Haldwani: The water and youth of the mountains should benefit the mountains. This has been emphasized for decades, as migration has been the biggest problem in the state. Due to the lack of basic facilities, people are forced to move to cities. It’s easy to talk from the plains, but life in mountainous regions is extremely difficult. Now, young people who are creating self-employment opportunities while staying in their villages are showing the way for future generations by facing these challenges. The special thing is that they consider their decision to return to the mountains from the cities and work there as correct.
Sanjay Nayal from Letibunga in Mukteshwar had a journey similar to those youths who wanted to study in the village and then get a job in the city. But after a few years, he decided to work for himself and today he has established his identity among hundreds of people. A year ago, Sanjay started the work of delivering mountain products to people. Now he is happy with his decision and is achieving continuous growth.
Overcoming Challenges: Education and Initial Career Struggles
It was not easy at all for Sanjay. After completing his intermediate from Dhanachuli, he moved to Haldwani. He enrolled in college for a BCA. After completing his studies, he was associated with a private company for two years. In 2017, Sanjay was not satisfied with this work, so he started preparing for competitive exams. During his studies, he got the idea of self-employment. Mukteshwar has many types of fruits, and he started researching how to get them to the market. His father Ganesh Nayal and mother Leela Nayal were involved in farming, so some products were already made at home.
The Breakthrough: Online Sales and Growing Demand
Sanjay says that once he posted on Facebook to sell jam and pickles and received a very good response. About thirty people ordered from him. After that, he thought of selling fruits online because Mukteshwar has a lot of apples. He started the website seedhepaahadse.in, through which he began selling mountain products. He named his brand “Taste Organic…” Initially, Sanjay only sold jams and pickles, but now he delivers more than 15 organic products across the country. He has sold 1,200 units of Buransh juice in one go.The products of his company are also listed on renowned platforms like Amazon and Flipkart. The special thing is that Sanjay takes the help of local people to make these products, creating employment opportunities as well.
Sanjay Nayal explains that there is a lack of resources in mountainous regions. This is why young people are leaving the villages and going to cities, but it is not easy to settle there either. Hence, he decided to start self-employment. Initially, there are problems, but studying continuously solves many things. If planned correctly, mountain products can be consumed in the local market itself. There is an extra transportation cost to send them to the plains, so we are focused on the local market. Online is the best option for outside. When we started this work, after making the products, we used to deliver them ourselves. It made it easier for us to get feedback from customers. We have shaped our company by learning from the customers. It feels good to be successful in providing employment to local people.
