Hariom Nautiyal give up his company profession and went again to his village in Dehradun. Ranging from scratch, he arrange ‘Dhanya Dhenu’ to promote dairy merchandise, pickles, candies, and ice cream. This is how he established a multi-crore empire in a village.
Whereas working by deadlines sitting at his big Bengaluru workplace, Hariom Nautiyal determined this was not the life he aspired to stay. Having grown up within the quaint Barkot village in Dehradun, he deeply missed his carefree rural life.
“I disliked the concept of rat race, deadlines, and concern of shedding jobs throughout recessions. We lived in fixed concern. We even feared posting footage from holidays. I didn’t need this life,” he says in dialog with The Higher India.
He shares that it was throughout the recession of 2009 that he had landed a coveted job as an internet developer – a second of nice pleasure for him. Nonetheless, the cut-throat competitors and the fast-paced metropolis life left him craving for a extra fulfilling existence.
“Whereas residing within the metropolis, my biggest treasure may have solely been buying a 3BHK however I wouldn’t have lived a full life. I needed to maneuver again dwelling,” he provides.
Hariom labored as a group lead when he finalised his determination to maneuver again in 2013. Definitely, he says, it was not a straightforward determination to pause a good-looking month-to-month wage, go away metro cities behind and begin some other work from scratch, particularly in a village.
Nonetheless, his daring transfer resulted in his personal enterprise enterprise named ‘Dhanya Dhenu’ which sells all kinds of dairy merchandise corresponding to milk, ghee, paneer, curd, mawa, together with 15 sorts of pickles and candies, and no less than 20 styles of ice lotions.
Right here’s how he has established a multi-crore empire regardless of staunch opposition.
From metropolis workplace to cowshed
When Hariom got here again and broke the information of quitting the town job, it invited loads of criticism from villagers. They began calling him nikamma (ineffective) and pagal (loopy). “I ended attending any native occasions. Individuals would give my instance to kids and say that in the event that they give up research, they might find yourself like me,” he shares.
Upset with the criticism, he constructed a everlasting shelter and cowshed, adjoining to his dwelling. There, he discovered solace. “We had a pet cow with its small calf. I’d play with the calf and they might come to me for pets. I used to be essentially the most relaxed of their firm versus being round people the place I felt suffocated,” he provides.
Hariom determined to observe his coronary heart’s calling and ventured into dairy farming – a choice that originally drew scepticism and mock from the group. Beginning with a modest funding of ten cows, he began promoting milk to locals.
“However it was not simple. A lot of the cows have been lactating on the identical time. I’d have 50-60 litres of surplus milk on daily basis. All people had some common milk sellers, so I had no alternative however to provide away milk to individuals at no cost,” he provides.
His day began at 2am when he would milk the cows and transfer out in hope of creating some gross sales. On a fortunate day, he would make Rs 9 revenue whereas more often than not, milk was given away at no cost.
“My mother and father would distribute milk to neighbours. Whereas they might readily settle for the free milk, they might not lose the prospect to mock me both. I had nothing to say to them then,” he provides.
Rs 9 to Rs 5,000 every day income
Decided to show his detractors flawed, Hariom endured and progressively received over the hearts of rural girls and dairy farmers who noticed potential in his imaginative and prescient. “After I began making some gross sales, these dairy farmers requested me to not purchase extra animals and as an alternative procure milk domestically and contribute to boosting their earnings,” he provides.
By 2016, Hariom had established a milk assortment centre in his village and tapped into authorities subsidies to help dairy tasks, notably benefiting marginalised teams like girls from scheduled castes and tribes, widows, and people under the poverty line.
By guaranteeing high quality assurance by common checks and natural fodder provide for his animals, Hariom constructed a status for excellence and integrity in his enterprise. “To develop belief amongst clients, I distributed free lactometers and promised them if the studying was lower than 26 (signifying regular milk density), I’d give the milk at no cost that day,” he provides.
This straightforward technique labored for him. Right this moment, he sells 250 litres of milk every day to individuals in Dehradun and Rishikesh.
Beena Silswal, a homemaker who lives in Rishikesh, has been an everyday buyer of Dhanya Dhenu for the previous 9 years.
Sharing her expertise, she says, “I buy two litres of milk on daily basis from Hariom. Initially, he gave me a lactometre to check the standard of the milk. I discover that this milk doesn’t have a foul odor and can also be not adulterated. My kids are additionally very keen on the pallar that he makes. At any time when they arrive dwelling from Delhi, I pack these bottles for them.”
Innovating additional, Hariom utilised the excess milk to supply a variety of dairy merchandise like mawa, ice cream, rabri, faluda, pallar (desi fermented drink made with buttermilk), diversifying his choices and capturing native market demand. Afterward, he additionally launched a big selection of pickles to develop the enterprise.
In all, he makes a revenue of Rs 2 crore yearly along with his firm by promoting the merchandise domestically and in commerce gala’s and thru distribution channels. He additionally employs 500 individuals from 15 villages together with Falsuwa, Ghamauli, and Barkot.
Regardless of the monetary success that adopted, Hariom stays grounded and emphasises the significance of onerous work and perseverance past mere financial beneficial properties.
“I can not overlook the preliminary six months of beginning my enterprise. It might be disheartening each time I’d sit and depend my month-to-month bills on inexperienced fodder vs gross sales. There was a time after I was hardly incomes Rs 9 per day as revenue. Right this moment, I make Rs 5,000 income every day from milk alone. If I had not believed in myself and didn’t hold my endurance, I’d not have come this far,” he says.
Right this moment, Hariom’s dairy enterprise not solely thrives but additionally displays the untapped potential and promise of rural entrepreneurship in India. “Working from my village dwelling has been extraordinarily handy for me. Not solely am I respiratory pure air and consuming nutritious meals, I’ve been capable of earn a good livelihood for myself and empower my village group concurrently,” he provides.
Edited by Padmashree Pande. All images: Hariom Nautiyal.
