity bills at my seven-bed hospital, located in my native Kotputli village, had been peaking at Rs 30,000, making daily functioning difficult,” Dr Amit tells The Better India.

To find a way to address this problem, in 2017, he installed an 11 kW solar plant on the hospital premises to serve his electricity needs. “The hospital’s electricity bills were reduced to half, bringing relief in terms of finances. Also, this ensured a steady power supply for 12 hours a day,” he adds.

Today, Dr Amit has extended the same benefits of assured power supply to hundreds of people by setting up a solar power farm on his ancestral land. This generates lakhs units of electricity each year, while also earning him a steady stream of income.

Harnessing the power of the sun

Dr Amit says that once he saw how the plant worked in his favour, he wanted to extend this facility to other residents and farmers around him, who were reeling under the power crisis. “Being an asthma patient, I also know how air pollution caused due to thermal power plants worsens one’s health,” he notes.

With some research, he learned about the state government’s Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (KUSUM) scheme, which offers subsidies for setting up solar power plants.

Dr Amit then set up a 3.5-acre solar power plant of a capacity that generates 1 Megawatt of electricity, which he sells to the power utility company.

“My father owns the ancestral land, which is mostly barren. We do not practice agriculture due to lack of groundwater and, as a result, it remains vacant. So we decided to set up the plant on the land, more for a social cause than to make it a source of income,” he says.

Dr Amit says that in 2019, he moved an application with the Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Ltd to seek permissions to set up the solar plant and enter a 25-year contract with the power utility company to supply electricity.

In September 2020, he completed the formalities and installed the plant. “Setting up the plant demanded Rs 3.7 crore, and my father invested Rs 70 lakh from his own savings. The remaining funds came from the bank,” Dr Amit says.

He adds that this was a massive risk, but the family collectively decided to dive into the venture. Today, the clean energy harnessed from the sun is converted into electricity, which goes into the national grid and distributed across the state.

The solar power plant generates 17 lakh electricity units annually and earns the family an income of Rs 4 lakh a month. “We sell the electricity to the power utility at Rs 3.40 per unit,” he says.

A drop in the ocean

Dr Amit says that he faced several technical challenges in the installation of the plant. “It was the first time that the officials were working on a massive project such as ours, and it was difficult to chalk the layout, decide the structure and set up the panels. The project was delayed by three months due to technical hurdles from the government’s side. The issue was only resolved when I raised it with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO),” he adds.

However, he feels glad to have contributed to clean energy and environmental causes. “I know my contribution is tiny, but I feel satisfied even if it is 0.01 per cent. I do not have any targets on lowering pollution or increasing electricity generation with solar panels. The aim is solely to help address the power crisis and air pollution within my small capacity,” he says.

Edited by Divya Sethu

For 10 years, Narendra Garwa from Renwal village in Rajasthan, sold books in the busy market and earned a meagre income of Rs 3 lakh per annum. But little did he know that his interest in watching YouTube videos while selling books would double his income.

Narendra says that in 2015, he came across videos about pearl farming and felt intrigued by it. “I learned that it was an easy activity to pursue and it did not require much of an investment and earned good returns,” he tells The Better India.

The 45-year-old adds, “There is always a water shortage in Rajasthan, and I thought that if I could manage to pull off the feat with less water, it would become a lucrative prospect.”

The same year, he signed up for a pearl farming course at Central Institute of Freshwater Culture (CIFA) in Odisha and attended a five-day course.

Stepping Stones to Success

“I learned the techniques and basics of pearl farming and returned to start the same in a 10×10 feet pond. I procured 500 oysters from Kerala at the cost of Rs 40,000. My first attempt was a disaster,” he says, adding that only 35 of the oysters survived.

He approached the scientists at CIFA to seek guidance and learned that he failed to maintain the pH levels and ammonia concentration in the water that resulted in the massive loss.

Dr Shailesh Saurabh, a senior scientist at CIFA, says, “Narendra lacked experience and needed some guidance on introducing the oysters in the pond, managing them and its feed. The pond temperatures and environment need to be monitored at all times for its oxygen levels and other parameters.”

Dr Shailesh says that he guided Narendra step-by-step during the second attempt when the farmer planted 300 oysters, which was a success.

Narendra says that he earned a profit of Rs 1.5 lakh from it and invested the amount further to increase production.

Today, he grows 3,000 oysters in about 70 small ponds, earning him Rs 7 lakh a year.

Explaining the process, he says that the oysters are soaked in freshwater for 24 hours before they are introduced to the pond, where they undergo the pearl formation process. “Once introduced in the pond, they are fed for 15 days to reduce the mortality rate. Once they are mature, the pearl nucleus is introduced carefully in the oysters as a feed by maintaining a water temperature of 15-30 degrees Celsius. A year later, the oyster processes high-quality pearls,” he says.

Narendra says that monitoring the health of the water throughout the growth period is crucial to achieving high quality and volume of produce. “The survival rates for my pearl farming has increased from 30 per cent to over 70 per cent,” he adds.

He says that each pearl can fetch between Rs 200 and Rs 1,000 depending on the size and quality.

Doubling Farmer Incomes

Narendra says that he wanted to extend the benefits to other farmers and started Alkha Foundation, an NGO to train the community.

“I conduct a two-day training workshop for farmers on pearl farming techniques, which costs Rs 4,000. It also doubles up as an income source. Pearl farming does not have to be a full-time job and can be pursued in one’s free time. A pond can help double a farmer’s income without a heavy investment,” he explains.

Krishan Sharma is one such farmer who took training from Narendra in November 2020. “I learned the techniques and now have 1,500 oysters. I expect them to earn me an income of Rs 3 lakh by the end of this year,” he says.

Narendra claims that he has trained over 200 farmers across India and aims to continue the same. Though he receives many inquiries and has become successful, Narendra says that the journey was difficult.

“My friends and relatives doubted and mocked me. Some failed to accept that pearls could be grown artificially, especially at home,” he recalls.

He feels that more farmers should take up pearl farming as an alternative and lucrative source of income. “The business can help double one’s earnings with less investment of money and time,” he adds.

Edited by Yoshita Rao

Rajasthan makes up 62 per cent of all the arid and desert areas across the country, contributing to the maximum portion of land desertification. Factors including change in the use of land, as well as soil erosion and degradation, have only made matters worse.

Having lived amid the Aravali Hills his whole life, Bhuvnesh Ojha, a resident of Peeplond village in Udaipur, learned very quickly how this was affecting the lives in his village.

“I was in Class 8 when I realised that the villagers were struggling for water. Conflicts would often erupt among locals, who would try to get the maximum share of the precious resource whenever the water tanker arrived. Moreover, I also learned about how water shortage and poor soil health contributed to reducing farmers’ income, resulting in suicides,” he tells The Better India.

The 26-year-old says that during peak summer months, villagers often migrated to cities seeking work opportunities. “On some occasions, we read the news about cases of theft and burglaries increasing due to poverty or lack of livelihood,” he says.

To change the picture in the village, Bhuvnesh has created green oases in the village and helped hundreds of farmers improve their livelihood through horticulture.

Spending from his pocket money

Bhuvnesh approached his grandfather to express his concerns about the worsening state of the village. “I asked him whether such poor living conditions had always existed in the village, and how people had lived in such dire state for years.”

Bhuvnesh’s grandfather said the situation was far better when he was young, as there used to be a forest about 500 meters away from the village. The wildlife often shared spaces and forest resources with the locals, but eventually, this all disappeared.

“Uncontrolled tree cutting and exploitation of the forest had led to the destruction of forest and disappearance of wildlife habitat. As the trees and green cover disappeared, the groundwater table depleted, wells dried, and water scarcity began. The water shortage affected agriculture activity and the overall income of the farmers,” he explains.

Bhuvnesh says that school taught him how forests play a crucial role in maintaining the ecosystem. “Forests can prevent soil erosion, hold water and increase groundwater table and allow other biodiversity elements to thrive,” he says.

So he decided to pursue a graduate degree in engineering via Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), bag a well-paying job, and use the money to build forests around his village to help the residents over the next 15 years. He even moved to Kota in Rajasthan to seek coaching for his academics. However, an incident made him rethink his decision to continue his studies.

“I read a quote in a biography that said ‘live as if you will die tomorrow’. The words touched me, and I felt that if I did not take up the cause sooner, my dream to increase the green cover would probably never materialise,” Bhuvnesh says.

So he quit coaching and returned to his village to start seeing his dream through. “The first mango sapling I planted was on 10 March 2013. Since then, I have planted thousands of trees to create green pastures,” he says.

Bhuvnesh started planting trees in government and publicly owned spaces. “I found government offices or lands that were available for plantation and posted pictures on Facebook. Eventually, people were inspired and joined the cause,” he says.

As the demand for resources for his initiative increased, he formed the Pukaar Foundation in November that year.

“I used to put my savings and pocket money into the plantation drives. But the senior volunteers suggested I pool in financial resources for the work, and the community needed structure, discipline, and accountability,” he says.

Since then, Bhuvnesh and thousands of volunteers have planted eight dense Miyawaki forests in and around Udaipur, including his village. The forest growing technique involves planting native plant species in density that enables speedy growth within two to three years.

“The forest differs in sizes, depending on the land availability, but the smallest is about 100 square feet, and biggest is 6,000 square feet. These green patches have 26,000 trees that are now home to reptiles, birds, butterflies and other creatures,” he says.

Bhuvnesh says that the volunteers meet every Sunday and dedicate hours for the maintenance and upkeep of the saplings. “We water the plants, ensure healthy growth of the plantations, and identify new places,” he says.

There are 15 public parks where native trees have been planted to increase the green cover. However, in recent years, Bhuvnesh has realised the need for safer land and to ensure the plantations benefit farmers at large.

Ultimate aim to end water woes

“After the first wave of COVID-19 lockdown, we identified 1,200 farmers and provided them with 15,000 custard apple plants. Such a move would help the farmers with additional income and also ensure the saplings are protected and maintained at all times,” he says.

Bhuvnesh has also started appealing to farmers to take water conservation works under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) by digging trenches. “Every trench has two saplings planted in them. It will help the water percolate during rains and assist the saplings in their growth. The roots of the saplings will retain water when they mature and help increase the groundwater levels,” he says.

Bhuvnesh says that recently, he provided 4,000 saplings of fruit varieties of mango, gooseberry, custard apple, jamun, guava, lemon, pomegranate and bamboo to 140 farmers. “They will grow the plants and later process the fruits to start a food processing unit. Horticulture will supplement and multiply their income,” he says.

Hiralal Meena, a farmer from Alasigarh, says he has planted four guavas and 18 jamun saplings on the farm. “The fruits from the trees will be an additional source of livelihood. Besides, the mini forest near the village has become a micro-climate zone and offers cool air in the vicinity,” he says.

Hiralal says that the tree plantation through organic methods has reduced the proportion of chemicals in the soil and increased the carbon content. “The NGO had conducted a test, and the results were commendable. The texture and quality of the soil in the plantation areas has certainly improved,” he adds.

Bhuvnesh says that all the saplings planted are documented and geotagged with the coordinates. “It helps monitor the plant and species placed in each area. Moreover, we are now identifying rare and medicinal plants with the help of locals. Many varieties are becoming rare, but they are crucial for primary healing and treatment used by locals for centuries. Our efforts are now to document them and create a nursery for its future conservation,” he says.

Bhuvnesh says that among all his efforts, seeking funds and creating on-ground impact were the most challenging bit. “Many of us want to have a greener and cooler planet, but there are few to take the required action. It is difficult to identify, encourage and motivate people to take that step. Also, environmental conservation is a slow process as nature takes its course. Hence, patience is a value to learn and practice while working for the cause. There cannot be immediate results, and sometimes it is hard to convince the donors about the same,” he says.

Bhuvnesh hopes that his efforts help reduce farmer suicides and increase water availability in the region. “My dream will only come true when the water crisis for farmers and villagers ends,” he adds.

Edited by Divya Sethu

In his 10 years of teaching, Raju Sain had never been this nervous. With sweaty palms and a fluttery stomach, he jotted down the points on safe birth control measures.

A resident of Sarmathura tehsil of Rajasthan’s Dholpur district, the 36-year-old was new to the modules of adolescent health (AH), despite teaching science.

Read More: 70,000 Copies Sold: 75 Rajasthani Villagers; And Their Bestseller on Women’s Sexuality

Asking questions or raising doubts on feminine hygiene, reproductive health and gender-based discrimination were frowned upon up until now.

Once back home, he decided it was best to not share his experience with his wife due to fear of being judged.

But it took only a few weeks to undo years of repression on mental and sexual health, as now Raju was not only sharing the curriculum he learnt with his wife but also training close to 350 teachers.

Raju learnt the new curriculum on AH as part of the ‘Udaan Tara’ initiative started by the Government of Rajasthan (GoR) and Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), UK in 2018.

The project aims to sensitise the district through school students on comprehensive sexual and reproductive education to prevent issues like child marriages, unplanned pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, etc. The project also includes nutrition among adolescents, gender-based violence and mental health.

“Dholpur’s gender ratio is skewed in favour of males. This district is not doing great on social and economic parameters. When I joined, I evaluated the ongoing schemes in the district meant for the adolescent population. In addition to giving right information to adolescents, it is equally important that they are given this information at the right time through the right medium. The best part of the project is that experts in various fields have scientifically developed these modules,” District Collector RK Jaiswal tells The Better India.

