The proto village of Andhra Pradesh

Tekulodu, a small village near Chillamatturoo in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh is like a dream village for everyone who believe in village empowerment and decentralization for the good of nation. The village has made its identity as a proto village since 2014 as it is role a model showcasing self sufficiency in the field of food ,water, electricity, sanitation and education.

The models developed in Tekulodu  emphasizes on fulfilling all the basic needs along with maintaining the ecological balance which is a beautiful example of self sufficiency along with mutual sharing of resources.

Kalyan Akkipeddi, a name well known to every social entrepreneur in the country - a former engineer who quit his job to make a barren land an ideal village. The story itself sounds like dream come true. The village has gained immense popularity over a span of four years due to the vision of this young entrepreneur.

The  Stunning Story

About 120 km from Bengaluru, lies the village Tekulodu in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. The model of self-sufficiency along with ecological sustainability which the village presents surpasses the glory of many social movements. Since the village is a prototype of an ideal village hence it is named as proto village.

The proto village emphasizes on 9 basic elements or needs as a foundation for community development – food, shelter, water, healthcare, clothing, energy, education, trade, connectivity and disaster management - all in communion with nature. Sustainability and self-sufficiency is their main motto.

Kalyan Akkipeddi, inspired by the simple living of innocent tribal people, decided to took up this barren land for his social experiment. He purchased some land, a few kilometers from Tekulodu near his hometown and started doing organic farming on it. He chose one of the farmers as intern for this experiment.

Within a short span of time, the farmer witnessed a rise in income nearly 20 times of the previous income which inspired other farmers to work on this project. The farmers started using solar pumps for irrigating the fields along with practicing organic farming under the guidance of Kalyan Akkipeddi. The rainwater draining down earlier was now collected in small Ponds in low lying areas and stored for community use. Very soon village became popular as the prototype of a model village.

The Ideology of Village

The proto village has its roots deeply inserted in the field of community service and eradication of racial discrimination. The village has its own community kitchen in which both men and women cook the food without worrying about caste and creed. The women especially are so happy and satisfied here as they enjoy equal rights and opportunities and have ample time to learn something new of their choice.

The learning centre of the village is named after the Japanese philosophy of life called Ikigai. Ikigai emphasizes on earning livelihood which not only generates income but gives a sense of lifelong satisfaction. People here in the village are indulged in farming, poultry, soap making, furniture making and collection of forest produce. The level of satisfaction in the people here is so high that they never wish to migrate to cities for any luxuries.

Education as a Pillar

Tekulodu has a strong vision for education. Its quest for education can be seen from the fact that it has its own Wi-Fi network with the self made syllabus affiliated by IGCSE board with children studying there without being distributed in any specific class or standard. Education model of village relies on sharing of intellectual resources. The children here are experts in various subjects from coding to Japanese language only because of the fact that village welcomes many volunteers who live in village for some time and offer a kind of training or intellectual sharing to the children.

Employment

The village is self sufficient in terms of survival and meeting their own needs however Akkipeddi and his wife Shobhita are working on a three-stage plan called “Grammam Yojana” which will be implemented till 2024.The plan includes developing a Swadeshi or local brand by joining about 8000 women from nearby villages and generating employment by making soap and many food items. In this plan, women will be involved in each step and in every activity- right from horticulture, soap making and marketing food items.

Entertainment

The village has its own Open Theatre in which various cultural programs are being conducted at the village level periodically.

Very soon proto village is going to offer intern program for village youth to learn and implement the same in their villages as a part of Social entrepreneurship. What a miraculous and noble effort by a single man who not only transformed a village but the lives of people. Tekulodu  picturizes the real image of an ideal village in India.

 

The Little Entrepreneur – Anand Panchbhai

Yet another fascinating story to be mentioned from Chhattisgarh- outshining in the sky of startups.The name of the entrepreneur is Anand Panchbhai who is the alumni of IIT Bhilai 2017 batch. Anand laid the foundation of his company during his student life only. At present he is employing 25 people in his company out of which 20 are his juniors only.

An AI startup in health Sector

The story of Anand is really miraculous. During his student life in IIT Bhilai, Anand was determined to do something for the nation. He was determined to do something which can transform the lives of people on mass scale. He started his company Logy.AI through his pocket money with a thought that instead of working from someone else it is better to be self-employed. Through proper time management, he started his venture keeping time for studies as well. Apart from Anand, his two friends Priyajeet and Vinay also played an important role in laying the foundation of company.

AI in medicine and Health

Anand was deeply interested in research work based on artificial intelligence so he opted for the application of artificial intelligence in the field of medicine. His company Logy.AI works in the field of artificial intelligence and research based products, apps and devices. The Government of India along with state governments and various other companies are continuously approaching Anand's company for his valuable research, products and data in the field of medicine and health.

Valuable works

Industrial Research 

 The company got a big grant Biotechnology Industries Research Assistant Counselling in 2020 for industrial based research in the field of AI.

Malaria Detection

Anand’s  company has made a device through which one can detect problems like Malaria, dental problems and other diseases only in a nominal amount of rupees 15. This device is being used in naxalite areas of Bastar now.

Diagnosis of Cervical Cancer

In 2018 Anand and his team made an app and introduced a technique for detecting Cervical Cancer in women. IIIT Hyderabad made a grand to Anand for discovering this technique. Even Government of India has accepted this technique and ground level work has been started.

No words can explain these nobel efforts done for the welfare of humanity and society. We salute the spirit of generosity and innovation ultimately contributing to the well-being of the citizens of the country.

 

Entrepreneurs of Chhattisgarh

Who is not fond of chocolates? On the occasion of chocolate day, when sharing of chocolates is at the peak , who bothers that most of the chocolates contain excess sugar which is not good for health. The sugar free chocolates available in market have also added Chemicals and preservatives in them.

Ever thought of a sugar free chocolate made up of immunity booster herbs? If not, here is the moment to feel proud. Three youngsters of Raipur City - Gaurav Kumar, Amrit Nahar and Anand are together, making sugar free chocolates with natural herbs. Other than that, they are also making 50% sugar free candies. The uniqueness of the project is that they haven't used any chemicals to make these candies. For sweetness they are using Stevia which is multiple times sweeter than sugar.

The Journey of Herbal chocolates

For raw materials they have chosen suppliers from different regions of the country like cocoa powder is being ordered from Kerala and rest of the materials are purchased from farmers of various districts of Chhattisgarh like Bemetara ,Raipur and Bastar.

They stressed that these chocolates are not only immunity boosters but also helpful in increasing eyesight and memory. There startup JORCO has been funded by GEC Surat for further development.

Using herbs in chocolate

In a short talk Amrit told that they are using about 14 herbs like ashwagandha, Tulsi ,badi elaichi ,Giloy, Pippali, clove, cinnamon, mulethi, javitri, black pepper, nutmeg and Kasturi turmeric in making chocolate. It is an interesting recipe not only for children but for elderly and diabetic patients also.

Success story of making of herbal chocolate it is not so easy. The team is working on this project since 6 months and they finally succeeded to make the chocolate after 25 failures. The main problem in making chocolate was the sweetening agent. When dried stevia leaves were initially added along with cocoa powder, nuts, milk solids and green foods, the chocolate became bitter in taste. Then they  tried using stem and various parts of stevia plant and finally succeeded.

The chocolate is available in different flavours like Leechi, orange, herbs, Kacchi keri, mango and jaljeera. The story is in itself an example for all young entrepreneurs who wish to do something innovative as well as inspiring for society also.

 

 

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!