Catering as much as 100 orders every day, Parvathy Mohanan turned her gardening pastime right into a portulaca flowers enterprise. She shares how she turned a industrial gardener by probability.
After an exhausting week at her office in Kochi, Parvathy Mohanan comes again to her quaint hometown within the scenic locale of Muhamma gram panchayat in Kerala’s Alappuzha district.
The engineer’s weekend begins with admiring her lush backyard of portulaca flowers unfold over half an acre of land within the compound of her residence.
“I get up early within the morning and examine the weekly progress of my vegetation. I really feel so refreshed and stress-free simply taking a look at these vibrant flowers. It supplies much-needed reduction from my hectic job atmosphere,” she says.
Began as a pastime, the 23-year-old software program tester has now remodeled her ardour of portulaca farming for these vibrant flowers right into a worthwhile enterprise. Her enterprise has reached a degree the place she fulfils 50-100 orders every day, boosting her month-to-month earnings by Rs 1 lakh.
In dialog with The Higher India, Parvathy explains how she established the multi-lakh enterprise whereas juggling a full-time job.
From 30 to 300 forms of vegetation
When Parvathy was pursuing her masters in engineering in Thrissur, her school was quickly closed in 2020 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. She got here again to her hometown and began attending on-line lessons.
Whereas she already had a small assortment of portulaca vegetation at her residence, she procured 30 forms of the plant from a neighborhood vendor. Her entrepreneurial journey began moderately unassumingly when she posted some footage of the vegetation on Fb.
This sparked an curiosity amongst varied gardening teams within the social networking web site.
“Many individuals began enquiring if I offered the vegetation. I considered commercialising the gathering. I posted a sale publish and bought 10 orders from Fb. That was the preliminary starting of this enterprise,” she shares.
The response was encouraging sufficient to show her pastime right into a enterprise. So, within the first 12 months of school, Parvathy began commercialising the vegetation from her backyard.
As her backyard grew, so did her experience and fame. Protection by bloggers and YouTube channels additional fueled her enterprise which introduced in a flood of orders. Utilizing the income from her gross sales, she began increasing her assortment.
“As a university pupil, I didn’t manage to pay for to buy an increasing number of forms of portulaca. A few of the varieties value Rs 5,000 per plant. However I wished to have them in my assortment. I began utilizing the income of the gross sales to put money into extra varieties,” she provides.
Right now, her assortment has grown to a powerful 300 varieties sourced from throughout India and locations as far off as Thailand and Brazil. “It’s such a stunning view when all of the varieties bloom in numerous colors,” she says with pleasure.
Balancing ardour and occupation effectively
Parvathy sorted her backyard each day till final 12 months when she secured a job at an IT firm in Kochi after completion of her research. Regardless of challenges corresponding to managing her full-time job and adjusting to the plant’s wants based mostly on seasonal differences, she thrives in her twin position.
Each weekend, she manages to return again to her hometown to handle her enterprise.
“I’ve additionally employed two ladies staff who deal with the backyard when I’m not round. I’ve taught all of them the experience required to do that,” she says.
She has mastered the nuances of portulaca care by specializing in necessities like direct daylight, minimal watering, common pruning, and using natural fertilisers like cow dung. Moreover, portulacas are identified for his or her vibrant blooms and minimal care necessities. This suits completely into her busy schedule.
Sharing challenges in portulaca farming, she says, “Within the wet season, it is vitally troublesome to keep up just a few varieties like Jumbo. I repot these vegetation and keep new cuttings in order that their roots don’t rot within the extra rain water.”
With portulaca farming, she manages to get 50-100 orders in a day. With this, she says to generate an extra earnings of Rs 1 lakh. As her enterprise grows, Parvathy goals of balancing her work and keenness whereas increasing her enterprise. She additionally encourages others to go for farming.
“Anybody in want of further earnings can do that as a enterprise additionally. The bottom line is to develop low-maintenance however excessive demand vegetation like portulaca and discover a reliable workforce to hold out the work in your absence,” she says.
Rajani Mohanan, who has seen Parvathy toil exhausting whereas managing each the workplace and the farm, says, “My daughter began this enterprise through the COVID-19 pandemic when she was only a school pupil. This has turn out to be an additional supply of earnings for her and he or she is ready to handle all her bills with ease and have some left for enjoyment as effectively.”
When Parvathy returns to Kochi for her work, Rajani takes over a few of her tasks right here like serving to with order packaging. She shares how the enterprise has additionally helped them bond extra.
Parvathy’s story is not only one among entrepreneurial success but in addition a lesson in pursuing one’s ardour in opposition to the chances. Her journey from a hobbyist to a profitable entrepreneur highlights the potential of turning a easy ardour right into a thriving enterprise, and her story continues to unfold, one bloom at a time.
“I get numerous compliments and appreciation that at a younger age, I’m doing very effectively. But when I had not been cultivating these flowers, not solely would I be dropping cash however I might even be dropping my medium of releasing stress as a result of these vegetation are like my blissful tablets,” she provides.
Edited by Padmashree Pande; All photographs: Parvathy Mohanan.
