This story is from October 17, 2020

Karnataka: Tumakuru man makes most of job loss, builds thriving areca plate biz

When Ravi R lost his job like lakhs of others during the lockdown, he refused to despair and instead was determined to find an opportunity in the crisis. The 50-year-old, a resident of Chikkanayakanahalli in Tumakuru district, decided to follow his instincts and, within months, built a thriving business selling areca plates and coconut shells.
Karnataka: Tumakuru man makes most of job loss, builds thriving areca plate biz
Ravi R says he has conducted business worth Rs 35 lakh since he began selling areca plates and coconut shells
BENGALURU: When Ravi R lost his job like lakhs of others during the lockdown, he refused to despair and instead was determined to find an opportunity in the crisis. The 50-year-old, a resident of Chikkanayakanahalli in Tumakuru district, decided to follow his instincts and, within months, built a thriving business selling areca plates and coconut shells.
Ravi was employed with a small-time contractor, but that ended when the lockdown was enforced.
“I decided to do something on my own and began looking for opportunities,” Ravi said. “My focus was on locally available material.”
When Unlock 1.0 began, he noticed a huge demand for areca plates with hotels preferring them to re-usable plates owing to viral fears. Also, plastic plates, largely from China, faced massive supply disruptions. The demand for areca plates was in fact a global phenomenon.
“A friend helped me buy the machinery,” Ravi said. “I have since manufactured about 7 lakh plates after Unlock1.0 and also exported them to countries like Nepal, Israel and the UK,” he told TOI. “I don’t own any agricultural land. I buy areca palm leaves from farmers and manufacture plates. We can make 4,000 plates a day. We sell them at Rs 5 apiece and, so far, have done business of Rs 35 lakh.”
He went on to say, “Covid-19 has really taught me there is plenty of opportunity for business. Many things have changed and there is now space for local products,” he added.
As with areca plates, coconut shells are in great demand. The shells are used as containers to store small items, besides being used as plant holders, bird feeders and ornamental purposes. Ravi supplies polished coconut shells and has produced about 5,000 of them.
“People are wary of using plastic items. Tumakuru is famous for coconut plantations and polished shells are in great demand,” Ravi said. “We polish the shells and supply to dealers. We sell it for Rs 9 apiece and it is exported to countries like Israel, US and Nepal among others,” he said. Items made of shells cost at least Rs 300 apiece on e-commerce portals.
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