After an exhausting week at her workplace in Kochi, Parvathy Mohanan comes back to her quaint hometown in the scenic locale of Muhamma gram panchayat in Kerala’s Alappuzha district.
The engineer’s weekend starts with admiring her of portulaca flowers spread over half an acre of land in the compound of her home.
“I wake up early in the morning and inspect the weekly progress of my plants. I feel so refreshed and stress-free just looking at these vibrant flowers. It provides much-needed relief from my hectic job environment,” she says.
Started as a hobby, the 23-year-old software tester has now transformed her passion of portulaca farming for these into a profitable venture. Her business has reached a point where she fulfils 50-100 orders daily, boosting her monthly income by Rs 1 lakh.
In conversation with The Better India, Parvathy explains how she established the multi-lakh business while juggling a full-time job.
Started as a hobby, Parvathy has transformed her passion for portulaca farming into a profitable venture.
When Parvathy was pursuing her masters in engineering in Thrissur, her college was temporarily closed in 2020 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. She came back to her hometown and started attending online classes.
While she already had a small collection of portulaca plants at her home, she procured 30 varieties of the plant from a local seller. Her entrepreneurial journey started rather unassumingly when she posted some pictures of the plants on Facebook.
This sparked an interest among various gardening groups in the social networking site.
“Many people started enquiring if I sold the plants. I thought of commercialising the collection. I posted a sale post and got 10 orders from Facebook. That was the initial beginning of this business,” she shares.
The response was encouraging enough to turn her hobby into a business. So, in the first year of college, Parvathy started commercialising the plants from her garden.
As her garden grew, so did her expertise and fame. Coverage by bloggers and YouTube channels further fueled her business which brought in a flood of orders. Using the profits from her sales, she started expanding her collection.
As her business grows, Parvathy dreams of balancing her work and passion while expanding her venture.
“As a college student, I did not have enough money to purchase more and more varieties of portulaca. Some of the varieties cost Rs 5,000 per plant. But I wanted to have them in my collection. I started using the profits of the sales to invest in more varieties,” she adds.
Today, her collection has grown to an impressive 300 varieties sourced from across India and places as far off as Thailand and Brazil. “It is such a lovely view when all the varieties bloom in different colours,” she says with pride.
Parvathy looked after her garden every day until last year when she secured a job at an IT company in Kochi after completion of her studies. Despite challenges such as managing her full-time job and adjusting to the plant’s needs based on seasonal variations, she thrives in her dual role.
Every weekend, she manages to come back to her hometown to manage her business.
“I have also hired two women workers who take care of the garden when I am not around. I have taught them all the expertise required to do this,” she says.
Today, Parvathy’s collection has grown to an impressive 300 varieties.
She has mastered the nuances of portulaca care by focusing on essentials like direct sunlight, minimal watering, regular pruning, and the use of organic fertilisers like cow dung. Besides, portulacas are known for their vibrant blooms and minimal care requirements. This fits perfectly into her busy schedule.
Sharing challenges in portulaca farming, she says, “In the rainy season, it is very difficult to maintain a few varieties like Jumbo. I repot these plants and maintain new cuttings so that their roots do not rot in the excess rain water.”
With portulaca farming, she manages to get 50-100 orders in a day. With this, she says to generate an additional income of Rs 1 lakh. As her business grows, Parvathy dreams of balancing her work and passion while expanding her venture. She also encourages others to opt for farming.
“Anyone in need of additional income can do this as a business also. The key is to grow low-maintenance but high demand plants like portulaca and find a trustworthy team to carry out the work in your absence,” she says.
Rajani Mohanan, who has seen Parvathy toil hard while managing both the office and the farm, says, “My daughter started this business during the COVID-19 pandemic when she was just a college student. This has become an extra source of income for her and she is able to manage all her expenses with ease and have some left for enjoyment as well.”
When Parvathy returns to Kochi for her work, Rajani takes over some of her responsibilities here like helping with order packaging. She shares how the business has also helped them bond more.
Parvathy’s story is not just one of entrepreneurial success but also a lesson in pursuing one’s passion against the odds. Her journey from a hobbyist to a successful entrepreneur highlights the potential of turning a simple passion into a , and her story continues to unfold, one bloom at a time.
“I get a lot of compliments and appreciation that at a young age, I am doing very well. But if I had not been cultivating these flowers, not only would I be losing money but I would also be losing my medium of releasing stress because these plants are like my happy pills,” she adds.