Shri Rakesh Kumar Jaiswal, District Collector, Dholpur, Rajasthan launched a teachers’ training programme on #adolescenthealth curriculum on Tuesday. The curriculum for the training has been developed under the @CIFFchild funded project #Udaan of @IPEGlobal pic.twitter.com/gd2xFfSTcB

— IPE Global Limited (@IPEGlobal) November 25, 2020

While the district administration roped in NGOs like Manjari foundation and IPE Global to impart the curriculum, the real burden fell on teachers like Raju who were expected to simplify the topics while eradicating the myths.

“The general norm is to skip chapters that focus on body parts and topics that are considered taboos in our society. In rural areas, the fear of backlash from certain conservative groups and parents is very much real. But I am so glad this project was initiated in our region. Initially, I had my apprehensions but seeing the response from students and their parents, it is safe to say that a significant behavioural change is in the making,” Raju tells The Better India.

The administration appointed a Master Trainer from every village. Raju, who teaches at the Government Girls Senior Secondary school, was one of them.

A Grassroot Change

A father of two children (aged 11 and 6), Raju started teaching during his college days to support his family. Even though he graduated in law, he stuck to teaching after seeing the impact of education on children.

Raju is known for taking a friendly approach with his students and conducting interactive classes to teach maths and science in a more interesting way.

He was very excited when he was asked to take the responsibility of training other teachers. But little did he know that he would have to discuss ‘tabooed’ topics like menstrual hygiene and safe sex.

“Initially, I was confused as to why people are discussing it openly. The training sessions were eye-opening and we realised so many of our practices are illogical. The rationale behind not allowing women to work during menstruation could be because it is tiring and painful but we have twisted the reasons as per our whims and labelled menstruating women as untouchables. By the end of the training, I was comfortable and confident enough to ask questions,” says Raju.

However, things got tougher when Raju was among a group of teachers who were both senior and elder to him. For the first three days, they showed no enthusiasm or willingness to learn.

“I had to conduct multiple sessions to get them to open up because until they show interest, the situation is not going to change. In the process, I also ended up learning from them. The teachers started coming in with more questions in our feedback sessions, which showed that students were also taking an interest in the subject,” says Raju.

Talking about the significance of this curriculum, Raju says, “The targeted students are at an age where their bodies witness physical and hormonal changes. If their curiosity is not met, they can indulge in wrong habits. For example, nightfall is shamed, so instead of visiting a doctor, the boys often resort to porn or look for solutions online. In the same way, girls do not wear sanitary pads despite getting them for free due to the stigma. Such issues if not addressed correctly can affect their mental wellbeing as well.”

Ruby Kumari, a Class 12 student from Raju’s village has stopped feeling guilty every time she menstruates.

“No one told us periods are a natural phenomenon. Even my mother refused to tell me why it occurs. I wouldn’t even discuss it with my friends out of shame. If it pained, I would quietly go through it instead of asking for help. I would burn my sanitary napkin or reuse waste cloth while bleeding. Now, I bury it properly after knowing the health hazards of openly discarding it. Even in terms of marriage, we were informed that our body is ready only after we turn 18. Post the sessions I started sharing this with my mother,” Ruby tells The Better India.

The students are also taught good touch and bad, self-examination of genitalia for when to visit a doctor and nutritious food for a healthy lifestyle.

Raju shares the impact of the programme can be seen in his house too. He says, “We have started eating our dinner early and we are conscious of what we consume for breakfast.”

The programme has been taught to 60,000 students of Class 6 to Class 12 across more than 550 government schools in the district.

“The impact is for everyone to see. A lot of young girls and boys are now comfortable talking about sensitive issues. Many of them are even counselling elders in the family on themes such as family planning and child marriage. I know of stories of girls who are questioning traditional practices related to menstrual hygiene. I am able to visualise that eventually, there will be gender parity in the district. In the long run, we see the infant mortality rate going down. When this happens (the target is met), the government resources currently spent to fight these factors will go down,” adds the District Collector.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

If you go to Jodhpur, Rajasthan and happen to visit MV Spices as part of your tour, you will find the store, located in the Clock Tower area, brimming with curious foreigners and tourists. Step inside and you will find a few young girls selling a variety of spices, which especially cater to the tastes of visitors from outside India.

But it’s not the spices alone that make the store stand out. There’s a special story behind what makes MV Spices truly unique.

As Bhagwanti, wife of late Mohanlal Verhomal, co-founder of the business, tells The Better India, “My daughters and I are the only women in the spice business in Jodhpur.”

Bhagwanti and Mohanlal started the spice business in the late 1970s, with Mohanlal’s ambition being to sell products to foreigners and tourists.

“I married Mohanlal at the age of 22. He owned a grocery shop back then, but it suffered heavy losses as many relatives and acquaintances sourced groceries from the shop on credit and never paid for it,” she recalls.

Soon after marriage, Bhagwanti gave birth to three daughters in a row. The couple soon began to feel a financial burden as their family grew. “I convinced my husband that such losses cannot continue as we had daughters to raise, and that our living expenses would only increase over the years,” she says.

After months of convincing, Mohanlal agreed to shut shop and look for an alternative business.

Labour of love

“I suggested we make traditional spices at home and sell them to tourists in Jodhpur. Around the time my fourth daughter was born, I began making 50 gram packets of spices at home and handed them to my husband to sell in the market,” Bhagwanti says.

Th 63-year-old adds that the business started with no significant capital in hand. “Mohanlal started selling the spices at the entrance of the famous Mehrangarh Fort. He would spread a bed sheet along the street and display the spices on it,” she says.

Bhagwanti says, “One day, a guard at the fort asked Mohanlal to meet Maharaja Gaj Singh. The king decided to dedicate a space within the fort where Mohanlal could set up shop in return for a monthly rent.”

Thanks to this, the shop saw increased visibility and business picked up. In 1980, the couple had enough finances to buy a shop near the Clock Tower at the vegetable market and named it MV Spices.

“Tourists and foreigners appreciated the spices for their quality and taste. Our products were handmade and had no adulteration, and the raw materials were of high quality. The practice of selecting quality spices continues to date,” she says.

Bhagwanti says the mix of the spices is tweaked every now and then, considering the taste of the foreigners. “For example, the proportion of black pepper in garam masala is comparatively less than used for Indian taste buds. Such small changes helped foreigners accept the products,” she adds.

Overcoming grief

In 2004, tragedy struck when Mohanlal passed away suddenly due to a heart attack, making Bhagwanti the sole proprietor of the business.

“We had seven daughters by then and no son. Everyone, including my in-laws, believed the shop would shut as men traditionally owned and operated the businesses. They advised me to close operations as it would become difficult to manage my children and a business. Some relatives suggested I hand over the affairs in return for monthly rent,” Bhagwanti says.

But she refused all such offers and decided to continue the business by herself. “Mohanlal and I would toil from 6 am until 9 pm to establish the business. It was my husband’s dream, and I needed to earn money to raise my daughters. There was no way I was going to give up on it,” she says.

But as bias reared its ugly head, Bhagwanti found that standing up for her beliefs at home was much easier than what was waiting for her outside in society.

“I was the only woman in the business, and competitors started spreading rumours and misinformation about me. They threatened us and even misguided tourists. Many of them named their shops starting with the letter ‘M’ to confuse customers. They tried to tear us down just because I was a woman,” she recalls.

However, not one to bag down, she asked her four elder daughters to manage the shop near the Clock Tower, and she took charge of the business at the fort.

Today, the family owns four shops that offer over 120 plus products such as vegetable masala, curry masala, tea masala, herbal masala, chicken masala and others. The handmade spices have made a mark across the globe — 95 per cent of MV Spices’ products are sold to foreigners, or are exported.

The shops are managed by seven daughters – Usha, Poonam, Neelam, Nikki, Kavita, Rutu and Priya.

Neelam, manager of the business, says the aggressive gender bias has not reduced over time. “The men in the area did not want us in the market then, and the situation has not changed much since. Our world turned upside down overnight after our father’s death. We were in shock at his sudden demise. But my mother dealt with the loss and remained strong-headed to continue the business. Her vision and belief in herself make us all proud,” she says.

Neelam says that before their father passed away, the daughters had never been involved in the business. “We did not know about spices and how to run a business. But we started taking responsibilities to help our mother and worked as instructed,” she says.

A relation of trust

She adds that taking charge of the business made her know more about her father. “Our father was always busy, and we were engrossed in academics and personal lives. We didn’t have much time to bond. But managing the shop helped me understand my father better,” she says, adding that old customers often visit the shop to meet Mohanlal, and miss his presence when they find out that he is no more.

Recalling an incident, Neelam says, “Once, a lady from the United Kingdom visited the shop and narrated an experience about her previous visit. My father was about to have lunch when she arrived. He offered her and other tourists his lunch box and shared food. The lady admitted that she was hungry and was moved by his gesture. On another occasion, Mohanlal rode her to a local food joint to give her an experience of authentic street food.”

She adds, “Such stories of my father’s kindness and his strong bond with customers show how dedicated, committed and passionate he was towards his business.”

A UK-based customer, Claire, says, “One of our guides took us to the spice shop as a part of the city tour. The shop seemed average at first, but the experience was amazing. The girls explained to us how the spices are used in cooking. They even guided us with recipes and cooking instructions via email.”

Meanwhile, Neelam says that their store offers something different to foreign visitors. “They appreciate that we take the time out to interact with them, tell them about the spices in detail, and that we speak in English. They’re also more comfortable with us because we’re women.”

“We always send the courier of spices on credit to foreign countries and ask for payment only after delivery. If the products fail to reach, we do not charge. It is what my father practised, and we continue the same,” she explains, adding, “Such trust and belief has helped us retain customers for years.”

She says their business continues to use word of mouth to promote itself, and the family has not resorted to digital media marketing or other advertising means. “Our business has thrived solely by traditional means. Even when we travel abroad or to other parts of India, we carry packets of spices and try to promote them,” she says.

Meanwhile, Bhagwanti is confident that her daughters will take the business to new heights. “They know the hard work that has been put in for years and know the business dynamics. I am sure the shops are in safe hands,” she adds.

Edited by Divya Sethu

Around 18 million children live on the streets in India. Many have had no formal education or have dropped out in the early years of their schooling due to poverty and lack of privilege. Instead, they’re forced to beg for a living.

In 2015, Bhunesh Sharma, an ed-tech entrepreneur from Jaipur, came across a few such children at a traffic signal.

“They approached me at the car window and asked for a pencil and paper. This unusual request surprised me, because these kids are mostly there to sell items or ask for money. Instead, they wanted help to meet their primary need for education,” he tells The Better India.

Bhunesh says that he immediately rushed to a nearby stationery shop and purchased pencils for them. “They were three kids, two of whom were boys aged four and eight years. The other was a three-year-old girl living in a slum in the vicinity. I reached out to their parents to understand their conditions and whether they were attending school,” he adds.

OTT model for education

He says he learned that the children needed educational support, so he offered to teach them for free. But Bhunesh was just a stranger who had randomly showed up at their doorstep and offered to teach their kids — so the parents refused. They also suspected he would direct them towards illegal activities.

Bhunesh says he did not give up and tried to convince their parents over the next week, until they finally agreed. “They were reluctant to send their children to study outside their locality. Hence, I told the parents that I would make daily visits and teach the children at home, where the parents could see them in sessions,” he says.

At the time, he was working for a startup and could barely spare an hour to teach them daily. Looking at his sincere efforts, around seven parents approached him to ask if he would teach their children. As classes continued, the number of students grew to 40 by 2017.

But Bhunesh soon realised that the children would flourish more if they attended school. “Many of them had dropped out. The parents could not seek admission in private schools under Right To Educate (RTE) due to a lack of documents. In many instances, the parents were unaware of how to follow the required procedures,” he says.

So Bhunesh availed a loan of Rs 1.5 lakh to admit the children to private schools and pay their tuition fees.

As the number of children in his classes kept increasing, Bhunesh started roping in volunteers. “My wife Neha also joined the cause. But when the numbers crossed 125, I realised that personal finances were not enough to support the children.”

In 2019, Bhunesh launched Smile For All Society (SFA), an NGO to seek monetary aid. Two years later, in 2021, he started an OTT-like subscription model to attract donors to sponsor education for underprivileged children.

“The subscription model works precisely like any system such as Netflix, Amazon or Hotstar. People wanting to sponsor education for children can sign up for a monthly payment starting with Rs 500. The amount paid is directly spent on the children’s education,” he says.

Education for all

Bhunesh explains that the model entails complete transparency in the process. “The subscriber receives a receipt, including a description of the student benefiting from the money. A monthly review and performance report of the student is shared with the subscriber. It includes academic reports, attendance and other details. The subscriber can connect over a call or meet the student personally,” he adds.

He says that one volunteer is dedicated to every five students to monitor and share information. There are 4,000 volunteers investing time to teach children from 100 slums across India including Kolkata, Jaipur, Mumbai and Noida.

Supriya Srivastava from Noida, who is volunteering with the NGO, says, “I came across the NGO through mutual friends, and decided to volunteer to help the kids. The children in the slums are intelligent, but lack resources. Hence, I decided to give my weekends to teach the children.”

So far, the NGO has received 612 subscribers who are now sponsoring the education of over 1,000 children across 250 cities in India. “There are 35 schools on board, including some in remote tribal areas of Jharkhand and Odisha,” he says.

