“Everyone was pressuring me to get married. I wanted to first complete my higher education and earn well to support my family. I asked my mother to give me half the money that she had saved for my wedding and jewellery for my BEd degree,” says Sudha.
Hailing from a remote village in Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu, she grew up in abject poverty with two siblings. As their parents Sudha and her sister were sent to their grandparents’ home.
With no guidance and help for studies, the 40-year-old failed in classes 5, 6 and 7. While her siblings gave up and discontinued their education when they encountered failure, this teacher-turned-entrepreneur turned out to be a fighter.
Buoyed by her mother who insisted on education, she persevered. And changing schools helped as she found a wonderful teacher who guided her towards success in class 10.
From then on, there was no looking back as she completed her BSc and MSc, becoming not only the first graduate but also the first person to matriculate from her family.
Sudha was the first graduate from her family.
A few years later, she moved to Coimbatore in 2011 with her husband, Kumar, where she taught at a play school. Here, she learnt the importance of nutrition and all the different ways of making healthy food for children. When her daughter refused to eat spinach and other greens, the enterprising mother made podis (powder) of moringa, spinach, mint and more.
These were not just a hit with her daughter but also with Sudha’s friends who pushed her to convert it into a business. Over the past eight years, Sudha has brick by brick, selling over 37 varieties of podis, masalas, health mixes, soup powders and more.
Here’s her incredible journey.
Sudha’s parents were daily wage labourers who worked difficult jobs that paid very little. Her father would climb palm or coconut trees to prune them while her mother worked in sugarcane fields.
Money was hard to come by.
“At the age of four, my sister and I were sent to my grandmother’s. I studied there till class 5. There were over 100 students in a class and I didn’t have any tutors at home or otherwise. Since I failed class 5, my parents sent me to a government hostel,” Sudha shares with The Better India.
But things didn’t improve here either as she had to repeat class 6 and 7 too. Her brother and sister failed as well.
Sudha realised that the hostel made no difference and moved back home. Just at that time, the school had a new headmaster who conducted extra classes and solved doubts, helping her clear class 10 with flying colours.
Around the same time, palm tapping was banned in Namakkal, which meant an even meagre income for the family. Her mother fell sick, which drove Sudha to work before and after school.
“I would go to the sugarcane fields before school and do any work that came my way as our situation was dire. After that, I cycled to school. My evenings were similar. I would then sell the sugarcane, which greatly helped us,” she adds.
After class 12, she studied BSc while working.
“My mother wanted at least one of us to study ahead. She said that in life. I, too, am a strong believer in the same. It is a tool to move ahead in life and to achieve economic freedom,” she shares.
Around this time, her sister got married and Sudha had two choices — opt for higher studies or get married herself. It’s a no-brainer that Sudha chose the former by trading the money for her marriage for her BEd and MSc.
While Sudha was building a life with Kumar in Coimbatore, she also decided to attempt the TNPSC (Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission) exam. Wanting to see her succeed, Kumar even bought books for his new bride.
However, despite several attempts, she couldn’t clear the exam. And life happened in the meanwhile as the couple had two children.
But her life changed for the better after she started working at the play school getting a salary of Rs 4,000. Her son was 1.5 years at the time while her daughter was four.
“My daughter refused to eat anything and I didn’t know what to give her in the dabba (tiffin). I really had to try different ways to incorporate different nutrients in her diet. When I gave her dosas or idlis with the moringa powder or mint powder, she ate it with great relish. I added dals for protein in the powder,” she adds.
These powders were also a smart way to use greens that got spoiled as they didn’t have a fridge at that point. Their guests were also sent home with these podis. But after two or three times, they refused to accept it for free and asked Sudha to start charging for her products.
Sudha shares that she started making these powders with Rs 2,000 saved from her salary in 2016. Two years later, she registered the company ‘Iniya Organics’ and started doing it full time.
Iniya Organics has 37 kinds of masalas and spices
She would buy different kinds of spinach, moringa leaves, mint, and coriander from organic farmers nearby. After a laborious process of sorting them, she dried them in the sun, before powdering them in her mixie with her secret recipe.
Regular customers started asking for sambar and rasam powder. Using her mother’s recipe, she added these to her catalogue as well. Slowly, these powders found their way to more customers and organic stores in Coimbatore.
Sudha also attended different classes conducted by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) and other organisations on ways to make organic products, package and market them. Through a well-wisher, she also secured a loan for Rs 2 lakh which helped her set up a unit, buy a solar dryer and other machines. She was also able to hire two women to help her.
Kumar then quit his job to join the company and support his wife. Today, they supply their to over 500 families and are present in 25 organic shops in Tamil Nadu besides being available online.
They even opened their own shop in Coimbatore last month.
They now sell over 120 kg of products every month, which makes them over Rs 60,000 monthly. Their powders today include sambhar, rasam, different spinach (keerai) powders, idli podi masalas like biryani, chicken, mutton and soup powders. Their bestsellers are the soup powders.
She hopes that more women come forward to start their own business.
“I started this from our rented house with just Rs 2,000. You need to believe in yourself. There are many avenues to educate yourself and expand your horizons. The sky’s the limit,” she says.
You can buy the products .
