Ilam. Hima Devi Bhandari of Chulachuli Rural Municipality-2 in the district has been earning Rs 40,000 a month by selling gourds. She has become an exemplary character who can make her family and society prosperous by showing that nothing is impossible from agriculture.
Bhandari is found in the vegetable garden early in the morning. Her daily routine is to take the produce to the market in the afternoon, sell it, and return to the vegetable garden in the evening. Stating that vegetables and fruits are produced only in season, she opined that she could earn a lot of income if she could cultivate vegetables in the off-season.
Bhandari said that she cultivates various agricultural products on 10 bighas of land. ‘Now it is time to eat green corn, there are also various vegetables. “We have only six acres of land of our own. We are cultivating the rest on rent,” she said. She said that most of the time in the field is spent on gourds. The gourds, which started production last October, are still being sold. Initially, they were sold at Rs 170 per gourd, but now they are being sold at Rs 50.
She takes the agricultural produce to Damak in Jhapa and sells it. She goes to this market, which is about seven kilometers away, every day. Bhandari said that she earns more than Rs 40,000 per month from gourds. She said, “I sold gourds and sent my son and daughter-in-law to Japan. There is no problem in running the household.”
She mentioned that the loan of Rs 1.5 million taken to send her son and daughter-in-law to Japan is about to be repaid. Apart from gourd, Bhandari said that local kurilo, bodi, munta, other vegetables and fruits are being produced. She said that she also sells mohi and nauni ghee by making curd at home, adding that she also takes her own products to the market and sells the products produced in the village.
‘Some people also call her Dahiwali Didi after seeing that she sells curd and mohi. Karma has also made her Dahiwali Didi. It makes me feel even happier to be called by this name,’ said Bhandari. Her husband is a Bhupu police officer. Bhandari said that her husband takes the products produced to the village of Chulachuli. ‘There is no need to wander around in densely populated areas. “If you sell it by walking, the price is expensive,” she said.
Bhandari said that she has been continuously engaged in this profession for 17 years and is now involved in commercial vegetable farming. She informed that she recently participated in a grant program from the local body. Bhandari, who runs Deepjyoti Agricultural Farm, shared her experience that off-season vegetable farming yields more income than seasonal ones. Emphasizing the need for organic production in agriculture, she informed that she uses the manure of cows and goats at home.
Says that she has employed 10 people, Bhandari said that some are employed on an hourly basis and some are on daily wages. She says that people with high blood pressure and diabetes come to their homes looking for gourds. .
Five thousand for a single gourd
Bhandari informed that she earned Rs. 5 to Rs. 7,000 from a single gourd. She said that even if the gourd is sold as a vegetable, it costs up to Rs. 200, more benefit can be gained from its seeds. She informed that three seeds of 50 are sold from home.
‘Dhwase and ghee gourds are in high demand in the market. There is no problem in marketing them. Since large-seeded gourds have more seeds, we also exchange prices. Small-seeded gourds have less seeds, so their prices are lower. “In addition to gourd seeds, vegetable seeds including beans, cucumbers, and beans are also sold equally,” said Bhandari.
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