Bhunesh says that the NGO also helps in fulfilling document requirements and providing study material to the children. “My dream is to see every child from a slum access education. I believe that education can help bring a better life for everyone as it opens multiple opportunities,” he adds.

Edited by Divya Sethu

Vijay Sharma and his mother have always been fond of cluster beans. But over the years, they noticed the quality of the market-bought vegetable deteriorating.

“The quality of the vegetables in the market is not good. So, in 2017 I decided to plant cluster bean seeds in my home garden,” he says.

Their small experiment sowed the seeds of a home gardening project at the Sharma house.

A swimming coach by profession in SP College in Bikaner, Rajasthan, Vijay was motivated by the project’s success and expanded his plantation. “Our quality of cluster beans was far better and fresh than market produce. Inspired by the results, I started growing spinach, okra, chillies and other varieties of vegetables,” he says.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, he spent more time expanding his home garden, which today has over 150 varieties of vegetable and medicinal plants spread across a 1,500 square feet area.

“The college activities came to a standstill owing to lockdown restrictions, and I was confined to my home. To keep busy and alleviate stress, I started spending more time in the garden,” he explains.

He says that he started increasing his plantation with more fruits and vegetable varieties. “I began learning on social media to plant carrots, raddish, coriander, cauliflower vegetables along with fruit varieties such as mangoes, pomegranates, oranges and mandarins,” he says.

Besides, he started growing medicinal plants like holy basil, giloy and others.

When the lockdown imposed more limitations on accessing resources, Vijay then started using drums, discarded tyres and broken plastic containers to grow plants. When those fell short, he created moulds using cement and towel to build pots. Eventually, he managed to source environmentally-friendly pots made from Pokhran red soil.

He says that he used a mix of 50 per cent cow dung manure or coco peat along with soil for his plants, a practice he continues to date. He has also installed a drip irrigation system to ensure efficient watering of plants.

He adds that the home garden has brought him many benefits apart from having a source of fresh vegetable produce.

“My day begins with spending time in the garden tending the plants. It helps me relieve stress as I surround myself with greenery. The plants, creepers and other vegetation create a microclimate that helps reduce harsh heat during the summer season when temperatures peak close to 50 degrees Celsius. The creepers protect the plants from direct sunlight by sheltering and cooling the temperature in the garden,” he says.

“My dependency on the market has reduced, and I save about Rs 1,500 every month on vegetables,” he says, adding that he plans to lease a 2.5-acre land to practice organic farming.

For beginners, Vijay advises starting with seasonal vegetables. “The vegetable plants need occasional trimming. Watering the plants is equally important for their healthy growth,” he says.

He suggests gardeners grow fruit plants during the monsoon. “The plants tend to develop stronger roots during rainy seasons,” he says.

He is glad that he learned and expanded his garden during the lockdown, and adds, “I have learned new skills and now grow my food, which gives me immense pride and satisfaction.”

Edited by Yoshita Rao

Anil Bishnoi was about to call it a night when he received a call from his village informer in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh to save a blackbuck. So, in 14℃ weather, he raced to the spot, driving for 30 kilometres on pitch dark roads.

By the time he reached, the antilope cervicapra had been shot dead and prepared into a delicacy. Anil then handed over the perpetrator to the police, and was subsequently sentenced for six years for killing the endangered animal. Anil had filed a case under the Schedule I of the Wildlife Act, 1972.

The incident got a lot of attention from the regional media and also sent a stern warning to the poachers in the region.

“He wanted to impress his son-in-law with this meat dish and there was no remorse when he confessed,” Anil, a farmer and activist, tells The Better India.

“I have come across several poachers who believe it is okay to kill animals for entertainment purposes. It is because of such people that I decided to initiate a mission to protect these animals in Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar in 1990,” he adds.

The 48-year-old belongs to the Bishnoi community who consider blackbucks sacred and a reincarnation of their Guru Bhagwan Jambeshwar. The community has been known to make sacrifices to protect the trees and animals. They believe that every living creature has the right to live peacefully.

“We will never tolerate any harm to blackbucks. With a life span of 10-15 years, they are nervous and shy by nature. They inhabit jungles, farms and scrubland,” adds Anil.

A recipient of Dalmia Water Environment Protection Award and state-level Amrita Devi Environmental Protection Award, Anil’s brilliant efforts have been recognised and lauded multiple times by the Rajasthan government. He has been accorded with the status of Honorary Wildlife Warden.

Anil, who once wanted to get into the teaching profession, shares how he has been keeping more than 10,000 chinkara and blackbucks protected across 60 panchayats while tackling death threats.

‘Threats Won’t Stop Me’

Growing up in the 80s, Anil noted the deaths of two to three blackbucks almost every day in his district. While he was angry and sad, there was nothing he could do.

It was during his college days that he finally got a chance to make a difference.
“In 1990, I was studying in a Suratgarh college. One day, our community had organised a conference to spread awareness on deforestation and killing of the wildlife. This made me rethink my life’s philosophy and had a deep impact on my mind. The highlight was the case studies of people who had been saving blackbucks for decades,” recalls Anil.

After finishing his B Ed and BA, Anil returned to his village called Lakhasar and took up farming of pulses and grains on his ancestral land.

There were multiple reasons behind the blackbuck fatalities such as dog bites, extreme climates and road accidents. Hunting was the most pressing issue so Anil began a campaign to stop poachers.

But for a 20-something boy to catch hold of experienced poachers was not easy.

He mobilised villagers to alert him every time there was a hunting possibility. From stopping the poachers to registering cases against them, Anil did everything. His mission soon got attention from nearby villages and the poaching-related calls increased.

In one of his earlier cases, the hunter had killed five blackbucks for their meat. As he tried to stall the hunter till the forest officials and local police arrived on the spot, the hunter pointed a gun to his head.

“I was scared but it was necessary to risk my life, if it meant saving the species. Thankfully, the team arrived and he was arrested. I have caught 300 poachers red handed so far and put several of them in jail,” says Anil.

Anil visits courts as a witness and follows up with the cases till the punishment is given. At times, he even organises peaceful rallies to sensitise people to the issue. He works with a team of 3,000 people across 12 districts of Rajasthan.

Karan Singh Kajla, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Hanumangarh, says, “Anil ji’s work is commendable. I have not seen another person doing such a selfless job of saving lives in the area. Anil has made saving wildlife his life’s goal. Whatever they do, they do it from the heart. The forest department is grateful for his and his team’s services.”

‘They Are Like My Children’

Apart from preventing poachers, Anil also looks after the well-being of blackbucks and chinkaras.

He looks after the injured animals and gives them first-aid either at home or at the forest department’s medical centre.

“In case of roadside or shooting injuries, they take a few weeks to heal and during this time it is important to give them love and care. Hunters often kill the mother and then the children are left alone, who may fall prey to the wild dogs. We rescue and look after them till they are ready to go back to the forest. If they die, then we organise their funerals, too,” says Anil.

Another major issue that Anil and his team face is the water scarcity during summers. Insufficient drinking water can be fatal for wildlife. So, he raised Rs 2,00,000 among the villagers to build 66 ponds in 2017.

“We got a lot of support from people who were kind enough to give us construction materials for free — even masons did not charge anything. In case of scanty rainfall, we spend money to get water from tankers. Fortunately, for the last two years we have received a good amount of rainfall,” says Anil.

Ramswaroop Manjhu, National President of All India Bishnoi Mahasabha, says, “Anil has been engaged in the work of saving wildlife for many years. He contributes to protecting the environment and wildlife with the spirit of service. His work is nothing short of exemplary.”

Initially, Anil’s family was skeptical about his work given the risks, but now his children, wife, brother and sister-in-law are the first ones to provide first-aid to the injured blackbucks and chinkaras. During lockdown too the family looked after the deer.

Given that most villages have a blackbuck population of more than 100, Anil has been trying to set up a community reserve for them since 2000. Until he gets one, he says that he will continue to provide his services.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

In 1974, 18-year-old Himmataram Bhambhu would spend his days keenly observing his grandmother plant a Peepal tree in his ancestral village, Sukhwasi in Rajasthan. Around 14 years later, it had fully grown. When Himmataram saw how this tree was giving shade and oxygen to the residents of the village, he had found his life’s purpose. 

Now, some 30 years later, as lakhs of trees and thriving ecosystems across Nagaur district stand tall and firm thanks to his efforts, Himmataram stood in front of India’s President Ram Nath Kovind to receive the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civil honour, on 8 November. 

He received this honour for his efforts to provide a safe habitat for birds and wildlife by planting over three lakh trees across his district. For his selfless endeavour, he even took a loan in 1999 to purchase 34 bighas of land in his drought-prone village of Harima so he could build a mini forest of 16,000 native trees. 

In a state where poaching activities are rampant, and where illegal smuggling of peacocks, blackbucks, chinkaras and other animals serves as a livelihood for many, Himmataram has been at the forefront to eliminate the issue in his district.

In a conversation with The Better India, he recalled, “I first learnt about farming and planting trees from my grandmother Naini Devi, who always said there is nothing more virtuous than planting trees. It felt like it was possible only due to the inspiration of my grandmother.” 

“I have grown about 400 trees of rain-fed Khejri and native acacia in my six bighas without any extra cost. We also have kumt, neem, native plum, gunda, rohidha, khajuria and jalki. Although the cost of planting trees is not much, maintaining them is really challenging,” said Himmataram, who is a farmer by profession. 

His selection of trees is also praiseworthy. Considering the arid state has always faced issues pertaining to water scarcity, he chose trees that are dependent on rains. 

Additionally, the trees have also immensely contributed to keeping the groundwater tables balanced in Nagaur district, which has 45,000 borewell connections for farming purposes. Himmataram says in a scenario where farmers are turning a blind eye to the excessive use of machines to draw water, trees have silently been harvesting rainwater for decades. 

Himmataram has also been leading the legal fight against poachers. He has been instrumental in putting 16 poachers behind bars out of 28 cases. He uses his own savings to fight the cases and also tends to injured chinkaras and peacocks.  

For saving the lives of more than 1,570 injured animals and birds, he has received state awards like Rajiv Gandhi Environment Protection. A book has also been published on him titled ‘Himmat Ke Dhani Himmataram’, which was released by Union Minister Prakash Javadekar in the Parliament House. 

Featured image source: President of India/Twitter

Edited by Divya Sethu 

In 2013, Abhay Bishnoi from Rajasthan joined a Noida-based private firm after completing his graduation in engineering. However, a year into working at the organisation, he found that his salary and career growth prospects were both disappointing.

In search of better options, Abhay decided to attempt competitive examinations. “I quit my job and began taking coaching for the UPSC, other civil services, and banking. However, I couldn’t crack any of them,” he tells The Better India.

A conversation with childhood friends Manish and Sandeep made him realise that he was not alone in this boat — the other two were equally unhappy with their career trajectory.

It was during this discussion, Abhay recalls, that someone mentioned the words ‘mushroom farming’. “We discussed the cordyceps militaris mushroom, and a friend from the UK told me that this type can be used as a health supplement. It’s also called the ‘super mushroom’ and is known for a range of benefits,” he says.

These benefits include immunity-boosting, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, anti-microbial, anti-viral, antibacterial and antioxidant properties.

Learning from mistakes

Abhay notes, “The mushroom variety is used by companies, researchers and individuals alike. It is rare and has a high market value. A kilo can fetch a sum of Rs 1.5 to Rs 2 lakh,” he explains.

He says the trio thought these mushrooms could serve as a lucrative business model to earn money. “These mushrooms are grown in a controlled environment. So if it’s possible to grow them in the UK, then it’s possible to do it anywhere in the world. We just needed to create appropriate conditions to grow the variety,” he says.

The friends conducted research into the variety and its commercial prospects in India. “We learned about Nainital-based Divya Rawat, who has earned popularity in mushroom farming. In 2018, we went to seek training at her centre and learned the technicalities of mushroom farming,” he adds.

Meanwhile, three other college friends also learned about Abhay’s plan of mushroom farming and underwent training for it in Thailand.

“Their move helped us understand and share various aspects of growing cordyceps militaris. We also spent a considerable time researching about the variety on YouTube, which helped us gain insight from across the world,” he shares.

Explaining the process, Manish says, “The mushrooms are derived from brown rice. The brown rice bakes at 120 degrees inside the jars in an autoclave. It is a strong heated container used for chemical reactions such as steam sterilisation.”

The process sterilises the jars by eliminating bacteria and other contamination. “A tiny contamination can spoil the entire harvest. Once the process is complete, chemicals are introduced in the jars and stored in laminar (lab equipment) for 12 hours. The equipment has ultraviolet (UV) light which prevents contaminants like bacteria from damaging the batch,” Manish says. “A 400-gram capacity jar can be used to grow 1.5-2 grams of mushrooms.”

The jars are removed in the next 12 hours and stored in a dark room. “A week later, the mushrooms start growing, and the jars are moved to another room where they can be exposed to light. They remain in the set up with a temperature maintained between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius. The room also needs the arrangement to control humidity as required. The jars are opened once the desired growth is attained. The mushrooms are dried in an industrial oven, after which they are ready to be used for multiple applications. The entire process requires 85 to 90 days,” Manish explains.

The dry mushrooms can be consumed like tea, by boiling in hot water for ten minutes and drinking on an empty stomach. The boiled mushroom is edible.