Edited by Padmashree Pande, images courtesy: Sudha.
Hailing from a remote village in Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu, she grew up in abject poverty with two siblings. As their parents Sudha and her sister were sent to their grandparents’ home.
With no guidance and help for studies, the 40-year-old failed in classes 5, 6 and 7. While her siblings gave up and discontinued their education when they encountered failure, this teacher-turned-entrepreneur turned out to be a fighter.
Buoyed by her mother who insisted on education, she persevered. And changing schools helped as she found a wonderful teacher who guided her towards success in class 10.
From then on, there was no looking back as she completed her BSc and MSc, becoming not only the first graduate but also the first person to matriculate from her family.
Sudha was the first graduate from her family.
A few years later, she moved to Coimbatore in 2011 with her husband, Kumar, where she taught at a play school. Here, she learnt the importance of nutrition and all the different ways of making healthy food for children. When her daughter refused to eat spinach and other greens, the enterprising mother made podis (powder) of moringa, spinach, mint and more.
These were not just a hit with her daughter but also with Sudha’s friends who pushed her to convert it into a business. Over the past eight years, Sudha has brick by brick, selling over 37 varieties of podis, masalas, health mixes, soup powders and more.
Here’s her incredible journey.
‘Education will lift you up’
Sudha’s parents were daily wage labourers who worked difficult jobs that paid very little. Her father would climb palm or coconut trees to prune them while her mother worked in sugarcane fields.
Money was hard to come by.
“At the age of four, my sister and I were sent to my grandmother’s. I studied there till class 5. There were over 100 students in a class and I didn’t have any tutors at home or otherwise. Since I failed class 5, my parents sent me to a government hostel,” Sudha shares with The Better India.
But things didn’t improve here either as she had to repeat class 6 and 7 too. Her brother and sister failed as well.
Sudha realised that the hostel made no difference and moved back home. Just at that time, the school had a new headmaster who conducted extra classes and solved doubts, helping her clear class 10 with flying colours.
Around the same time, palm tapping was banned in Namakkal, which meant an even meagre income for the family. Her mother fell sick, which drove Sudha to work before and after school.
“I would go to the sugarcane fields before school and do any work that came my way as our situation was dire. After that, I cycled to school. My evenings were similar. I would then sell the sugarcane, which greatly helped us,” she adds.
After class 12, she studied BSc while working.
“My mother wanted at least one of us to study ahead. She said that in life. I, too, am a strong believer in the same. It is a tool to move ahead in life and to achieve economic freedom,” she shares.
Around this time, her sister got married and Sudha had two choices — opt for higher studies or get married herself. It’s a no-brainer that Sudha chose the former by trading the money for her marriage for her BEd and MSc.
Starting a business with Rs 2,000
While Sudha was building a life with Kumar in Coimbatore, she also decided to attempt the TNPSC (Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission) exam. Wanting to see her succeed, Kumar even bought books for his new bride.
However, despite several attempts, she couldn’t clear the exam. And life happened in the meanwhile as the couple had two children.
But her life changed for the better after she started working at the play school getting a salary of Rs 4,000. Her son was 1.5 years at the time while her daughter was four.
“My daughter refused to eat anything and I didn’t know what to give her in the dabba (tiffin). I really had to try different ways to incorporate different nutrients in her diet. When I gave her dosas or idlis with the moringa powder or mint powder, she ate it with great relish. I added dals for protein in the powder,” she adds.
These powders were also a smart way to use greens that got spoiled as they didn’t have a fridge at that point. Their guests were also sent home with these podis. But after two or three times, they refused to accept it for free and asked Sudha to start charging for her products.
Sudha shares that she started making these powders with Rs 2,000 saved from her salary in 2016. Two years later, she registered the company ‘Iniya Organics’ and started doing it full time.
Iniya Organics has 37 kinds of masalas and spices
She would buy different kinds of spinach, moringa leaves, mint, and coriander from organic farmers nearby. After a laborious process of sorting them, she dried them in the sun, before powdering them in her mixie with her secret recipe.
Regular customers started asking for sambar and rasam powder. Using her mother’s recipe, she added these to her catalogue as well. Slowly, these powders found their way to more customers and organic stores in Coimbatore.
Sudha also attended different classes conducted by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) and other organisations on ways to make organic products, package and market them. Through a well-wisher, she also secured a loan for Rs 2 lakh which helped her set up a unit, buy a solar dryer and other machines. She was also able to hire two women to help her.
Kumar then quit his job to join the company and support his wife. Today, they supply their to over 500 families and are present in 25 organic shops in Tamil Nadu besides being available online.
They even opened their own shop in Coimbatore last month.
They now sell over 120 kg of products every month, which makes them over Rs 60,000 monthly. Their powders today include sambhar, rasam, different spinach (keerai) powders, idli podi masalas like biryani, chicken, mutton and soup powders. Their bestsellers are the soup powders.
She hopes that more women come forward to start their own business.
“I started this from our rented house with just Rs 2,000. You need to believe in yourself. There are many avenues to educate yourself and expand your horizons. The sky’s the limit,” she says.
You can buy the products .
Edited by Padmashree Pande, images courtesy: Sudha.