Husband faced health issues, wife starts vermicompost business for organic farming, earns Rs. 1.5 lakh month

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They say health is wealth. Those who don’t have good health know this better. Husband of Meena Gautam from Uttar Pradesh faced a health issue three years ago. Doctors suggested that he consume organic food to get rid of his health issues. Today, Meena grows organic veggies on her terrace and also manufactures vermicompost manure to sell with an aim to encourage farmers for organic farming. She makes Rs. 1.5 lakh per month from selling vermicompost.

Meena’s husband Arjun Kumar Gautam has a government job working as a junior clerk in Maharajganj block of Gorakhpur district in Uttar Pradesh. Arjun’s father is in the revenue department holding a government job. Arjun has always been living a financially comfortable life. However, he developed an allergy three years ago. He consulted a few doctors and observed that all the doctors suggested the same.

“The doctors said that he (Arjun) has a weak immunity system because of consuming food grown using harmful chemicals. We all consume food that is grown using urea and pesticides, but the health effect is different for different people. The doctors suggested that unless he does not start eating food that is grown organically he will not get rid of the allergy. Since then we have become more conscious about what we are eating,” said Meena, 32 years old.

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When humans consume the food that is grown through usage of urea, people do more harm to their body than any good. According to The World Health Organization (WHO) the urea and pesticides are potentially toxic to humans. They may induce adverse health effects including cancer, effects on reproduction, immune or nervous systems.

Meena and her husband tried sourcing grains and veggies that are grown organically. However, they observed that very few farmers are practicing organic farming. Meena learnt to produce vermicompost and grow veggies organically. She started growing organic veggies on her terrace such as cabbage, peas, okra, palak, tomatoes and other seasonal veggies.

“Although I was growing organic veggies on my terrace, but I had this urge to promote organic farming amongst the farmers in my village. I realized that if the farmers start using vermicompost manure instead of urea then it will have a huge impact. That is why I planned to produce vermicompost manure on a large scale,” said Meena.

Meena’s husband took a loan of Rs. 5 lakh and helped Meena setup 100 vermicompost pits in 2020 under Adarsh Vermi Compost banner. She would source dung and worms from the market in the main city of Gorakhpur. Usually, people make beds for vermicompost production, but Meena had to set up compost pits because of the unsuitable weather in Uttar Pradesh.

“To procure vermicompost manure, you need to have slightly cold weather. But in Uttar Pradesh, most of the months have unbearable hot weather which is detrimental for the vermicompost production. That is why we have compost pits which are 10 feet deep and 3 feet wide each. This way we can save the compost manufacturing process from getting affected by heat,” said Meena. She is just 8th pass but knows a lot about farming and she is also very social.

Since Meena is social, after setting up the compost pits, she started talking about the advantages of using vermicompost in the farm amongst farmers in her village. Within two months, Meena’s vermicompost was ready to use. A few farmers bought it for the trial.

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“When they observed the result of the crops after using vermicompost, the words spread and more and more farmers came forward to buy the vermicompost,” said Meena.

However, Meena also added that small farmers who have 1-2 acres of land are apprehensive of using the vermicompost. “Since farmers have been using urea fertilizer for years, the fertility of soil has been declining. So the impact of the vermicompost takes time. It takes around 1-2 years to see the better results. But, the small farmers have no patience, as their survival is dependent on that 1 acre land,” Meena told Empowering Indians.

She further added, “Many farmers are using a small portion of their farm for organic farming where they grow veggies for their own consumption. Because, they clearly understand the harmful effect of food on the human body which is chemically grown.”

Meena Gautam with her employees at the Vermicompost farm

Erstwhile Joint Secretary in Fertilizer Ministry, Sham Lal Goyal, Said while talking to a media that urea that is used in farms in the hope of better production actually reduces the fertility of the farm in the long run. In result, farmers keep increasing the usage of urea which has detrimental effects on the farm.

Meena also resonated the same. “When you see that fertility is reducing, you use more urea. Year by year your urea usage increases. That means your farming expenses are increasing. On the other hand, if you use vermicompost fertilizer, your soil fertility will improve. Hence your expenses on fertilizer will keep reducing. Within 2-3 years, you will observe that your expenses have been reduced to 50%. Moreover, because your crops are organic, you will earn better as compared to inorganic crops,” explained Meena, founder of Adarsh Vermi Compost.

From the 100 compost pits, Meena procure about 40 metric tones of vermicompost every two months. She sells the compost across Gorakhpur to various farmers. “We sell vermicompost Rs. 7-8 per kilogram. In two months we manage to make around Rs. 3 lakh wherein one third of the revenue goes into expenses from sourcing cow dung, worms and salaries of 4-5 employees we have,” told Meena.

More than the money she is making from the vermicompost business, Meena is more happy to share that through her business she is able to encourage 100s of farmers for organic farming. “My vermicompost is used by about 100 farmers across different villages in Gorakhpur. That means they are growing organic food which is then consumed by thousands of people. Eventually, we are helping thousands of people consume organic food. Which helps them have better health in the long run. This is the aim of my business,” said Meena.

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Apart from this, Meena is also empowering women. She has employed about 5-6 women from her village in her vermicompost plant. They are gaining financial independence. “We pay these women Rs. 200 per day. They work for about 20-25 days and earn around Rs. 4000 a month. Which is good money for them because, earlier, they were doing nothing and were dependent on just their husband’s income. They were struggling financially,” Meena told Empowering Indians.

She also said that as the business grows she will increase the daily wage of the women and also employ more women. She is also encouraging people to have terrace gardens for those who don’t have farms. “In big cities people are growing organic veggies on the terrace. We can also adopt that culture. This way at least we will be assured that we are consuming some food that is grown organically,” suggested Meena of Adarsh Vermi Compost.