Sandeep adds that after completing their training, they decided to launch their startup, J B Capital. “Initially, we planned to have the farm set up in Nainital owing to the conducive weather conditions. However, considering the lack of capital and logistics, we decided to establish a 2,500 sq feet unit in Rajasthan. The land was cheaper to lease. We raised a sum of Rs 12 lakh from family and government under the startup scheme,” he notes.

Despite an ambitious start, the three business partners soon faced challenges. “We started with 1,200 jars and lost all of them. The result was disappointing, but we did not give up and remained determined to start again,” he says.

Sandeep and his friends took cautious steps. Learning from experiences as they went on, they eventually tasted success in cultivating the product of desired quality and quantity.

Today, the startup earns them a quarterly business of Rs 6 lakh, they say. “We grow about 8 kilos of mushroom and sell it under the brand Cordymine for Rs 1.5-2 lakh per kilo. We have 200 customers on board from Dayra Ganganagar, Bikaner, Churu in Rajasthan and a few in Punjab,” he says.

The startup has recently expanded its online presence on Flipkart, Amazon and other such platforms.

A satisfactory business model

However, Sandeep says that growth has not come easy. “As the mushroom variety is lesser-known, we struggled to create awareness in the market. Initially, we went to the local market and even reached out to people door-to-door, explaining the product to potential buyers. At times, we sold the products on cash back guarantee,” he says.

The marketing experiments worked in their favour, and business improved. “Word of mouth marketing became our biggest strength as people who benefited from the products referred others to us,” Sandeep says.

He adds that the mushrooms are organic, chemical-free and have no artificial agents compared to other diabetes controlling medicines in the market. “Their natural form is the reason for the mushrooms getting more demand in the market,” he says.

Vijay Periwal, an entrepreneur from Punjab, has been using the product for the past two years. “I had a weak heart, with 28 per cent of it functioning due to blockages. I could barely walk half a kilometre a day. But using the product alongside my other medication has helped me improve my stamina. Now, I can walk about 12 km a day and play sports like badminton and hockey,” he says.

A 2014 study says, “Cordyceps extract has also been found as a promising source to increase cardiac output up to 60% in augmentation with conventional treatment of chronic heart failure. The product from wild type and cultured Cordyceps has also been shown to significantly decrease blood viscosity and fibrinogen levels preventing myocardial infarction.”

Vijay says that he also recommended the product to a friend recovering from dengue. “My friend’s immunity was weak, but his health has improved in the past six months. It costs Rs 150 per day, but worth the benefits,” he adds.

Abhay says the company plans to offer a franchisee model for budding entrepreneurs. “We also plan to launch a pocket-friendly, multi-vitamin capsule conceived from five varieties of mushrooms,” he adds.

Before signing off, Abhay says he is glad that the business worked out in their favour. “We are satisfied with the business and income. We are earning from what we love the most and helping improve the health of others,” he adds.

Edited by Divya Sethu

In the heart of the Thar desert, Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls School is not just an architectural marvel, but also a place where young girls can bring their dreams to life. In a state like Rajasthan, where the literacy rate is only 32 per cent, this school in Kanoi village is aiming to provide a better future to young girls as well as their mothers, all while promoting the cause of sustainability.

Designed by New York-based architect Diana Kellogg, the school was built in 2019 by non-profit organisation CITTA to educate and empower women of the state. It took a decade for Michael Daube, director, CITTA, to conceptualise the building.

Located in Jaisalmer, the school is made of sandstone, which can keep the building cool and comfortable from within, even when outside temperatures soar to 50 degrees Celsius. There’s plenty of air and light circulation in the classrooms, and the canopy of solar panels on the building provides electricity while keeping the structure under shade.

Besides the school, the building also houses a textile museum, a performance/exhibition hall, and an area to train women in traditional arts like weaving.

At present, there are 400 girls studying in this institution from pre-school to class 12.

Watch the video to see how this structure combines empowerment and sustainability to provide a secure future to the girls in Rajasthan:

Imagine being able to pluck fresh mangoes without having to move from bed. Or waking up to the sounds of birds right next to you, with their nests built inside your bedroom.

For most of us, this sounds like a scene out of a Disney movie. But for Ajmer-born businessman Kul Pradeep Singh and his family, this is an everyday reality — their house is built atop a 40-foot mango tree!

This three-storey treehouse has two bedrooms, a kitchen, a library and a living area, and is located in Udaipur. “The area where our treehouse stands is known for its fruit trees. People used to sell these fruits from over 4,000 trees for a living. But due to an increase in population, they started cutting the trees down,” he explains.

The pleasure of nature’s company

In 1999, Singh was in search of a plot in Udaipur, and had decided that he wouldn’t harm any trees in this area. “When I told a property dealer to not cut any trees and instead replant them somewhere else, he rejected the idea and left. So I took it as a challenge. Instead of uprooting the trees, I dedicated myself to constructing a house on one. Soon, I got hold of this plot, which had a mango tree in the centre, for a reasonable price,” he says.

The construction of Singh’s house was completed in one year with the help of an architect. The tree was around 20-feet-tall at the time, and the house was built with two floors. It stands nine feet above the ground and is supported by a tree trunk. The entire structure is made of steel and the walls and floors of the house are made of cellulose sheet as well as fibre. Four pillars are placed around the tree, which act as an electric conductor during lightning.

“You can see branches inside our kitchen and bedroom. We make necessary changes in the structure according to the growth of the tree. Birds and small animals who dwell in the tree are now our family members. To co-exist with other living beings is an absolute pleasure, and we love their company,” adds Singh, who worked in the electricity department for about eight years before starting his own company.

So how much did the construction of this house cost? “I have kept no records of it. My only aim was to build a house to live in without disturbing the growth of the tree. I did, and I am satisfied,” says the 75-year-old businessman.

Singh says that seeing this model, interested people have contacted him to build a similar home. But no such collaborations have taken place till date. He states the reason, “At some point, they won’t compromise on the structure, which will lead to damaging the tree. I can’t compromise on that as well. I feel that not even a single leaf should be harmed by us.”

The mango tree has grown from 20 feet to 40 feet within 11 years. Singh’s house, which earlier had two floors, now stands tall with three. The first floor consists of a kitchen, bathroom and dining hall. On the second floor, there is a washroom, library and a bedroom. The third floor is made up of a single room with a roof, which can be opened to see the beautiful branches of the tree. He says his wife and son enjoy their lives in their house, and that they are rewarded by the tree with fresh mangoes every summer.

This treehouse has found its name in the Limca Book of Records and is visited by many tourists. So the next time you visit Udaipur, along with the beautiful forts and palaces, add this amazing treehouse to your itinerary.

Read this story in Hindi here.

It wasn’t long ago that Abhay Bishnoi dreamed of becoming a civil servant when he quit his job in 2013. But failing the exam, he turned to Cordyceps Militaris mushrooms, better known as super mushrooms, to start a lucrative business.

“I quit my job and began taking coaching for the UPSC, other civil services, and banking. However, I couldn’t crack any of them,” Abhay said.

Abhay and his childhood friends Manish and Sandeep started JB Capital after conducting thorough research about this mushroom variety.

These ‘super mushrooms’ are used in the treatment of diabetes and heart diseases.

The trio attended training sessions in Thailand and resorted to YouTube videos to learn how to produce rare mushrooms. The process required extreme care in a controlled atmosphere, and they had many trials and errors.

The bootstrapped startup began with an investment of Rs 12 lakhs and started growing mushrooms in 1,200 jars.

Slowly but steadily, they reeled in Rs 6 lakh in one quarter with 8 kg of mushrooms. The super mushrooms cost Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh per kg.

Today, with one unit in Rajasthan, they have recently expanded their online presence on Flipkart, Amazon and other e-commerce websites.

“We are earning from what we love the most and helping improve the health of others,” Abhay added.

Watch the full story of these successful and passionate entrepreneurs:

On the seventh day of my trip across Rajasthan, I arrived at Jodhpur, the blue heaven. While I’d powered through most of my shopping list, only one item remained – bangles. 

“Do not forget to visit Bibaji Churi Wale,” read a line from an online article titled ‘Must Visit Shops in Jodhpur’. I was apprehensive, given that famous tourist attractions seldom live up to expectations. Regardless, I decided to drop by. 

On a Sunday morning, I navigated the crowd of tourists and locals alike, assembled near the Ghanta Ghar, before stepping into a narrow lane, decorated with bangle shops on either side. 

Outside one particular store, I spotted the old banner of Bibaji, with a proud proclamation that this tiny store had supplied bangles to the royal family of Jodhpur. 

Before entering, I was asked to remove my shoes. There was no room to sit inside – almost every inch was occupied by colourful and delicate bangles. 

“I hope you don’t mind if I place the bangle box on this stool instead of giving it to you to sit on,” said the owner, a man in his sixties. “The bangles are my source of livelihood, so giving respect to them is a priority.” 

Abdul Satar Biba then went on to open his breathtaking collection of bangles, all laid out in different colours and designs – from lac to glass, kundan, plastic and crystal. He took his own time to show me each.

What struck me was the deftness with which he was able to zero in on what I would like, picking out a bangle that matched my taste to perfection. 

He must have caught on to my surprise. “Oh there is no magic to this. Our family has been mastering the art of identifying a woman’s taste in bangles for the last 150 years. My grandmother, who started this shop, was a pioneer who carefully nurtured our skills,” Abdul, locally known as Bibaji, tells The Better India as he rummages through stone-studded bangles. 

From raja to praja: A shop for everyone

The shop holds special significance, for not only did Abdul’s grandmother establish her business here, but also set the precedent for visits from high profilers including the Jodhpur’s royal family and Hilary Clinton, he says.  

But over a century ago, when Bibiji first set out on her endeavour with her visually impaired husband, little did she know she was moulding a legacy. 

Abdul says traditional customs of the royal family favoured Bibiji’s entrepreneurship. 

“Due to the purdah system, the women of the royal family would not be allowed to see men, or even be in the same room. They were not even allowed to attend bazaars. So most bangle makers would sell to locals and tourists. But since my grandmother was a woman, she decided to take a chance and marched towards the palace. Back then, the bangles would be tight and one would require a helper to put them on. With a basket-full above her head, Bibiji managed to enter the royal court, and became the helper. Since she was prolific at sales, she returned home with another order,” Abdul recalls. 

Word then quickly spread about Bibiji’s bangles. 

Her son, Mohammad Baksh, would often accompany her to the palace to learn the tricks of the trade. The story behind how the shop got its name starts when Baksh took over from his mother in the 1920s. 

“As I said, men were not allowed to meet the women, but my father was as a kid. His impeccable designs and innovative work caught everyone’s attention. Maybe that was the reason he was allowed inside as an adult. But it was hard for the family members to remember his name, so they modified Bibiji to Bibaji,” adds Abdul, also known as Biba. He joined the business in 1970.  

The Bibaji family was arguably the first to offer crystal bangles in Jodhpur, Abdul says. They were also pioneers in gold work on bangles and cutting kada (thick bangle). 

At a time when their competitors were mass producing bangles, the Bibaji family was giving customised ones as per colour, size, shine and studs. Even today, they follow the same process. 

Besides visiting the royal palaces, the family is often invited before or during weddings to make live bangles as gifts for guests. 

“In most Rajasthani households, bangles are compulsory to wear, especially during weddings and for brides even after marriage. Of course, now the custom is not strictly followed, but it is still considered auspicious. That’s why as providers of bangles, we are treated with utmost respect. The newly wed brides even touch our feet during the ceremony if we are present,” says Abdul. In 2018, the family was invited to Udaipur for Mukesh Ambani’s daughter Isha’s wedding to make bangles. 

A year later, he was invited by President Ram Nath Kovind during the inauguration of the High Court. “His daughter and wife loved our collection and purchased a lot of bangles. It was such an honour. In another instance, the Darbar Sahab (King) had himself stopped by at the shop during a padyatra 15 years ago. Such memorable events remind us of how fortunate we are to make bangles, which in reality is just another accessory,” he says. 

Even as he casually reveals his daily revenue of upto Rs 8,000 a day, a sense of humility remains in Abdul’s voice. He takes pride in how people from all corners of India especially walk into his tiny shop to feel royal. 

Edited by Divya Sethu 

In 2010, Yogesh Joshi knew his family would not be happy about organic farming. With almost everyone in the family, from his father to his uncles and cousins in the government service, entering agriculture seemed like a loss-making decision. After all, Jalore district of Rajasthan is a drought-prone region.

But Yogesh, who was working with a private firm that promoted organic farming, knew that a decade later, farmers would make the switch and government policies would support them.

So, he took the plunge, quit his job and started growing cumin on his two bighas (0.61 acres) land. He incurred crop damage in the first two cycles and once he found a breakthrough, he approached 300 farmers across the district to follow suit.

“I would take my old bike and travel from one village to another to convince farmers but naturally they did not want to take advice from a 20-something boy. Only six of them trusted me and the seven of us spent the next two years growing cumin with minimal losses,” Yogesh tells The Better India.

Today, Yogesh is the proud co-owner of Rapid Organic — a brand that has a pan-India presence with two of their biggest clients being Japan and US-based. He also roped in his wife, Aruna Joshi as the director of the brand.

What started with just a handful of farmers has now turned into a group of 3,000 certified organic farmers.

The duo runs three organisations — Indian Agro, where farmers sell their produce, Rapid organic, from where they further sell to customers and a Farmers Producer Organisation (FPO) through which farmers are trained and can directly sell to Rapid Organic.

