After pursuing a diploma in computer science in 1999, Rajasthan’s Vinod Bharti started working as a computer tutor. However, he was forced to quit this work after five years as he was not getting many students at the village level.
He then pursued many odd jobs to earn a living, then finally in 2017, “I was looking for ways where I could start a business with less capital and space. One day, one of my friends suggested I try my hands at oyster pearl farming,” he shares.
To get a clear understanding of oyster pearl farming, Vinod undertook training from ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA), Odisha.
After returning home, he dug a 10×5 ft pond inside his home and released 500 oysters in it. Sadly, he lost 453 oysters within a month.
“I failed miserably. I overlooked the fact that we have a very different and hot environment here in Rajasthan. Even our water quality is different from the coastal state of Odisha,” he recalls.
“I also made a few mistakes in preparing the pond, and also while giving supplements, checking the pH and ammonia levels, and performing surgeries to extract pearls from the oysters,” he adds.
Vinod rectified these mistakes in the second batch. He bought another 1,000 oysters and released them in the pond.
“This time, I regularly checked the pH and the temperature in the pond. Ideally, the pH should be 7.5 [basic] and the temperature should be maintained between 25 and 30 degrees,” he informs.
“During summer, the temperature shoots to 50 degrees in our region. To maintain an ideal temperature, I installed a green shade and kept rotating water for 3-4 hours in a day,” he explains.
As he had hoped, the success rate this time was 70 percent. “With this, I made a profit of Rs 50,000 and recovered the investment amount,” he says.
Gradually, Vinod used the profits to expand pearl farming to four ponds. In the last batch, he managed to extract 10,000 pearls, earning an income of Rs 20 lakh – thrice the investment amount.
“This success didn’t come easy. When I had failed miserably, I had to face negative comments from my family as I forcefully established a pond inside our home and exhausted a huge sum,” he shares.
“But this did not prove to be a setback. I focused on using this failure as my motivation and to prove myself,” he adds.