Edited by Padmashree Pande; All photos: Parvathy Mohanan.
The engineer’s weekend starts with admiring her of portulaca flowers spread over half an acre of land in the compound of her home.
“I wake up early in the morning and inspect the weekly progress of my plants. I feel so refreshed and stress-free just looking at these vibrant flowers. It provides much-needed relief from my hectic job environment,” she says.
Started as a hobby, the 23-year-old software tester has now transformed her passion of portulaca farming for these into a profitable venture. Her business has reached a point where she fulfils 50-100 orders daily, boosting her monthly income by Rs 1 lakh.
In conversation with The Better India, Parvathy explains how she established the multi-lakh business while juggling a full-time job.
Started as a hobby, Parvathy has transformed her passion for portulaca farming into a profitable venture.
From 30 to 300 varieties of plants
When Parvathy was pursuing her masters in engineering in Thrissur, her college was temporarily closed in 2020 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. She came back to her hometown and started attending online classes.
While she already had a small collection of portulaca plants at her home, she procured 30 varieties of the plant from a local seller. Her entrepreneurial journey started rather unassumingly when she posted some pictures of the plants on Facebook.
This sparked an interest among various gardening groups in the social networking site.
“Many people started enquiring if I sold the plants. I thought of commercialising the collection. I posted a sale post and got 10 orders from Facebook. That was the initial beginning of this business,” she shares.
The response was encouraging enough to turn her hobby into a business. So, in the first year of college, Parvathy started commercialising the plants from her garden.
As her garden grew, so did her expertise and fame. Coverage by bloggers and YouTube channels further fueled her business which brought in a flood of orders. Using the profits from her sales, she started expanding her collection.
As her business grows, Parvathy dreams of balancing her work and passion while expanding her venture.
“As a college student, I did not have enough money to purchase more and more varieties of portulaca. Some of the varieties cost Rs 5,000 per plant. But I wanted to have them in my collection. I started using the profits of the sales to invest in more varieties,” she adds.
Today, her collection has grown to an impressive 300 varieties sourced from across India and places as far off as Thailand and Brazil. “It is such a lovely view when all the varieties bloom in different colours,” she says with pride.
Balancing passion and profession efficiently
Parvathy looked after her garden every day until last year when she secured a job at an IT company in Kochi after completion of her studies. Despite challenges such as managing her full-time job and adjusting to the plant’s needs based on seasonal variations, she thrives in her dual role.
Every weekend, she manages to come back to her hometown to manage her business.
“I have also hired two women workers who take care of the garden when I am not around. I have taught them all the expertise required to do this,” she says.
Today, Parvathy’s collection has grown to an impressive 300 varieties.
She has mastered the nuances of portulaca care by focusing on essentials like direct sunlight, minimal watering, regular pruning, and the use of organic fertilisers like cow dung. Besides, portulacas are known for their vibrant blooms and minimal care requirements. This fits perfectly into her busy schedule.
Sharing challenges in portulaca farming, she says, “In the rainy season, it is very difficult to maintain a few varieties like Jumbo. I repot these plants and maintain new cuttings so that their roots do not rot in the excess rain water.”
With portulaca farming, she manages to get 50-100 orders in a day. With this, she says to generate an additional income of Rs 1 lakh. As her business grows, Parvathy dreams of balancing her work and passion while expanding her venture. She also encourages others to opt for farming.
“Anyone in need of additional income can do this as a business also. The key is to grow low-maintenance but high demand plants like portulaca and find a trustworthy team to carry out the work in your absence,” she says.
Rajani Mohanan, who has seen Parvathy toil hard while managing both the office and the farm, says, “My daughter started this business during the COVID-19 pandemic when she was just a college student. This has become an extra source of income for her and she is able to manage all her expenses with ease and have some left for enjoyment as well.”
When Parvathy returns to Kochi for her work, Rajani takes over some of her responsibilities here like helping with order packaging. She shares how the business has also helped them bond more.
Parvathy’s story is not just one of entrepreneurial success but also a lesson in pursuing one’s passion against the odds. Her journey from a hobbyist to a successful entrepreneur highlights the potential of turning a simple passion into a , and her story continues to unfold, one bloom at a time.
“I get a lot of compliments and appreciation that at a young age, I am doing very well. But if I had not been cultivating these flowers, not only would I be losing money but I would also be losing my medium of releasing stress because these plants are like my happy pills,” she adds.
Edited by Padmashree Pande; All photos: Parvathy Mohanan.