Rapid Organic is certified with the EU organic regulation, the US Department of Agriculture, NPOP, Japanese Agricultural Standards and Canada Organic Regime.

He gives an insight into contract farming, developing his brand, empowering farmers and getting women of rural areas into business.

Contract Farming

After initial hiccups, Yogesh and the original team of six farmers roped in Dr Arun Agricultural Scientist of Kajri, Jodhpur for guidance. Dr Arun provided basic training in seed sowing, watering, maintaining PH levels, using organic fertilisers and so on.

Although growing cumin is a risky affair—due to changing weather patterns and frequent insect attacks—they stuck to it for it is a cash crop. Another challenge was to prevent using chemicals and pesticides that they were getting for cheap.

“In the second year, we suffered only 30 per cent losses,” he claims, adding, “The rest of it was sold to companies that I found online and even displayed some of our produce in an exhibition in Mumbai in 2012. The stall cost Rs 40,000 and we did not have money so we borrowed it, packed our bags and left for Mumbai. It was a huge success as the fresh cumin fragrance wafted through the entire floor. An Indian-origin founder of a Japanese company purchased our first consignment and it was all over local media. That’s how we got attention from both customers and farmers who wanted to switch to organic farming.”

At present, they export close to 100 metric tonnes of produce including cumin, mustard, fenugreek and more to Japan.

Since cumin is grown only in the rabi season, Rapid Organic introduced pulses, spices, oils and wheat to farmers to ensure an all-year growth. They ventured into superfoods like chia, quinoa, celery, sesame and amaranth to increase the incomes of farmers.

Yogesh adopted the ‘Contract Farming’ model that ensures a 100 per cent buyback policy for farmers at premium rates for their produce. Rapid Organic takes care of their transportation and packaging costs too.

“We offer premium rates to the farmers, which is 25 per cent more than the market rates. Additionally, we offer organic fertilisers on credit without any interest rates. We give those farmers free training who want to make their fertilisers. We also cover their expenses of acquiring an organic certificate. Every three months, we organise meetings for farmers to discuss their issues and exchange innovations in farming,” says Yogesh.

Ishwar Singh, who was one of the first ones to associate with Yogesh, is grateful for the premium price he receives.

He says, “When I suffered losses in the beginning, I gave up but Yogesh did not. For two years, he pestered me to believe me. So I dedicated a small portion of land to organic farming and post the success of the Mumbai exhibition I dedicated my entire 78 acres of my land to organic farming. Today, I grow everything from cumin, watermelon, coriander to quinoa.”

To the customers, the company assures 100 per cent traceability to the products through which buyers can trace the authenticity of the products.

In terms of their overall production, the company sells 1,000 tonnes of cumin, 300-400 tonnes of chia and millet, 1,000 tonnes of wheat, quinoa production and other organic spices. Their annual pre-pandemic turnover stood at Rs 60 crores.

Empowering women farmers

When Aruna started attending sessions or meeting with Yogesh, she was not happy about the fact that there were no female representatives. Despite working equally hard in the fields as their male counterparts, they were nowhere to be heard or seen.

This absence made Aruna and Yogesh start a women’s wing to encourage them to grow quinoa.

“We identified 300 women who agreed to grow quinoa and trained them. We also helped them open bank accounts, a first for many. Besides, quinoa is simple and a risk-free crop to grow. In future, we hope to initiate a women’s FPO soon,” says Aruna who also runs a YouTube channel where she shares organic food recipes.

For their contributions in promoting organic farming, the husband-wife duo has been felicitated multiple times including by Women and Child Development Smriti Irani and Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India Nitin Gadkari.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

Khejri tree, also known as ghaf, was once found in abundance in Khejarli village and surrounding areas of Rajasthan. The tree has a historical significance as it led to the birth of the famous Chipko movement, wherein the Bishnoi community fought to stop chopping them off.

Despite their efforts, the landscape changed for multiple reasons, and today, the area wears a dry, barren look with the absence of local tree species that once thrived. The striking difference is evident in the old folk literature and paintings, which describes the region flourishing with local flora and biodiversity. The art even depicts leopards hunting animals like deer and wild boar, among other bird species.

But in 2017, when Gaurav Gurjar and his boss Shubhendu Sharma visited the area, all they could see were vast empty stretches of barren land with minimal shrubs and vegetation. “All we could see were a pair of foxes running past us to their den. We found the land highly saline, and the area was infested with invasive species Prosopis juliflora,” he says.

However, Gaurav is trying to change the canvas for the better by rewilding and restoring the ecosystem to its original glory by planting khejri and other local species.

Creating An Oasis

The 32-year-old native of Jodhpur is an engineer who has chosen to dedicate his life to environmental causes. “I took electronics engineering for my specialisation but soon realised that it was not my cup of tea. The cause of environment protection was more alluring to me,” he tells The Better India.

During his graduation years, between 2009 and 2012, he explored options to work on environmental conservation with NGOs and organisations as a volunteer.

Over the years, he worked to create forests, conserve biodiversity and rescue snakes. “What was planned to be a 10-day visit with an NGO in Chennai turned out to be a 1.5-month-long stint. During my stay, I also assisted research students for their work,” he says.

After finishing his graduation, Gaurav immersed himself entirely in the environmental sector, travelling across India and learning aspects of natural farming and sustainable architecture while working on multiple projects with experts in their respective fields.

“I travelled as a backpacker, bartered my skill and work, for food and shelter. I lived with the tribals learning how they followed a sustainable lifestyle using local resources, took lessons in building eco-friendly, earthquake-proof homes and restored forts. I spent months with farmers of Maharashtra, Gujarat and South India who taught me natural and organic farming methods,” he says.

Gaurav then worked as a consultant for NDTV’s reality TV show – Godrej Green Champion, focussing on organic farming, mulching and other modern techniques.

Later on, he worked with NGO Swechha, which helped the Delhi government and the US Embassy plant eight mini urban forests.

In 2017, he joined Bengaluru-based Afforestt Pvt Ltd, which worked in multiple areas, such as creating Miyawaki forest, coordinating with the forest department during leopard and tiger census and preserving rare tree species on the verge of extinction.

Coincidentally, the organisation had adopted projects regarding research and development of barren terrain and saline lands of Anantapur in Karnataka and Peshawas in Jodhpur of Rajasthan, respectively.

He then moved from Bengaluru to Jodhpur to begin his work in restoring the land at Peshawas under the project Maruvan, a non-profit. “Dr Sunil Nahar, who owned the 18-acre of a saline land patch and wanted it to be devoted for environmental conservation. He wanted to revive the land and dedicate it for creating a safe habitat for deer and other wild animals in the vicinity,” he says.

He inspected the site with Shubhendu and found it an arduous task to revive the land.

“The flash floods and droughts faced by the Luni River flood plains had eroded the topsoil making it infertile. The arid region had lost native tree species cover to erratic monsoons, extended droughts, flash floods and excess sand mining. The plants could barely survive, and the animals could not manage to feed around the plains,” he explains.

Adding to their woes, they did not have a roadmap to understand the biodiversity that once existed and steps to take for restoration.

“Growing a forest on fertile land is doable, but doing the same on barren land demands an innovative approach,” he notes.

Gaurav says his organisation decided to take up the challenge as an experimental lab to revive the landscape.

“We decided to research and survey to understand the original native forest and natural vegetation of the region. Planting non-native plant species would not survive and prove hazardous for the environment. Hence, it was imperative to identify and restore the local biodiversity,” the ecologist says.

He began conversing with villagers, taking notes about sacred groves that once existed in the region. The locals also introduced him to traditional painting and art forms. “

He says, “It was evident that some tree species described in the ancient art and literature had disappeared. The description of wildlife in pictures proved that the area had dense vegetation allowing animals to sustain and hunt in the bushes.”

Taking cues from his observations, he procured native tree species such as khejri, ingot, khair, kummat, khabar, kankera, peelu, arna, daabi and others.

Later, Gaurav took cues to source water from traditional water sources such as ponds, wells and lakes. “We created a 3 acre wide 24-feet deep shallow pond to store rainwater and dug shadow wells adjacent to it. The shallow wells work as a source of sweet water that percolates from the pond. But if dug deeper, the pond water mixes with the saline groundwater making it redundant,” he says.

After fulfilling irrigation needs, he and his team members planted native species and used mulching methods to maintain moisture levels in the scorching desert sun. “We implemented natural farming techniques and used jeevamrut, a mixture of cow dung, cow urine, gram flour, jaggery and organic matter for improving soil fertility,” he says.

Today, the 18-acre land is an oasis with green patches of vegetation ranging from shrubs, grasses, trees and others. “They sustain without manual watering,” he says.

The land has attracted reptiles and snakes like vipers, cobra and animals like desert cats, leopards, white-footed desert fox, nilgai, wolves and hare. “We also have sightings of pheasants, fowls and weaver birds,” he says.

‘Nature is Resilient’

Initial indications of ecosystem restoration are already visible. Citing an example, he says, “When we removed invasive plant species, the Dabda grass started growing naturally on the land. The weaver birds use it to build nests, and since then the bird population has increased in the surroundings. Moreover, the population of fox and wild boar has also increased.”

In 2020, Maruvan separated from Afforestt to become an independent entity. Gaurav and his wife Varsha live on the land and are building an eco-friendly sustainable house using lime, mud, indigo and traditional local materials used by locals. The project receives funds from CSR, private donations and assistance from a network of forest creators.

He follows an open-source philosophy to share knowledge and has no copyright over his environment conservation practices. Besides, he has helped other social entities to develop such forests in Punjab and Netherlands.

Pavneet Singh from Punjab-based Eco Sikh Network, an NGO, says, “In 2019, we took inspiration from Maruvan and approached Afforestt for technical guidance to create a 550 plant mini forest using the Miyawaki technique at Bhatinda. We have seen a 95 per cent survival rate, and the forest is prospering.”

Gaurav says that overcoming multiple challenges and living in sync with nature has helped him change his perspective towards conservation. “I learned that nature can restore itself and is resilient. It has been evident with small interventions that we put in, and later nature taking its course to grow. Though Peshawa is an arid desert, there is abundance, and people have lived for hundreds of years adapting to the environment. Humans should stop destroying biodiversity and live in harmony with nature,” he concludes.

Edited by Yoshita Rao

Veterinary expert Dr Tapesh Mathur from Jaipur, Rajasthan, is one who constantly thinks about bettering the lives of animals. Them being stranded on the roadside without limb(s) is a common sight that disturbed him. So, he came up with an innovation which helps animals walk and run with ease called ‘Krishna Limbs’.

“The first success came in 2014 when a calf named Krishna tried on this leg. The speed of his running was amazing,” says the doctor. The venture was named after his first patient who successfully received a prosthetic limb.

The limbs cost Rs 3,000-4,000 but Dr Tapesh and his wife Dr Shipra do it free of cost using a portion of their monthly income.

To date, over 165 animals, including cows, dogs, cats, rabbits and many more have been helped.

Watch the story of this vet who is on a mission to provide this aid to all disabled animals:

Like all other farmers, Santosh Pachar from Jhigar Badi village in Rajasthan’s Sikar district, also wanted her produce to be regarded as the best in the market. A traditional farmer by profession, Santosh studied only until Class 8.

“From 2002, we cultivated carrots and other traditional crops on our 30 bighas of (about 10 acres) land, using organic farming methods. But we could not get the desired result. I noticed the carrots were often thin and crooked. They did not attract customers in the market, resulting in less income. I could hardly earn money for a living,” she tells The Better India.

However, today her experiments received recognition through the President’s Award for her innovative techniques of growing carrots, including prize money of Rs 3 lakh.

Honey & ghee to the rescue

Santosh says, “My husband and I did not have any solution for the poor quality produce. To gain better knowledge about farming, and hoping to find a remedy to our problems, I started attending agricultural fairs organised by the State Government. It helped me learn more aspects of farming.”

With her newly gained knowledge and interactions with experts, Santosh learned that the seeds used to grow carrots were of poor quality and responsible for her disappointing yield.

She decided to find a solution herself. Santosh started implementing a new pollination technique by blending 15 ml of honey with 5 ml of ghee (Indian butter) and drying them without directly exposing them to sunlight.

“Vegetables and fruits are living beings. And since we absorb nutrients from the food, I mixed honey and ghee with carrot seeds in the hopes that the ghee would lend its shine and honey would enhance the carrot’s sweetness,” Santosh says.

As naive as it may sound, Santosh experimented with the seeds, and a few harvests later, she found a visible difference. “The carrots were sweeter and shinier. Their size and shape were also improving.”

Santosh says it took years for the seed to evolve into a newer quality product. “We used the newer version of seeds from the fresh harvest to process them and sow them back in the soil. The experiments started around 2002, and in 2010, we could declare the characteristics and features of these newly evolved seeds. Unbeknownst to us, we were following a method scientifically known as grading to improve the seed quality,” she says.

She adds that her new variety of carrots could yield in 75 days, about 15 days earlier than the previous seeds, as they germinated quickly and the size ranged between 1.5 to 2.5 feet.

The couple shared the samples with the neighbouring farmers, who appreciated the quality. “We shared some seeds with the state agriculture officers who tried, tested and eventually declared the seed an entirely new variety. We named it SPL 101,” she adds.

