After suffering a miscarriage due to acute liver infection that was caused by unhealthy and unsafe meat consumption, Kantalakshmi decided to start her own organic desi poultry farm.
“As a child I was pushed away from receiving an education. I was so eager to go to college and pursue sports but my father didn’t allow me.” Kantalakshmi married at the age of 18 and she immediately had a child. There was no chance for her to learn anything new. But this changed when the Self-Shakti Training (Inner Strength training) Program came to her village, Kadaripura, in Kolar district.
Malini, the Buzz Field Associate shares, “Before I would even ask the participants to ask questions, Kantalakshmi would raise her hand. Any opportunity to learn, Kantalakshmi will be there.” She would be the first person to come to the sessions and would even bring her three month old baby so that she could learn without being worried about her baby.
When she got to know that she could attend the Buzz Green programme, she wanted to make use of this opportunity to learn too. After completing the Buzz Green programme in 2022 she volunteered to become the Green Motivator for her village.
In the last few years, the villages in Kolar have seen a decline in the number of trees. Kantalakshmi realised this as the trees that were near her home too were slowly disappearing. She decided to do her bit and started to grow trees near home. She has grown multiple trees - mango, bel patra, and jamun. She also started to recycle water in her home and in her conversations with her villagers she explained to them how they could save water too. After the program, she noticed the immeasurable amount of litter in her village that she single-handedly took the initiative to clean the village.
It was during this time that she suffered from a miscarriage. This broke her but when she delved deeper into the reasons for her miscarriage, she found that the unhealthy meat that she consumed was one of the major contributors. She realised the issue of food security and access to healthy and safe food was not an issue she faces alone. This instigated her to do her bit for her community. The Buzz Green Program taught her about the benefits of desi-poultry poultry and organic farming and Kantalakshmi decided to start one of her own.
In May 2023, with an investment of Rs 50,000, that she loaned from a local lender and SHG, she started a farm with thirty chickens, four goats, two cows and one buffalo. Hers is a cruelty free farm with no chemicals forcefully injected into the chickens.
She has simultaneously started a kitchen garden with over five crops which include, ladies finger, potato, onion, beans and drum stick. Kantalakshmi has started a huge farm close to home and she uses recycled and reused products to run it. The water used for the farm and the garden is reused and the furniture utilised for the farm are those she made from scrap waste. From the kitchen gardens, she has just begun making informal sales after giving produce from it for free to her neighbours. Her income from it is still meagre, but she is certain that it will do well once the crops begin to flourish and her chickens grow healthier. She makes a total income of Rs. 15,000 and is also saving money because she doesn’t have to buy vegetables for everyday use.
Last year at the Buzz 'Women’s Day Event’, Kantalakshmi saw a group of women like her on stage and decided that she wanted to be one of them. This became her aspiration. She had just finished the Green module and she made up her mind that she would show up for her community and become a woman whose voice will be heard on a stage. Her enthusiasm, initiative and the drive to do the right for her community makes her an incredible role model. We are waiting for her to fulfil her dream - speaking on stage as a Buzz Superwoman, and inspiring other women.