ARIYALUR: The thought of setting up business and being his own boss came to this 21-year-old man when he was still in school. Not just business, he also wanted to do something close to nature and make his small contribution to conservation of ecology. While pursuing graduation, he learnt about organic manure and its various sources, which made him the entrepreneur he wanted to be.
Meet Arunraj of Kodali village in T Palur, a mathematics graduate, who has been making manure processing goat dung. This, he says, is much more effective on plants, but is not much in vogue.
Talking to TNIE, Arunraj says, "I always wanted to make natural products. I learnt that goat's dung can be made into very good manure, but not many people are aware of it. I started by going door-to-door in my village and collecting goat dung from residents. I clean them myself, make the manure and sell it online
through platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart. This manure is very beneficial to all those who have terrace gardens."
Arunraj says he has been into this business for the past eight months. Along with this manure, he also sells traditional rice varieties such as Poongar, Vellai Ponni, Mappillai Samba and Karuppu Kavuni, and natural honey. His customers include residents of Ariyalur, Neyveli, Kanniyakumari, and Kerala.
"People are slowly turning towards organic methods. I started doing this business after learning that goat manure is more valuable than cow manure when it comes to organic farming. I am raising awareness on natural fertilisers through social media. Though I get only about Rs 4,000 a month as profit, I am happy
that I am doing something good. I am now collecting goat dung from other districts too, and am confident that my business will grow bigger in the years to come," he says.