The couple started selling the carrots and developed a nursery to prepare saplings from the seeds. “We started earning 1.5 times more profit than before,” she says.

The couple earned about Rs 1.5 lakh a year with the old, poor quality seeds. But the new variety today earns them about Rs 20 lakh a year. “Over the years, our income increased by 20 times,” she says.

She also received the President’s Award in 2013 and 2017 for her innovative practices. Since then, Santosh has trained over 7,000 farmers in the state to grow carrots using organic methods.

Years of efforts by Santosh have reaped a sweet success for her and thousands of others.

Edited by Yoshita Rao

It was Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II who, more than 500 years ago, introduced the art of papermaking to the tiny village of Sanganer near Jaipur.

Today, Sanganeri handmade paper is known countrywide for its quality, as well as unique designs and colours. Made with materials like bamboo, waste papers, wood, stumble, straw, banana trunk and cotton rag, the production process is strenuous, and one that requires utmost skill.

This community of paper makers, known as Kagazi, have stood the test of time, even with the advent of machine made papers in 1930. In fact, it was Gandhi who acted as a saviour for the community several years ago.

Even as profits remain low, the community takes pride in keeping this age-old tradition alive.

Watch this video to see how rich history and legacy reside in each piece of paper:

The world has shifted to machine-made paper but the small village of #Sanganer near #Jaipur continues to be the world’s largest center of hand-made paper for over 500 years now! #IncredibleIndia #rajasthan pic.twitter.com/s7bTawYjDH

— The Better India (@thebetterindia) May 16, 2022

A science enthusiast and innovator, Subhash Ola once invented a DC thermal power plant for his no-electricity-village. Subhash started his experiments at the age of 13. He got a real passion for it when he solved the electricity issue of his village in 1984. “I can’t forget that night. Then prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated on the same day my village got electricity,” he reminisces.

But at the age of 16, when Subhash, a resident of Alwar, Rajasthan, dropped out of school, he was inundated by questions.

“Everyone asked me why I am dropping out of school. My only answer, then and now, is that if something wrong is taught, what is the purpose of studying? But, eventually, everyone who asked me this question understood my point through the inventions I made,” says Subhash, the chief executive officer of Geniusenergy Critical Innovation Pvt. Ltd (GCI).

GCI won the startup of the year India award of Amazon Possible Entrepreneurship Challenge for his latest innovation of boilers which can recycle the firewood used in it, thus decreasing the fuel usage from 100 kg to 20 kg.

“I have been in the field of energy innovations for the past 32 years, and the boiler innovation took around six months. Over these years, I have used trial and error to give shape to 10 or more versions while trying to develop a single product that might just fail in the end. This is a long, tiring and unending process,” says the 45-year-old.

The wonder boiler

Boilers usually give out a considerable amount of waste, which is always a reason for pollution. The boiler developed by GCI uses the same waste, recycles it and reuses the same. The whole process saves a tremendous amount of firewood and minimises pollution.

“Let’s take the example of a bike. What if the smoke expelled by the vehicle can be used again as a fuel instead of petrol? The same theory applies here,” says Subhash, who customises his invention based on customers’ needs.

Subhash has spent several crores on inventing new equipment. For the boiler alone, around Rs 15 lakh was used. The innovation is now working in 6000 industries across India, including companies like Eklingjee Polymers (Rajasthan), Patak Dairy and Industries (Nepal) and Balaji Dairy (Haryana). The product sells for Rs 50,000 to Rs 40 lakh based on the size and capacity.

“Basically, it is a closed circuit where the waste steam never goes out and is recycled. Using the same technology, more than 50 per cent of LPG waste can also be recycled,” claims the entrepreneur. “Saving energy, protecting the environment and constantly experimenting are the three major objectives of the company.”

The company started its operation in 2011 but was formally registered in 2016. 20 employees are working in GCI, and the team is always busy experimenting with new stuff. Their activities have been noticed several times, and there has even been an incident in which Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar contributed Rs 5 lakh for their projects.

“Apart from these few supports, money comes from personal investments and the sale of equipment,” says Subhash, who began with the money he received from working on daily farms and by tube well/ borewell making.

The passionate inventor’s only advice to budding science and tech enthusiasts is to be consistent. “The idea is to recycle your ideas and use them for something new. You can’t predict what’s brewing out there. But, the end result will amaze you,” he adds.

(Edited by Vinayak Hegde)

Ruma Devi’s story is the stuff dreams are made of.

From a small hamlet in Rajasthan’s Barmer district to delivering a lecture in Harvard, the 33-year-old has certainly seen a meteoric transformation.

Ruma, who was invited to speak on micro enterprises and the potential of women at the 17th Annual India Conference in February 2020, notes, “But this was never my dream. In fact, I didn’t even know that I could reach a place like this in life.”

Recipient of several awards, including the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2018 presented by former president Ram Nath Kovind, Ruma has generated employment for over 30,000 women artisans from Rajasthan.

Receiving the email, she recalls, was a “bittersweet moment”. “It took me a while to process that I had been invited to speak there. I waited for an entire month and only after I received a follow up mail from the University did I gather the courage to respond,” she tells The Better India.

A life of hardships and trials

“I lost my mother at a very young age, which left a deep impact on my growing years. While my father chose to get married again, I was sent to live with my uncle and aunt. Like many other girls my age, I also learnt sewing and embroidery work [applique work] from an early age. I have memories of learning this art form from my grandmother,” she recalls.

Even though she was a quick learner, Ruma never had the chance to work outside her home and put this skill to use. She instead used the skill to make her own clothes. “Coming from a weak financial background meant that I had to drop out of school in Class 8. Then at 17, I was married off. That was the custom in my village at that time. I actually felt that life would now start looking better,” she says.

However, troubles seemed to follow her anyway. Her in-laws were dependent on agricultural produce to make a living, and given the vagaries of the monsoon, they were not able to make enough money to sustain themselves. “I started thinking of ways in which I could support them. Unfortunately, I didn’t have too many many options,” she adds.

In 2008, Ruma gave birth to her first born, and felt this would signal happiness and prosperity in her life. Unfortunately, life had other plans for her. “My son was alive for just 48 hours. There were some complications that required us to admit him in a bigger hospital. That meant more money, which we did not have. For the want of money, I could not save my son,” she says. The incident, in a way, was her turning point.

‘I fell back on the only skill I had’

“Other than sewing, I knew nothing. I knew I had to work, I had to make a change in how I was living up until then, and the key to that was with me. I fell back on the one skill I had learnt from my dadi (grandmother),” she says.

She gathered two other women from her village, and with a lot of difficulty, convinced them to work with her. She says that for women, leaving the house to do work was next to impossible.

“Braving all these hurdles, the three of us began our sewing work. While we were able to do the initial work, to get a good finish and be able to complete the product, we were in need of a sewing machine. This was when we formed a group with ten women, all of whom contributed Rs 100 each towards buying a second-hand sewing machine,” she recalls.

As Ruma and her tribe of women busied themselves in work, they hit a roadblock when it came to marketing their products. “Until then, it was always the men who stepped up to market products. We had no expertise or knowledge in the matter, so we had to learn every small aspect — from how to make a bill to whom to approach and how to package our products,” she says.

A chance encounter with Gramin Vikas Evam Chetna Sansthan, a Barmer-based NGO that works to empower rural women in the area, gave Ruma her first big breakthrough.

‘A chance encounter change my life’

“Meeting the officials at Gramin Vikas Evam Chetna Sansthan was like divine intervention for us. While we had the expertise in sewing work, we lacked orders. And at the organisation, they were flooded with work with no one to fulfil the orders. This felt like a match made in heaven,” she jokes. After the initial few rounds of checking their work, the organisation was happy to hand over more work to them.

She says in their excitement to finish the work well in time, the women sat up all night and completed what was to be given in three days’ time in one night itself. “None of us slept that night. The excitement of having finally got some work was palpable in each one of us. We had to make sure that we gave it our best and delivered good products,” she says.

As more and more work began coming their way, the group started recruiting more women artisans from Rajasthan. She says every woman they met shared a common goal — to be financially independent.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing though. “We had a lot of convincing to do. Men were usually not receptive to the women working and earning money. We went from house to house explaining what we were trying to do. Seeing the work and the money it was bringing in, more women started joining our tribe,” she adds.

Today, the tribe has grown to 30,000 women across 25 districts of Rajasthan, who sew clothes, bags, and more and earn upto Rs 15,000 per month. The women have showcased their products in countries like Germany, as well as at popular events like Lakme Fashion Week.

Barmer to Delhi: A first of many kinds

While the work was carrying on in full swing, Ruma got the opportunity to display some of their products at an exhibition in Delhi. “That was the first time I ever left Barmer. It was an experience I will never forget. However, when I visited the exhibition, I was disappointed to note that Barmer’s name did not feature anywhere. That was when I decided to work on making the art form so popular that people immediately think of Barmer when they see it,” she says.

This visit to Delhi also became a stepping stone for many more milestones to come. “In 2017, we got a call from the organisers of the Heimtextil Fair (a textile exhibition), which was being held in Germany. Our organisation was the only one that was offered a free stall. That news came as such a pleasant surprise to all of us,” she recalls.

While they all celebrated the invitation, Ruma says they were also scrambling to gather funds to go to Germany, which they later managed after a few other organisations came forward to help.

“Once we were there, the encouragement we got when people saw our work pushed us to work better. They were stunned to note that all the work we were carrying with us was handmade, and none was made in a machine. The exhibition was for four days, but we managed to make a complete sale in just two days,” she adds.

Soon, the organisation also started expanding their scope of work. From making just bedsheets, cushion covers and curtains, they started making dresses, bags, and various other kinds of garments like kurtas and stoles. This also opened up the doors to Lakme Fashion Week for the team.

Empowering and uplifting along the way

For Sugdi Devi, a refugee from Sindh in Pakistan, working with Ruma and the organisation has been a huge blessing. “We settled in a village called Dhanau in Rajasthan. While my husband was working various odd jobs, it was becoming exceedingly difficult to run the house with just his income. Having learnt needle work as a young girl, the opportunity to work with Ruma didi and Gramin Vikas Evam Chetna Sansthan changed my life,” she says.

Sugdi underwent skill-development training and learnt applique work as well. From an artisan, she rose to the rank of a master trainer, and within no time, created her own identity by walking the ramp with her collection at various fashion shows across the country. Recognising her talent, she was awarded by the Rajasthan District Administration on 15 August 2019.

Ruma not just helped transform the lives of these women and their families, but has also received immense admiration from Amitabh Bachchan, President Ram Nath Kovind and Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister of Rajasthan for her work.

Today, countries world over invite Ruma to showcase her work and speak at various forums as well. Her story is often cited as one of immense resilience and grit. “Looking back at my experience of being invited to Harvard, it still feels surreal. Talking about my journey in front of such a large audience made me feel accomplished. I felt immense pride at the work that I do,” she says.

To know more about the work that Ruma and the organisation does, click here.

(Edited Divya Sethu)

Earlier this year, 26-year-old Rupa Yadav secured good marks in her MBBS final examination. What makes her story special is that she was a child bride, married off at the young age of eight years. And while she was attending her pre-final exam, nobody knew that this young girl had just given birth and was also nurturing her newborn!

Rupa, who hails from a small village Kariri in Rajasthan, was married when she was just eight years old. Her paternal uncle had promised her father-in-law that Rupa and her elder sister Rukma would be married to both their sons. Rupa could stay at her natal home till gauna – a ceremony when the child bride is sent to her husband’s home.

Since her childhood, Rupa had been a meritorious student. Her father Maaliram Yadav wanted to support her daughter’s higher education but was helpless because of his elder brother’s promise to Rupa’s father-in-law.

With her father’s consistent support and her hard work, Rupa managed to secure 86 per cent in her Class 10 examinations, making her parents and community proud.

“The entire village was shocked. Ours is a very small village, and no one had secured such good marks before. I started receiving awards, and my teachers would advise me to continue my education further. But, it was then the time for my gauna,” recalls Rupa.

Much against her father’s wishes, Rupa had to bid farewell. But her brother-in-law promised Maaliram that they will not let anything hinder Rupa’s education. 

It takes a village to raise a person

When asked if the promise was kept, “Yes, they kept their promise. My in-laws took loans, worked day and night, ignored the taunts of society, but kept the promise they made to my father,” says Rupa.

After securing good marks in intermediate, her school encouraged Rupa to enrol in coaching classes to prepare for NEET examination. Impressed with her performance, the coaching institute decided to accept her for tuition without charging any fee. And along with this, Rupa also undertook admission to a Bachelor of Science.

In her first attempt, Yadav secured an All India Rank of 22,000 in NEET. Seeing her succeed in her career path while managing household chores and looking after the family, her in-laws encouraged her to get tuition for higher studies.

“So, after this, my in-laws decided to send me to Kota for tuition. People would taunt my in-laws that their decision to send me for higher education was wrong, but my family stood with me. We even faced a financial crunch, but my family took loans. My husband and jija ji (brother-in-law) worked extra hours so that I could study,” says Rupa.

But even after taking tuition in the first year of her stay in Kota, Yadav was unable to get a good medical college in Rajasthan. After three years of hard work, Yadav managed to get admission to Sardar Patel Medical College in Bikaner.

Yadav believes that she was fortunate enough to meet people who turned her hardships into beautiful moments. In college, she became friends with three girls who supported her throughout the five years of medical college. Even when her identity as a child bride was revealed and the college started raising questions about her past, her friends supported her and encouraged her to be proud as she managed to get through all challenges.

