Starts Up Of Chattisgarh

Unique Startup in Bastar - the unheard story

Ever heard of a startup investing in brooms ( jhadu) and which is generating a monthly income of 20 lakhs? The fact that these brooms are made in the most remote and geographically inaccessible area of Bastar district of Chattisgarh makes it even more interesting. Hardly a few of you may be knowing about Aboojhmaad area of Chattisgarh known for it's dense evergreen tropical forests. It is spread over 4000 square km in Chattisgarh covering Narayanpur, Bijapur and Dantewada district. It is the home to many indigenous tribes like Gond, Muria, Abujmaria and Halbaas. 

This region is rich in mineral deposits and a large amount of iron ore is being digged from Bailadila region of this area but the native people still remain isolated from the outside world. The Aboojhmaad is known for it's highly inaccessible nature with little or almost no presence of civil adminitration or government activities. 

Geographically also it is being separated by Indravati river from Bastar. In 2008, it was proposed to declare it as biosphere reserve by Government  of India: Because they these reasons, it is a major hub to naxalites  popularly known as Maoists.

 But the beauty lies somewhere else, hats off to the spirit of SDO Ashish Kotarwani who helped out the tribes in their startup by purchasing 900 quintals of jhadu from them. The story starts from Hitulwada village in the Orchha region near a river where the tribal women started their startup of making jhadu by a special kind of grass growing in this area called Tilgum in local language. Later on about hundred families this joined this small but unique venture.

 When the popularity of these jhadu increased, they were improvised even more by Mahila Swa Sahayata Samooh of Narayanpur district and the design was made even better. A MOU was signed by TRIFED to government and the product was sold countrywide especially in the capital city Delhi. A unique example of a beautiful startup from zero. Saluting the spirit and hard work of the tribals but more appreciable is the work done by government to generate employment for them and providing market to them for their welfare and living.

Another interesting Story

Yet another inspiring short story to be listen. This little state has some other significant startups also to be mentioned. Among top agricultural universities of country, stands the first agriculture university of Chattisgarh named Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya(IGKV).  The university has an incubation centre called "Raftaar Agribusiness Incubator" in which two startup programs namely Udbhav and Abhinav are run  in which selected startups are given chance to showcase there talent. The centre first provides training to the selected entrepreneurs for two months and then their plan is kept for proposal in front of central incubation committee. 

One can wonder how a fabric can be made through khas, a type of grass used in making cooling pads in room coolers  in summer. Ravikant Soni and Namrata Diwakar are two such people which are working on a project to make fabric from khas. 

As khas is popular for it's natural cooling property, the curtains made from it will be cooling the houses and lowering the room temperature during summer time. It will have its natural aroma and at the same time eco-friendly also. At present the thickness of the fabric is 3-5 mm which is to be furthur reduced. After preparing prototype, getting raw material for making fabric and making a machine for it was challenging as well. The plan also proposes making clothes from Khas. An awesome ecofriendly approach!