Young Entrepreneur: Janaki Sreekumar: Pioneering Mushroom Farming In Kerala

A desire to inspire others drives this Trivandrum based entrepreneur to scale greater heights of business success | By Sona Harish & Anjana George

It is true that a woman can prove herself and be successful in whatever she puts her mind to. Janaki Sreekumar entered into the mushroom business at a time when myths about the inedibility of mushrooms were prevalent among the fastidious Keralites. The CEO of Swadishta Mushrooms and pioneer of mushroom farming in Kerala smiles modestly saying, “Successful people are always ready to take risks and face challenges. With my husband, Sreekumar’s support today I am proud that I could bring mushroom dishes into daily menu of Malayalees.”   A post graduate in English literature, Janaki wanted to be independent and be her own master. It was in 2000 that she decided to take her husband’s help and know-how to experiment with mushroom gardening on a small scale. “I did not have any knowledge of farming. But I was sure that my husband who comes from an agricultural background, would help me with mushroom farming techniques. The reason I chose to cultivate mushrooms is because it was not known to many and hence there was less competition. Moreover, I could manage on my own.” Janaki’s husband Sreekumar is currently the Assistant Director of Agricultural Department, Rural Agricultural World Market, Nedumangad. Together the husband-wife duo started a small mushroom growing unit in their home at PTP Nagar, Trivandrum. Simultaneously, she researched the field by reading books on mushroom farming and enrolled herself in a training programme at the Agricultural College, Vellayani. “The training at the University boosted my confidence and growing mushrooms became an easy task without compromising on quality. I collect spawns (mushroom seeds) from Kerala Agricultural University for my regular farming needs.  I supplied my first crop of oyster mushrooms to friends and relatives. Their appreciation encouraged me to step into the real business world.” As a first step, Janaki distributed 200gm complementary packets of oyster mushrooms to the leading hotels and restaurants in the city. “The idea took off in a big way. My first customer, Arya Nivas prepared over forty items using mushrooms including the popular mushroom masala dosa. Those who tasted these dishes became regulars there and this increased the demand for mushrooms.”

Without any advertisement and marketing strategies, Janaki’s clientele got bigger. She also started selling home-made mushroom cutlets, rolls and pickles. “I attended more advanced training programmes across India and learnt more about mushroom cultivation and spawn production. As more orders started coming in, I hired an assistant to help me out with the oyster mushroom production.” Janaki used to collect spawns (mushroom seeds) from Kerala Agricultural University for her regular farming needs. Later, when the University stopped supplying spawn in 2002, she decided to grow her own spawns and supply to other farmers too. “By then, the number of employees had increased, so did the production and my whole house was occupied by mushroom beds and the spawn production lab. That's when we decided to shift the mushroom farming unit to another house nearby.” Janaki named her dream business venture Swadishta Mushrooms (which means tasty mushrooms) and took a more professional approach by introducing recipes of chilli mushroom printed on the packets sold. “A newspaper carried an article about me on Women’s Day and this gave me more popularity. Now we supply 2000-3000 spawns in a month in and around Kerala. I deliver mushrooms to Kalavara, Taj, Sindoor, Leela, Flavours and many other restaurants inTrivandrum.” When disposal of the used mushroom beds became an issue, Janaki and her husband set up a vermi-composting unit, Kuleena Vermi Farms through which she sells organic compost to farmers and supplies earthworms for vermi composting. Swadishta Mushrooms outlet now conducts free training programmes on spawn production and mushroom farming every last Saturday of the month. Janaki gladly shares her knowledge and experience with budding farmers without any fear of competition. “I want every household to have a small mushroom garden to cultivate mushrooms for home cooking needs. I want Keralites to accept mushroom as a common ingredient in preparing dishes because of its nutritional value.”   Janaki’s business continues to grow by leaps and bounds with future plans for a full-fledged mushroom farm and laboratory and a walk-in restaurant with lip smacking mushroom dishes. Her business venture provides support and employment to several women who earn their livelihood working at this unit. This distinguished businesswoman and trainer is truly an inspiration to all those who dream of becoming self-sufficient, adventurous and dedicated entrepreneurs. Anyone who gets acquainted with Janaki Sreekumar will agree that the key ingredient of her success is her simplicity, warmth and willingness to help others.   Note: Dear readers, you can contact Janaki on her moblie:9447136382 Resi: 04712363824.

Kareena Kapoor Khan

 

 

Are you going to rent? Know all about tenancy

The Times Of India 

Neha Nagpal | July 19, 2015 @ 11:00 AM

A broker helps you find out a suitable rented accommodation, makes you meet a landlord; if you like the property, an 11 month rent agreement is ready. Is this all you should know about tenancy? Certainly not. There are many terminologies/jargons that one should be aware of. Those who are renting out the property for the first time should know the different types of tenancies. Let’s start with the basics first.

Who is a tenant? He/ she is the person who pays rent to use or occupy land, a building, or other property owned by another.

What is tenancy? In simple language, it is the period of a tenant's occupancy or possession. This is an arrangement whether by formal lease or informal agreement under which the owner (the landlord) allows another (the tenant) to take exclusive possession of land in consideration for rent, with or without a premium, either: for an agreed period of on a periodic basis until formally terminated.

Who is a landlord? Landlord is the owner a land/property who permits the right to exclusive possession of his/her entire property to tenants or part of their land to another person for a specific period through lease or tenancy.