Although two years swept by without any hardship, Rupa faced yet another challenge when she came back home during the lockdown and became pregnant before her pre-final examination.

Balancing motherhood and career

Now, Rupa had to decide between two choices – motherhood or career. However, she decided to quit on neither.

Rupa’s daughter was just 25 days old when she had to appear for her pre-final examination. But her sister and her mother-in-law looked after her daughter, and Rupa was able to successfully secure good marks again.

“I had my final exam for surgery on the same day as my daughter’s first birthday. I finished a 3-hour paper in half the time, took a bus home and celebrated my daughter’s birthday,” she says.

Rupa’s result was announced on April 28 earlier this year, and she is now a certified doctor.

For now, Rupa says she is preparing for her post-graduation and aspires to open a hospital in her village. Her in-laws wish that her dreams come true, even if they have to sell their lands!

“I believe we can do whatever we want. So, don’t stop dreaming and never forget to fight for those dreams; make them come true,” adds Rupa as advice to every woman who finds their journey arduous.

Read the story in Hindi here.

(Edited by Pranita Bhat)

Popular among the brides-to-be looking for a royal look, the timeless Meenakari jewellery of Rajasthan has always been in demand. For generations, Jaswant Kumar Meenakar’s family has been beautifully crafting these stunning jewels.

The 75-year-old continues to create these stunning pieces while striving to keep this traditional art alive. “Meena means colours; Kari translates to work. So, Meenakari means working with colours,” says Jaswant.

Meenakari is an ancient form of enamel painting on metal; it originated in Persia. Popularised in India by the Mughals, this jewellery set Jaipur markets abuzz in the 16th century. Even today, Rajasthan artisans specialise in this art form.

Crafting Meenakari jewels and handicrafts takes great skill; the process is intricate and time-consuming. Traditional colours — such as red, green, white, and the rich ruby colour, dominate the art of enamelling.

It involves decorating a metal piece by coating it with a paste or powder, which is then heated to extremely high temperatures to fuse the metal with the powder. This creates a colourful coating and results in visually appealing artwork.

This tradition of enamelling has been running in Jaswant’s family for centuries. His family exclusively makes Meenakari jewels for the royal families of the state.

Jaswant, with a rich experience of 55 years, has also been awarded the National Merit Award for preserving and spreading the art form. Even his father, Deen Dayal Meenakar has won national awards for the same.

Watch this video to learn more about traditional Meenakari Jewellery.

Edited by Pranita Bhat.

Near Kumbhalgarh Fort in Rajasthan, Bhaga Singh’s tea stall reads, “Give us plastic waste, drink tea in return.”

Through this initiative, the tea stall owner is taking humble steps towards making Kumbhalgarh plastic free. “I started doing this so that people see that even a chai wala (tea seller) is taking steps to limit plastic usage. So, I collect the plastic waste from my customers and give it to the waste collectors. I do not do this to earn a profit,” the 31-year-old tells The Better India.

At the stall, he has a taraju (balance) to weigh the plastic waste brought in by the customers. Proportional to the measured weight, he serves them tea and samosa in paper cups and plates. For instance, Bhaga gives a cup of tea in exchange for a kg of plastic waste.

The inspiration behind the initiative

Located near Aravali hills, Rajsamand district is home to Kumbhalgarh Fort, which has a 36-km long wall, claimed to be the second longest wall after the Great Wall of China. The fort is a World Heritage Site and a popular tourist destination.

Bhaga lives in Kelwara village, located close to the Kumbalgarh Fort, which serves as the central market for tourists. This has increased the usage of plastic in the area while generating more waste.

He says that there was waste perpetually scattered throughout the streets and the unsegregated waste was usually dumped in open areas. Hence, handling plastic waste had become a menace. Kelwara village alone generated more than 2,000 kg of waste every month with plastic waste accounting for 527 kg of the total monthly waste.

But, things started changing in December 2022 when the district became the centre of attraction during the G20 Summit. Officer Bhuvaneshwar was deputed as the district coordinator to welcome tourists and world leaders attending the summit. So, he decided to take immediate steps to clean the district and launched a plastic-free campaign in Rajsamand.

A noble initiative by Bhagga Singh Chai Wala, a #tea stall owner in the Kumbhalgarh area of Rajasthan, offers tea and breakfast in exchange for plastic waste.⁠
⁠#Initiative #Inspiration #WasteManagement #ReduceReuseRecycle #SaveEnvironment #TheBetterIndia pic.twitter.com/CYLmx6gufh

— The Better India (@thebetterindia) December 22, 2022

“As part of the campaign, I visited every shop in the area to refrain shopkeepers from throwing plastic waste in the open. It was during this time that I came across Bhaga Singh’s tea stall where he had mentioned that he wouldn’t give tea to those who didn’t have a shauchalaya (toilet) in their home,” says the officer.

Back then, Bhaga was raising awareness about the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Campaign. He would not serve tea to people who did not have toilets or did not use the toilets in their homes. “This was back in 2017. With this, I have helped set up toilets in 100–150 homes in my village,” he recalls.

Hailing from a poor background, he could not study beyond Class 8 and has been selling tea and samosa for the past 12 years. He manages to earn up to Rs 15,000 a month and supports his family of five — a disabled father and sister, his wife and two children.

But his difficult circumstances did not stop him from raising social awareness — first by building an open-defecation-free village and now, a plastic-free district.

After seeing an already motivated Bhaga, Bhuvaneshwar saw an opportunity to include him in the plastic-free campaign. “We motivated him to join us and suggested that he give breakfast in proportion to the plastic he gets,” adds the officer, who has received awards and recognition for his efforts in rural development. He has even set up a recovery resource centre to segregate dry and wet waste in the district.

He continues, “This is a small step. There is a long way to make Kumbhalgarh plastic free.”

Getting recognition

This initiative was launched last month during G20 Summit in December 2022. It was inaugurated by Indian international cricketer Ravi Bishnoi. The impressed cricketer set the ball rolling by offering plastic waste in exchange for a cup of tea.

“It is wonderful to get recognition from cricketers like Ravi ji,” he smiles.

Apart from the cricketer, the tea stall owner has received recognition from the District Collector of Rajsamand Nilabh Saxena, Chief Executive Officer Zila Parishad (district council) Rajsamand Utsah Choudhary, Additional Chief Executive Officer Zila Parishad Bhuvaneshwar Singh Chauhan among others.

Since the launch, Bhaga has collected up to 50 kg of plastic waste. He says many people have stopped scattering plastic waste now, and why not? They get free breakfast in exchange.

(Edited by Pranita Bhat)

At a time when there was no radio or television, Kavad art was considered an integral part of entertainment and the rich cultural heritage of Rajasthan. Richly decorated with bright colours, Kavad is a portable and foldable shrine made using wood.

Carried by traditional storytellers known as Kavadia Bhat, it paints comic-like narratives from mythological tales and folklore in several unfolding hinged panels. It offers informal education to rural residents on mythological tales, gods, goddesses, saints, kingdoms, and monuments.

Over the years, the art has lost its usefulness. But for the past four decades, Jodhpur’s Satyanarayan Suthar has strived to keep the 500-year-old art alive.

“People across the country go to temples and religious shrines. But there were many elderly who could not visit these places and worship the gods. Kavad was used to bring teerath yatra (religious pilgrimage) to those who could not walk, like the elderly and sick,” the 47-year-old award-winning Kavad maker from Bassi village tells The Better India.

Unboxing the hidden tales

Tracing the tales to the mythological character associated with the art, Satyanarayan says, “A woman named Kundana Bai used to remain in hiding. Nobody ever saw her; it was believed that one could only hear her. She was born as a child in the morning, would become young in the afternoon, and aged in the night, to be reborn the other day. Kundana Bai got a Kavad made from the Suthar community and gave it to Shravan Kumar.”

It is believed that Ayodhya’s king Dasharatha accidentally killed Shravan Kumar while he was carrying his blind parents in a Kavad on his shoulders. Before he passed away, he requested the king to bring the shrine to his parents, so they could worship the gods. This is where the concept of the storytelling art of Kavad is believed to have started.

“The Suthar community was given the responsibility of making the wooden shrine and Kavadia Bhat (wandering priest) were given the responsibility to narrate the story. They travel to the jajman’s (listener) house with the Kavad and unfold the panels to narrate the story,” says Satyanarayan.

As the storyteller unboxes each panel in the Kavad, the curiosity of the listener grows.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Satyanarayan Suthar (@satyanarayan1035)

The term Kavad, derived from ‘kivaad’ (door), usually refers to a small structure ranging from three to 12 inches tall. However, it is fascinating to note that Satyanarayan has created a Kavad standing as tall as 12 feet, specially made for actor Amol Palekar. This remarkable skill was inherited by Satyanarayan from his father, who, in turn, learned it from his own father, as the art has been passed down through multiple generations within their family.

“After school, I would go to my father’s room where he would be busy making Kavad. He would hand me a small wooden bar and wooden pen to carve out figures of elephants and horses. He would hold my hand and help me make the art,” he recalls.

Today, Satyanarayan, who studied till Class 8, is taking the legacy forward. He has not only taken this ancient art form outside Rajasthan but also to other countries like Singapore, Germany, and New Mexico.

“I switched to online sales from offline when the pandemic hit the country. Because of the internet, my work has travelled far and wide. Today, I have very few customers from Rajasthan. I get most of my customers from Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi, and other countries,” he shares.

How is Kavad made?

A unique type of wood is used in the making of Kavad.

Satyanarayan says, “We use wood of Adusa plant as it is light-weight and pest-repellent. Firstly, we cut the bars from the log depending on the panel size. We sprinkle an insecticide powder on wet wood and then dry it under the sun. After this, seven coats of adhesive and primer are applied. In the end, we paint the background, and add more colours like yellow, skin, blue, pink, white, and black to sketch and paint figures using a fine brush.” Later, the wooden pieces are put together using nails and hinges.

Traditionally, the colours were directly made from stones. Today, artisans mix the stone powder in adhesive to bring the figures to life. “It is very arduous and time-consuming work. You require patience to make the fine work,” he says.

Satyanarayan manages to get around three to four orders daily and earns Rs 1,000 per day. On average, he earns up to Rs 30,000 a month from online sales. He also conducts paid workshops and teaches students from Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Mumbai.

A six-inch Kavad is priced at Rs 500 while a two-feet Kavad takes eight to 10 days to make and is priced at Rs 25,000 — the price increases as per the size. Typically, there are about eight to 16 panels.

According to Satyanarayan, the traditional Marwadi Kavad originally featured 51 narratives spread across 16 panels. Notably, his exceptional craftsmanship in creating Marwadi Kavad was recognised with several prestigious accolades. In 2014, former President Pranab Mukherjee bestowed upon him a national award for his remarkable work. Additionally, he received state-level and district-level awards in 2009 and 2004 respectively, further highlighting his talent and dedication.

“It is a wonderful feeling to receive recognition for our art. I want to keep the art form alive and take it worldwide throughout my life,” he says.

Although Satyanarayan is doing his part to keep the art alive, he calls for the attention of the government to sustain the art. “Earlier, 40 families were involved in Kavad art making, but today, only five to seven families are involved. Many have switched to other odd jobs, and some have opened retail stores and become factory labourers. In order to promote their livelihood, the government should set up a platform like haat bazaars (open-air market) as they do not have resources to go to other places to sell their products,” he says.

In the past, Kavads were primarily known for illustrating tales from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. However, contemporary Kavads have expanded their subject matter to encompass narratives focusing on the significance of education, as well as wedding invitations.

Edited by Pranita Bhat

Before 2015, camels were considered prized possession in Rajasthan. However, the 2015 Act prohibited camel slaughter and their export to other states. The change left generations of pastoralists, who relied on camel herding for their livelihoods, struggling on their own.

“Following the ban, these communities could not sell their camels for transportation and tourism in other states. This caused camel prices to dip significantly. Camels that used to sell for Rs 1 lakh were now going for as low as Rs 4,000,” Aakriti Srivastava tells The Better India.

“These communities lost their main income source. Sometimes, they took the camels near railway tracks, hoping they would go hungry and maybe get hit by trains. Some households that used to have 50 camels now have none or just one or two,” she adds.

The government data also shows that the state’s total camel population dropped from 3,25,713 in 2012 to 2,12,739 in 2019 — a 35 percent decline.

Today, the 27-year-old is able to bring livelihood opportunities back to these pastoralists with her startup ‘Bahula Naturals’. It supports the livelihoods of at least 2,500 camel herders and helps at least 45,000 camels thrive by selling camel milk-based products.

“Can you imagine deserts without camels? We attempt to bring livelihood opportunities to these communities, highly nutritious food for our customers, as well as bring the cause of camel conservation through these products,” she shares.

Journalist turned entrepreneur

In 2017, Aakriti moved to Bajju village in Bikaner district near the India-Pakistan border, nearly 1,200 km from her hometown in UP’s Gorakhpur. It was while pursuing her graduation in journalism and mass communication in Delhi that she was assigned to document stories of pastoralists in the Thar desert.

“I went to the desert in June. All my romantic notions of what a desert would be like were shattered,” she says.

During her first visit which was for four months, she learnt about the community of pastoralists, camel herders, sheep goat rearers, and indigenous cow rearers. “In challenging geographies and extreme temperatures, these communities would travel eight months on foot covering 800 km of stretch with their herds,” she says.

