Azhagu Theeran, who has supported five women's livelihoods through the manufacturing of vermicompost and achieved enormous profits, sells on Amazon to customers throughout India from a small village.
The earthworm is the 'buddy' of the ploughman. However, it is now considered an uncommon species in agricultural areas. Produce quality has suffered, yields have reduced, and soil fertility has decreased as a result. 'Soil vermicompost' manufacturing has arisen as a new technology to prevent this, and it has given rise to fresh optimism. Vermicompost is being made by Azhagu Theeran, who is looking forward to change with the same optimism.
Azhagu theeran, an M.Com. and B.Ed. graduate, is a farmer's daughter who has come to appreciate the benefits of vermicomposting. For the past two years, he has been making and distributing vermicompost, sometimes known as "black gold," in an attempt to persuade farmers to use organic fertilizers and allow the public access to wholesome food.
A beauty lives in the small village of Kottial in the district of Ariyalur. Despite being a resident of Achittar, he has changed the lives of local farmers and sold his vermicompost to cities like Bangalore and Mumbai via Amazon.
Azhagu Theeran talks about her professional journey with YourStory Tamil, a company that has improved the lives of five women and produced significant revenues from vermicomposting.
"My family's situation and the presence of my kids prevented me from going to work. I was considering launching a home-based business. Despite my passion in agriculture, this place is not conducive to it. At Cholamakadevi, there is a Central Government Agricultural Science Research Institute. I'll go to trainings on mushroom production, among other things. Only then,
It appeared that compost may be made by earthworms. At home, dad manufactured vermicompost, which he applied to crops. Following vermicompost application, a good yield was observed. Testa and breshcha were the vegetables. Thus, I founded 'SOIL SPIRIT' two years ago with the intention of producing vermicompost," he stated.
Using a fifty thousand rupee investment, I launched a tiny manufacturing. I gradually purchased a weighing scale, a packing machine, a printer, and a sieve for the manure, expanding it according to necessity.
Prior to starting the vermicompost in bed procedure, you must purchase and set up a bag. Place a layer of coir at the foot of the bed. Shovel sand all over it. Then add the leaves, dry wood, cow dung, and other organic waste.
Place the straw you took out of the stable on top of it. Fill the bed with these two layers, arranged in alternate positions. Dilution and two separate applications of the dung solution are required for the flood.
To keep mice and birds out of the bed, cover it with banana or coconut leaves after it has been prepared. For ten days, drink water nonstop. We merely irrigate to lessen the manure's smoke. If you touch the bed's surface after ten days, you can determine if it has cooled. Following that, each 12 by 4 foot bag should contain 4 to 5 kg of earthworms.
Compost is made from the excrement of earthworms that consume organic garbage. After earthworming, the yield is ready 45–60 days later. Vermicompost cannot be extracted from the entire box at once. In each layer, fertilizer should be applied from the top down. A full bed of garbage takes 90 to 120 days to decompose.
Sieves should be used to sort the manure that has been collected. Things like sticks and stones separate out of the manure during churning. Once the bags are filled, you may begin selling the separated compost. However, I didn't have any sales at first. I worked really hard to boost the sales as well.
I called urban nurseries and described my offering. But no significant business was conducted. I had considered giving up three times in the two years since I launched the firm. However, everything is available in bulk order in those circumstances. Local fertilizer buyers would come and purchase it in order to suggest it to other farmers in order to increase yield. Such occasions can be revitalizing.
At the Institute of Agricultural Sciences in the beginning, I provided training, product recommendations, and support to a large number of organic farmers. Through them, I have received a lot of orders. Sales, meanwhile, did not turn out to be as anticipated. Just selling the fertilizer from the first shipment took four to five months.
We had to deal with certain difficulties in both production and sales. It should constantly be cool, damp, and shaded for vermicomposting. For this reason, we built a roof with a shade net. It shouldn't be very bright.
In addition to farmers, people who cultivate vegetables for their own consumption and maintain terrace gardens can also benefit from vermicomposting. Because I reside in a remote place, I occasionally turn to internet business sites for household necessities. I made the decision to sell our Protect online at Amazon and got the required paperwork ready.
How do I sign up for Amazon and display our products first? It's now a method for gradually learning new things.
How to use it was taught to me by the Amazon support team. I have only generated and sold 10 tonnes of vermicompost annually for the past two years. However, my interview with "Sail Spirit" was made available on YouTube a month ago. The public responded positively to it.
Over ten tons of vermicompost were sold in just one month, bringing in Rs. fifty thousand. If purchased in bulk, vermicompost costs Rs. 15, 12,000 a tonne. We can't generate enough to fulfill the orders we have right now. I've given five disadvantaged women in the hamlet the essential raw materials and instruction on how to create vermicompost.
Farmers in the village have also started purchasing and utilizing vermicompost as a result of the video's popularity. I put in two years of work anticipating this shift. Very pleased to have accomplished that aim.
Vermicompost is used by the majority of people who have terrace and home gardens. Thus, in addition to vermicompost, I am also selling high-quality soil mixes that are good for a variety of plant types. These mixes include coconut fiber, sedum, vermicompost, and the proper amounts of bio bacteria like phospho bacteria, azospirillum, and trichoderma viridi.
To keep the plants free of pests and ants, I have just introduced neem cake powder, panchakavyam, and several neem-made bio bacteria products.
Following the launch of the Soil Spirit brand, numerous nurseries are purchasing our vermicomposts to resell. Tons of vermicompost are also purchased by farmers. We gave one farmer up to two tonnes last month.
At that point, someone had begun using our brand name to sell products on Amazon. If you do things correctly, it makes no difference. Our clients are being misled into purchasing their low-quality, low-weight vermicompost. He remembers the routes he took and says, "People who buy our products on Amazon should buy only if we mention Knowledge Agency as the manufacturer in the product's details list."
