There are huge numbers of people, who are dependent on cattle or cows for their livelihood. They sell milk & by-products; there are some, who may sell the organic fertilizer made from cow dung. But, here is an Engineer, who runs a dairy with his parents & earns by selling not only milk & manure but also the water that flows out of the cowshed after bathing the cows.
26 years old Jayaguru Achar Hinder is a classic example of a successful “Ghar Vapsi”. He is a qualified Civil Engineer, who worked with a private firm and was getting a monthly salary of Rs 22,000. He completed his Bachelor of Engineering from the Vivekananda College of Engineering & Technology, Puttur. He is a native of Munduru village in Puttur Taluk of Dakshina Kannada District. After working for almost a year with a private firm, Achar was fed up with his 9 – 5 job.
As he always loved farming & spending his time with around 10 cows, which is owned by his father. One fine day in 2019, he finally decided to quit his job & join hands with his father & give a technical twist to increase the productivity of the farm.
Achar say that “I was thinking of expanding dairy & trying innovative ways to increase the revenue while studying engineering. He said, “all that brainstorming was later helpful in the practical decisions”.
Now the dairy is expanded & set up. The strength of the cattle has increased to 130. The family of Achar & his family own a 10-acre plot where areca nut is the main crop. Achar brought in few innovations into the farm dairy that the family easily earns Rs 10 lakhs per month.
Dry Cowdung
After doing a lot of research & watching multiple videos. Achar traveled to Patiala, Punjab & bought a machine that dries the cow dung. Then, he sells around 1000 bags of cow dung each month. The farmers around & at the neighboring villages by from Achar in larger quantities.
Cow Dung Slurry
This is a mixture of cow dung, cow urine & the water which is collected after bathing the cows is slurry. This water is stored & transported in tankers. Achar owns a tanker that holds up to 7,000 liters of slurry. He sells 1 tanker quantity of this mixture every day. Whoever buys this mixture pays Rs 8 – 11 per liter. The slurry is taken to the buyer’s farm & poured to the base of the plant. The buyers decide how much to be poured into each plant & it is delivered accordingly.
Gonandajala (From Dead Cow)
Achar found this online; he studied extensively & successfully created this product. Gonandajala is basically a high nutrient fluid that boosts up growth of crops. After when the cow is dead, instead of burning or burying the corpse, it is Left in a huge tank with the calculated proportion of buttermilk & cow urine, and several other items as well. This is now closed & left until 6 – 7 months.
By then, the body would have completely decomposed & the fluid is then used as a liquid fertilizer. Around 1.5 liters of this fluid is mixed with 100 liters of water & used as a fertilizer. Many people have seen great results in the crop after using this, says Achar.
Not only this, but Achar also sells 70 liters of milk & around 30 to 40 kg of pure ghee monthly, He says “We have 10 staff to help us with all of this work. We have many types of machinery is as well that reduces the burden on the labor & good water facilities inside cowshed so that one need not spend too much of his time cleaning the shed”.
He explains that such small changes increase productivity. Giving completed organic array of products not just increased our revenue, but it also gives us a sense of satisfaction that we are not causing any harm to the environment”.
Achar is now planning to set up a unit to produce milk products in the future. “The various subsidies by the government & the startup loans and the benefits have helped a great deal in taking up newer projects.
This is a job with weekly off & leaves. But, I also know that in few years, time, this will be completely self-sustained & the setup will run without much effort. And, more than anything, being your own boss is the greatest feeling” says Achar- a Happy Young Man.