“Pastoralism has been enriching the desert soil all these years. Whatever organic greenery that we see in deserts is because of their movement. When the pastoralists are on the move with livestock, their droppings rejuvenate the pasture land,” she adds.

She continues, “Camels were also used to draw water, cultivate the farm, and for transportation purposes. But with the introduction of man-made machinery and the 2015 ban, these pastoralists started switching to daily wage jobs after leaving their camels on railway tracks to die as they could not earn a livelihood from them.”

Because they couldn’t find stable ways to make a living from animals and their products, these communities had to start working for daily wages in mines and brick kilns in cities.

After five years of research, Aakriti co-founded the Bikaner-based startup ‘Bahula Naturals’ in 2022, along with Romal and Suraj Singh — who she met during the assignment. Together, they also work with local partners and non-profits such as Urmul Seemant Samiti, Desert Resource Centre, and Selco Foundation.

Helping the ship of the desert sail

The trio is working to establish India’s first net-zero dairy — wherein they collect milk from 4,000 camel, sheep, and cow rearers in Bikaner, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and Nagaur districts.

After quality testing, the collected milk is stored in instant milk chillers that are claimed to bring the temperature down to four degrees within three minutes. With a storage capacity of 500 litres, these solar-powered milk chillers are installed in eight remote locations in Bikaner and Jodhpur districts.

“We brought in instant milk chillers because the locations are spread out. By the time, these communities transported milk from one hamlet to another and then to the dairy, the milk would go bad amid extreme temperatures,” she informs.

The milk is brought to the dairy and milk processing units in Bajju village via delivery vans. Thereafter, products are made using camel and cow milk, which are then sold to 300 households across Bikaner, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai using a subscription model.

The startup sells a wide range of products — such as camel milk ghee, camel milk biscuits, camel milk feta cheese, camel milk Cheshire cheese, A2 cow bilona ghee, cold pressed oils, gluten-free black wheat flour, etc.

Aakriti further informs that their cheese is now also procured by chefs in cities like Goa, Delhi, and Bengaluru.

Highlighting the challenges to run such a startup, she says, “It is not common for Indians to consume camel milk products. In the first year, most of our time was spent raising awareness about the importance of camel milk products, which are highly nutritious superfoods. These products help people with diabetes, blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease.”

Since May last year, the communities have been able to collectively generate an annual revenue of Rs 1 crore. “Any small-scale household is able to earn an income of up to Rs 12,000 a month, which was earlier zero! Apart from this, numerous herders are including camels in their groups because they can once again make money from them. At this year’s Pushkar mela, the price of camels in the local market also increased to Rs 35,000,” says Aakriti.

Meanwhile, Genaram Raika, a camel herder, has been dependent on these animals for livelihood since childhood. When man-made machinery replaced camels on farms, the 50-year-old was also unable to earn an income by selling milk. But today, he is able to earn up to Rs 48,000 a month with his 450 camels.

“As there was little awareness about camel milk, we would be forced to throw it. Today, we are able to fetch good income by selling 40 litres of milk every day. I am able to feed my family of seven with this income,” he tells The Better India.

Commenting on the impact at the grassroots level, Aakriti says, “I did not know all this would be possible when I started. But I’m happy I chose to stay in the village. While my parents wanted me to be a doctor, I decided to live with these camel-raising communities. Through this job, I can now address the very issues within the community that I initially aimed to highlight during my time as a journalism student!”

Edited by Pranita Bhat; All photos: Aakriti Srivastava.

Sources:

20th Livestock Census Rajasthan 2019: Published by the Government of Rajasthan.

Before dawn breaks and the village comes to life, Rajasthan’s Bheraram Bhakhar wakes up early to enjoy the fresh air while sitting on his charpoy at his farm, surrounded by tall, lush trees. He takes great joy in knowing that he has overseen the planting of over 4.28 lakh trees across the state.

“By now, we have already experienced irregular monsoons and catastrophic heatwaves. In West Rajasthan, the temperature shoots up to 48 degrees Celsius in summer. We see birds and animals die agonising death when they do not get water or shade. It is only because of trees that we are able to survive,” the 45-year-old government school teacher tells The Better India.

“Since childhood, we were taught that roti (bread), kapda (clothes), and makaan (house) are necessary for life. But what would we do if we did not have praana vayu (oxygen)? Trees are like hara sona (green gold),” adds the Barmer resident.

For nearly three decades, Bheraram has been planting thousands of trees across the Thar desert to prevent further desertification. What is unique is that in this rare feat, he has engaged at least 1.3 lakh citizens to promote the concept of family forestry and letting trees thrive. “I could not have planted lakhs of trees alone. I motivated others to join me and become part of the jan andolan (mass movement),” he says.

How a college eco-activity turned into a mass movement

At the age of 21, when Bheraram went on a college trip to a park near his village, he saw numerous trees and sat under their shade for hours. “The chowkidar (guard) informed us about the importance of flowering plants and native trees and how we would benefit if more trees were planted,” he recalls.

“We were so motivated that we bought some 50 saplings and went to plant those on the ground. That day when we retired to our beds, we felt immense satisfaction of having done something good. Before this, we had only studied the importance of plantation drives in books!” he adds.

Along with a few friends, Bheraram decided to curtail reckless expenses and invest in plantation drives. He was so motivated to the cause that in 2002, when he got his first pay, he used the entire month’s salary of Rs 3,500 to conduct a plantation drive. Years later, today, at the age of 45, he continues to dedicate one month’s salary to plantation drives.

As part of his monthly meetings with teachers, Bheraram, lovingly called the ‘tree teacher’, would motivate them to take part in plantation activities. “The more we worked, the more people would join us. Initially, they were all from the village. But eventually, we expanded our group by including citizens from other blocks also. By 2011, we had expanded to other districts like Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Sikar, and Alwar,” he says.

To encourage people’s participation, Bheraram would gift saplings at weddings, retirement parties, and birthdays. “Other guests would come with bouquets. I felt these flowers dry in a few hours and turn into waste. But by gifting plants, I wanted to raise awareness among people about the importance of planting trees. Many people mocked us but many others joined us. We did not realise when our small efforts added up and soon transformed into a jan andolan,” he shares.

The ‘unstoppable tree teacher’

Through the Whatsapp groups, Bheraram selects regions with less tree cover. Then, a team is formed to work on the ground. Soon after, he visits the place with a truckload of saplings.

“Planting a sapling is not an achievement but making that plant thrive into a tree is. Any sapling needs to be taken care of for up to three years. As an individual, I could not plant many trees with a regular job. So, I involved communities to further the initiative at a large scale,” he says.

“We would reach out to local people and motivate them by organising nukkad nataks (street plays). Once people are motivated, convincing them to plant saplings is easier. To achieve this, first, we evoke positive emotions and a sense of ownership among people for the saplings they will plant. We ask them to pledge to protect the saplings until they become trees,” he says.

Bheraram says that he conducts plantation drives only when they are assured of active community participation. “Sometimes, people lose interest even after taking the pledge. It is a waste of our efforts and resources if these saplings do not survive. So, we monitor the progress by conducting regular offline meetings as well as Zoom calls. We maintain records of our plantation drives at the village, block, district, and state levels,” he adds.

The ‘tree teacher’ says that the survival rate of their saplings is up to 90 percent. He plants native trees like jaal, khejri, khair, gumbad, guggul, and trees like neem, peepul, jamun, and guava.

He informs that the team sources the saplings at Rs 2 from the state government nurseries. This year, Bheraram says, he bought 28,000 saplings to plant in public places like schools, playgrounds, and crematoriums.

Most of these saplings are planted during the monsoon — July, August, and September — as chances of survival are better.

“Monsoons are a busy time for us. Usually, we conduct plantation drives in holidays, but in these months, we especially take leaves to further the drive. Everything is done through community collaboration, whether it is to source saplings, get water tanks, or manage transportation costs,” he adds.

Shravan Jagid, who lives in Shiv block of Barmer district, tells The Better India, “We are really inspired by Bheraram ji. He works relentlessly and travels on his bike carrying saplings. Seeing him motivates me to further the plantation in my block. When the pandemic struck, we planted several trees on five-bigha area of our school land in our block with community participation. Each and every tree is thriving today.”

Like Shravan, about 1.3 lakh people across Rajasthan were motivated by Bheraram, who has travelled more than 30,000 km on his bike to spread awareness on plantation drives.

For his work, he was recognised by the state government in 2019 and multiple times at the district level in 2017, 2021, and 2023. However, the humble teacher does not believe in getting recognition in the form of awards.

“I am not doing this work for awards. Planting trees is like an addiction to me. Sometimes I wonder if I should stop for some time, but I fail to do so. When I revisit the plantation sites and watch the saplings grow into trees, it gives me immense pleasure,” he adds.

Edited by Pranita Bhat. All photos: Bheraram Bhakhar.

Born in a Rajasthan village, Shanker Meena spent his childhood playing amid wheat and mustard crops. But as he grew up, he saw his father toil day and night to cultivate those crops that would get damaged due to the wrath of nature, resulting in low crop yield and thereby uncertain earnings.

To tap into a stable income, he went on to complete his higher studies in commerce and subsequently joined RA Podar Institute of Management to pursue a career in finance. However, Shanker dropped out of the college right after the completion of his first semester in 2012.

“Although I took the admission, back in my mind, I would always think about new business ideas. My heart belonged to farming. So, I wanted to explore a way to amalgamate farming and business,” the MBA dropout tells The Better India.

A couple of years later, Shanker fulfilled his dream by launching his company ‘Jeevan Mushroom’ where he sells spawns of a wide range of mushrooms including button, oyster, lion’s mane, paddy straw, shiitake, ganoderma, portobello, and more.

Today, he has established a huge market base not only in India but also abroad where he exports his produce to neighbouring countries including Bhutan and Nepal, and the UAE. Currently, his monthly revenue stands at Rs 13 lakh.

Mushrooming ideas

For Shanker, the decision to quit MBA was not easy. “People doubted my abilities and stressed that it was time for me to concentrate on shaping my career instead of running a business at this age. People from my caste are expected to become IAS officers. I was never interested in that. And to make it worse, I quit my college after the first semester mocking the expectations of the villagers,” he laughs.

Anyway, after dropping out of college, Shanker tried his hands at cultivating mushrooms. “This product was new at that time and was popular in hotels. I knew that this business would boom in the future,” he says.

So in 2015, Shanker went to the ICAR-Directorate of Mushroom Research in Solan to understand the nitty-gritty of cultivating mushrooms. Coming back, he vacated a small room of his house and set up the base for cultivating mushrooms.

“In a few months, I observed that Rajasthan did not have a single unit that manufactured mushroom spawns. People were dependent on states like Himachal, Haryana, and Delhi to source the seeds. I saw this as a perfect opportunity that would help me stand out in the crowd,” he adds.

For this, Shanker sourced the mother culture from ICAR, Solan and set up a temporary ‘jugaad’ (make-do lab) in the garage of his house to cultivate spawns on a trial basis. Meanwhile, he also managed to get a loan of Rs 9 lakhs under the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana. With the loan amount and financial support from family and friends, he worked on establishing a dedicated lab spread across an area of 9,000 sq-ft.

In the lab, he introduced advanced pieces of machinery like seed germination chambers, vertical autoclaves, and a laminar airflow cabinet to provide a sterile working environment for better productivity.

In 2017, after five years of research and development, Shanker officially launched his company which he runs along with his wife, Kanchan Meena. With the help of social media, he started getting orders for mushroom spawns in bulk.

Today, Shanker produces up to 80 tonnes of mushroom spawns in his lab. Priced between Rs 90-115 per kg, his spawns have a huge demand in other states including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Assam.

Why he became successful

Today, mushroom cultivation has gained popularity among small-scale farmers for its low input costs, relatively high yield, and return on investment. But, Shanker opines, not many people are able to extract as much profit owing to a lack of scientific approach.

“The reason why we became successful is because I always stressed on the quality of spawns that is usually compromised in this business,” he says.

He further explains in detail, “Like other crops of wheat and vegetables, we do not have a seed for mushrooms. It is a fungus which is manufactured in hygienic conditions in a lab. We require a tissue culture and mother spawn to multiply this fungus and get more spawns for commercialisation.”

“But farmers take a shortcut and keep multiplying spawns using the commercial spawns, instead of preparing a different tissue culture and mother spawn. This reduces the quality of the spawns and makes them vulnerable to diseases. While they may not observe the effect immediately, it is observed by farmers only when they get a low yield,” he adds.

Although Shanker earns a decent profit today, it is not all roses all the time. “Along with profits, we also incur losses sometimes. Last year, we faced losses worth Rs 27 lakh. I was receiving complaints of low yield. When I checked the machinery, I found out there was a thin hair size leakage that contaminated the spawns,” he says.

“Sometimes, I get discouraged by such situations and I feel like quitting. But then I look back at my journey and I feel overwhelmed to have come so far. I have a commerce background and the first time I saw a test tube was during my training. Such small achievements motivate me to strive for the success of my company. That’s why now I do not keep a plan B,” he smiles.

Shanker has also been conferred with Progressive & Innovative Farmer awards by the Rajasthan government in 2019 and Innovative Agricultural Startup by the Startup India in 2020.

Edited by Padmasshree Pande. All images: Shanker Meena.