“As a kid, I had never missed an opportunity to try out new things even if it meant getting yelled at by parents and teachers. The same continued when I grew up too. I have the passion for organic farming, so after completing my master’s degree in agriculture economics, I had spent almost two years in exploring the traditional farming practices grown in the tribal regions of Srikakulam and Vishakhapatnam, the north-coastal of Andhra Pradesh. I interacted with many local farmers and villagers traveling across the tribal areas to understand the intricacies of natural farming and their lifestyle. It was here that I discovered millets as a source of healthy living. I had decided to promote them as not only a healthier option to rice, but also a tastier one.
When I first introduced the concept of making foods with millets, there were no takers. People weren’t interested in my concept and even my own family refused to eat the foods made with millets because of its coarse nature. But I continued to experiment with more options to make recepes with millets and at the same time tried not to miss out on the taste factor. I was absolutely particular in bringing out a unique food concept to the people and that’s when I came up with an idea to develop custom made idlis. I had collaborated with the Acharya Nagarjuna Ranga Agricultural University in Guntur where I first experimented with making leaf millet idlis.
Later, with an investment of Rs 50,000, I started my idli stall in Vishakapatnam with the name “Vasena Poli” which means ‘alternative idlis.’ My business was picking up steadily till March and suddenly because of the lockdown, we faced the brunt. Now that the government has eased the lockdown restrictions, I reopened the shop ten days ago. We also started the new batter mix business recently in order to reach out to more customers across India. It wasn’t an easy journey so far but I am thankful for all the people who believed in my concept and offered their support throughout.”
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