A significant banana-growing district, Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh has over 16,000 hectares of land devoted solely to the cultivation of the fruit. The farmers right here often clear the stems and leaves of the banana bushes from their fields earlier than planting new crops, for which they rent further labour. A considerable amount of banana waste is then dumped in pits or elsewhere, left to rot.
However one particular person to grasp the potential of this supposed waste was Mehul Shroff, an MBA graduate from the identical district. He determined to show it right into a viable enterprise.
“From my childhood, I’ve seen the farmers in our space dumping the banana waste after the harvest. I, too, wasn’t conscious of the large potential it had as agricultural waste till I did some analysis. So I wished to construct a sustainable enterprise and assist farmers,” Mehul tells The Higher India.
Began in 2018, Mehul’s sustainable startup makes banana fibre out of stems, which will be became helpful merchandise like handicrafts, textiles and paper. At this time, he sells round three to 5 tonnes of banana fibre each month, incomes a turnover of round Rs 30 lakh yearly.
Extra than simply waste
After finishing his MBA in 2016, Mehul joined his household’s jewelry enterprise. However he at all times nurtured a dream of beginning a enterprise of his personal.
In an effort to fulfil this dream, he started researching to discover a viable and socially accountable enterprise thought. “That’s once I met the District Justice of the Peace of Burhanpur. After I expressed my thought to begin a novel enterprise, he urged that I begin by eager about what I can do in my very own district. This, in truth, made me seek for concepts inside my area,” says the 20-year-old.
Mehul additionally attended a workshop organised by the district administration and Navsari Agricultural College in Burhanpur. “Within the workshop, they talked about how fibres will be created from the banana stem and the way it may be used within the textile, paper and handicraft industries,” he says, including that he spent round two years on his analysis and at last got here up with a strong marketing strategy.
“By way of my analysis, I understood that banana stems, although usually thought of agri-waste, are wealthy in cellulose and pure fibre content material. Subsequently, they make for the right enter to provide fibres that may be became materials,” he explains.
Earlier than beginning his enterprise, Mehul made certain that he understood all of the facets of the commerce, together with the dangers, challenges, and scope of the market. He additionally attended coaching from the ICAR-Nationwide Analysis Middle for Banana, Tiruchirappalli, which is on the forefront of selling banana fibre and its functions. He additionally interacted with the farmers of Burhanpur and shared his thought with them, garnering their assist.
Mehul began his sustainable enterprise, christened Shroff Industries, in 2018. He arrange a processing unit in Burhanpur and began sourcing banana stems throughout the district from farmers.
Intricate artworks
Mehul says one of many fundamental challenges he confronted was discovering a marketplace for banana fibre.
“Our nation is the biggest producer of bananas on the planet, however we’re but to discover the utmost potential of the crop. There’s a have to unfold consciousness on this regard,” he says.
“Even whereas advertising, it was a bit tough to persuade these within the textile business concerning the scope of banana fibre. They have been hesitant to attempt one thing totally different and pure. So, I gave him the fibres at minimal value and even under the margin. As soon as they discovered the outcome to be optimistic, they have been satisfied.”
He finally moved on to discover the scope of constructing handicrafts from these fibres. He gave them out to ladies within the rural areas of Burhanpur to make totally different handicraft objects.
“It was one more problem to coach the artisans in making handicrafts, as they weren’t accustomed to the uncooked materials. At first, I used to assist them with it, however now I’ve appointed a coach who guides them in making banana fibre-based handicrafts,” says Mehul.
“At the moment, we’ve got round 40 ladies who make handicrafts for us. We even have 10 staff in our processing unit,” he provides.
These handicrafts embody baskets, planters, ropes, luggage, brooms for worship, yoga mats, worship mats, wall clocks, and so forth. These merchandise are priced between Rs 100 and Rs 2,000, relying on the scale and work concerned.
In 2020, the enterprise hit a low when with the appearance of the pandemic. “The gross sales went down and it was one of the crucial tough occasions. Now that the state of affairs has improved, we’re on the trail of restoration,” he says, including that at present, they produce round three to 5 tonnes of fibres monthly.
Aside from handicrafts, fibres are an ideal various for making paper. “However the course of of constructing paper out of the banana fibre may be very labour-intensive. Subsequently, we now outsource the processing work by offering the uncooked supplies,” he provides.
Mehul says he has additionally launched an natural liquid nutrient utilizing banana waste as a base. “This was examined by Navsari Agricultural College in Burhanpur. The product accommodates not solely important plant vitamins but additionally development regulators and waste-decomposing organisms. It should assist enhance soil fertility, thereby growing productiveness,” he elaborates.
A serving to hand to banana farmers
Mehul’s initiative is a blessing to many banana farmers within the area, he says.
“When a farmer informs me when they should clear the sector post-harvest, we ship our procurement group to the sector. They minimize and clear the agri-waste from the fields and transport it to our processing unit. This helps them save the price of the labour concerned in slicing the stems and clearing the sector,” says Mehul, including that at present, he sources stems repeatedly from round 50-100 farmers within the area.
A single banana stem provides round 200 grams of fibre.
Bhaulal Kushwaha, a banana farmer in Burhanpur, has been collaborating with Mehul for the previous few years. He says clearing up his 3 hectares of the sector after harvest was an costly affair till Mehul got here alongside.
“After the harvest, I needed to rent labourers to chop the stems and clear up the sector. They used to cost round Rs 3 per stem and it value me round Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 in each harvest cycle. However now with Mehul’s initiative, I’ve been capable of save greater than I used to,” he elaborates.
Mehul at present works on a B2B mannequin of promoting for his enterprise. “Most of our gross sales occur by way of exhibitions. There’s additionally demand for merchandise by way of phrase of mouth,” he says.
He notes, “Banana fibre is an agri-waste and it doesn’t must be cultivated for the aim of procuring fibres, like cotton. It’s a sustainable various to many energy-intensive oil-based fibres. It’s also biodegradable and therefore eco-friendly. Subsequently, it’s important to unfold consciousness on this regard and extra folks ought to discover this enterprise alternative, thereby constructing a marketplace for such sustainable merchandise.”
For extra data and enquiries, you possibly can contact Mehul at shroffindustries@yahoo.com
Edited by Divya Sethu; Picture credit: Mehul Shroff
Supply: Burhanpur district web site