The four types of tenancies:
Tenancy for Years: It specifies a term for the agreement. It can be one month or one year. The lease terminates automatically at the specified end date without the need for notice by either the landlord or tenant.
Tenancy from Period to Period: It specifies a definite initial time and is automatically renewable unless terminated by either the landlord or tenant. The lease could be from week to week, month to month or year to year. Under this, a lease is renewable indefinitely for a like period of time.

Tenancy at Will: ‘Will’ means by choice. It is based on the whims of the landlord and the tenant. In simple words, the tenancy is in continuation until either the landlord or tenant terminates the agreement. This can be terminated instantly on a notice given by either party. But, usually in practice, landlords provide a reasonable amount of time required by the tenant to vacate the property.

Tenancy at Sufferance: It is a situation where a tenant remains on a property even after his/her lease /agreement has been expired, before the landlord demands the tenant vacate the property. In this case, a tenant is required to meet the conditions of the original lease conditions, including payment of any rents. Otherwise, the tenant can be evicted at any time without notice. The only difference between a tenant at sufferance and a trespasser is that the former had at one time a right to occupy the property. After acquiring the property, you may have to make some changes. This called Tenant's improvements. These are improvement done to meet the needs of and carried out wholly or partly at the expense of the tenant.

Other terms that you should know:

Premium Rent - A rent which is higher than would reasonably be expected because the tenant is particularly anxious to secure the property.

Rent free period: An agreed period, usually for several weeks or months, during which a lessee is allowed to occupy the subject premises without payment of rent. This is considered in cases like:

1) In consideration for the tenant bearing expenditure on such matters interiors or fitting out premises or carrying out repairs or improvements.

2) To reflect market conditions which favour tenant e.g. Where the space available for letting exceeds the total tenant demand in that area or

3) By virtue of both cases

Rental in advance: Comprises a lump sum payment to the landlord at the beginning of the lease term, which is thereafter adjusted in equal installments over the lease term against the monthly base rental payable by the tenant. The advance amount generally ranges between 3 to 18 months depending on the city, type, location of property and the period of the lease.

Now that you are aware of the different types of tenancy, the next time you search for a rented accommodation opt for the type of tenancy which suits you the best. Neha has written on industries such as real estate, franchise and outdoor advertising.
You can also follow Neha on Twitter @nehanagpal

General Knowledge - water , solution

1.What is Reverse Osmosis or RO ?





Ans-

A process by which a solvent passes through a porous membrane in the direction opposite to that for natural osmosis when subjected to a hydro static pressure greater than the osmotic pressure.

Reverse Osmosis, a water treatment method traditionally known for removing salt from seawater, is also used to purify drinking water by forcing untreated water molecules through a semi-permeable membrane or filter. The membrane blocks contaminants and the impurities are subsequently expelled from the environment. The result is pure, clean drinking water.

Reverse Osmosis is a technology that is used to remove a large majority of contaminants from water by pushing the water under pressure through a semi-permeable membrane.

1.Water containing impurities enters the system
2.Impurities are stopped and rejected at the membrane surface
3.Water pressure forces water molecules through the membrane
4.The purified water is then sent directly to the faucet
5.Impurities are expelled from the system and sent to a drain underneath the sink area.


How it work?

The Reverse Osmosis membrane has a tight pore structure (less than 0.0001 micron or 500,000 times less than the diameter of a human hair) that effectively removes up to 99% of all contaminants and impurities such as total dissolved solids, chemicals, bacteria and viruses from drinking water. Anti-microbial filters used in Reverse Osmosis also help to remove unwanted odors, colors and tastes from water. Reverse Osmosis filtration technology is so effective that it is used by most leading water bottling plants.


What  is Hard and Soft water ?

Ans



Water that does not form an immediate lather with soap is called hard water. Hardness of water is due to the presence of soluble calcium, magnesium or iron compounds. The most common compounds are calcium bicarbonate Ca(HCO3)2, magnesium bicarbonate Mg(HCO3)2, calcium sulphate CaSO4 and magnesium sulphate MgSO4. The addition of soap forms an insoluble scum. The scum consists of insoluble salts of these metals. 

Removal of these salts from the solution makes the water soft. Water that forms an immediate lather with soap is called soft water. Such water does not have dissolved salts of calcium, magnesium and iron.

Types of Hardness:

Depending upon the behaviour of water towards soap, hardness is divided into two types.

1. Temporary hardness:

Hardness of water due to the presence of soluble bicarbonates of calcium and Magnesium is called temporary hardness. When water containing dissolved carbon dioxide passes over solid carbonates (chalk or limestone deposits etc.), these compounds get dissolved in water. Rainwater and distilled water are always soft because they do not have dissolved (soluble) salts.

Temporary hardness is removed in the following ways:
By boiling the water: On boiling, the soluble bicarbonate is decomposed into insoluble carbonate.
Chemical methods.

By adding slaked lime [Ca(OH)2] to hard water, insoluble carbonates are formed. The insoluble calcium carbonate is the ‘fur’ (or scale) formed in kettles, boilers, pipes, etc.
2. Permanent hardness:

This is due to the presence of chlorides and sulphates of calcium and magnesium. Such a hardness can be removed by the addition of washing soda. This removes both the temporary and the permanent hardness of water.