SANGAREDDY: Here is a man who does not crib when a machine that he had bought for Rs 3.6 lakh broke down. He is not a person who cries over spilt milk. Instead, he made virtue of the adversity. How? Read the story of Mallesham from Rangadhampally in Siddipet district.
Mallesham and his sons decided to start a small business of making plates, glasses and cups with leaves. His two sons went to Tamil Nadu and bought a machine. The machine cost them Rs 3.6 lakh. Before buying it, they understood the intricacies of making the cups and glasses, using leaves.
After reaching Siddipet, the machine broke down after working for a few days. They used moduga, adda and lotus leaves from Odisha and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh as raw material.
The machine may have broken down, but their resolve to grow their business did not. Mallesham started designing and manufacturing his own machine to make attractive plates, glasses, cups and spoons with the technical help of his sons, who are engineers.
“When I made my own machine it cost me only Rs 2.60 lakh. Now we are making plates and other articles using leaves. There is demand for them from shops and function halls. We are doing business from our home. We intend to expand our business,” Mallesham tells TNIE.
He says they received an order from Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh for 10,000 plates, and they had completed the order and sent the produce to the client. He said they are supplying these plates to Siddipet, Husnabad, Karimnagar, Sangareddy and Sadasivapet. He says that they are encouraging those who are interested in this business by giving them training.
Earning Rs 50K per month
Mallesham says that recently there was an order from Khammam to make a machine. “I went to Khammam and made the machine for our client,” he adds.
His family members say that after making plates and other items from the leaves, the leftovers are being used as fodder for the cattle and as fertiliser in the fields. Mallesham points out that he is earning about Rs 50,000 per month from this business. His elder son Pramod and younger son Pradeep, who completed their engineering courses, are also into the family business.
Pramod tells TNIE: ‘After Covid-19, most IT companies laid off their employees. They did not go back to their jobs. Instead, they are now contributing to a plastic-free society with their business, which also earns them their livelihood.”