Sarala was shortlisted
in the 2009 YBI Entrepreneur of the Year competition.
More on the competition.
"Sarala has been a very
inspiring person to her community and what really astonishes is her
goodwill to help other deserving and underprivileged women become
entrepreneurs."
Bharatiya Yuva Shakti
Trust programme manager
Sarala Bastian:
Arokia Foods, India
Supported by: Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust
In just a few years Sarala Bastian went from housewife to
budding entrepreneur, producing and marketing mushrooms with her
company Arokia Foods.
Since applying for a loan from Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust, the
business has grown rapidly, and she now sells a variety of products
across Chennai.
Not only does Sarala provide an inspirational example for her
community, but she is also determined to help others to follow in
her entrepreneurial footsteps, offering advice and guidance and
even setting up mushroom growing initiatives in slum areas and
jails.
Sarala, now 35, could not afford to attend school during her
childhood. At the age of 18 she married, moving with her husband
and their three small children to Chennai. Sarala was initially too
shy to go out, but was persuaded by a neighbour to go to self-help
groups run by an NGO.
Soon she had gained in confidence so much that she was selected
to attend a training session about self-employment at the Tamil
Nadu Agricultural University. Here she learnt about mushroom
production and, after further research, decided to start producing
them herself. Again her self help group put their trust in Sarala,
using the group’s savings to build her first hut for growing
mushrooms.
To date, Sarala has helped seven entrepreneurs start their own
businesses, and a further 19 have started mushroom production
units. News of Sarala’s success has spread across the region, and
now she is approached by ten entrepreneurs a month for help, with
even established large-scale industrialists coming to her for
advice.
Sarala has been putting 25% of her profits back into Arokia
Foods. Not only does she mean to expand her current products, she
aims to take the business international selling her dried mushrooms
abroad.
The help she has received has made Sarala wish to become a
mentor herself and also start her own institute to help
entrepreneurs.
More about the Entrepreneur of the
Year Award 2009