Andy
Move over, diamonds. Earthworms are this woman’s best friends – they helped her start a company at age 23 that now earns 1 crore a year!
Sana Khan, started Meerut-based SJ Organics vermicomposting company when she was in her fourth year of college. Today, her company makes Rs 1 crore a year and provides employment to more than 30 people.
Vermicomposting is a process of preparing enriched compost with the use of earthworms. Earthworms consume biomass and excrete it in digested form called worm casts, which has been termed as ‘black gold’ due to its nutrient rich properties. Earthworms live upto three years and rapidly reproduce making the process sustainable and cheap. Apart from its growing importance as an integral component of the organic farming system, vermicomposting is also regarded as clean, sustainable and a zero-waste approach as microbes assist earthworms in waste degradation on a large scale.
In 2014, at the age of 23, Sana started SJ Organics with the help of her brother, Junaid Khan who helped finance the business.
Talking about her business plans for the future, Sana says she has recently bought a one acre land in Abdullapur on the outskirts of Meerut where she plans to expand production and also produce new products like vermi wash.
Signing off with a message for women entrepreneurs, Sana says, “There’s a myth that women can only do household work. Women shouldn’t shy away from entering the agriculture industry, there is immense scope and plenty of opportunities. Women can reach any heights they want. It would be a boon for our economy if more women actively enter the agriculture sector.”
