When the Covid-induced lockdown and subsequent economic slowdown ruined his finances and career prospects, this private school teacher from Idukki in Kerala took up a spade and walked right into the field. Five years have gone by since he gave up his meagrely paying teaching job for farming. Now, 52-year-old Sibi K John is content with his decision to return to farming because his venture “Pearl’s Arrowroot Products” now earns lakhs of revenue every year.
“My family has been traditional farmers but after my post-graduation in English and B.Ed, I took up teaching and became a teacher at a private CBSE school. But Covid upended my career and finances. I realised that I should do something more rewarding in my life to stay happy and earn a decent income. I took up arrowroot cultivation on my land and now I am extremely happy for shifting from teaching to farming,” Sibi told “Open Digest.”
Sibi now grows arrowroot on one acre as an inter-crop on his three acres of land adjacent to him at Moollamattam in Idukki. Rather than selling raw arrowroot in the market, Sibi found huge demand for arrowroot powder in the market and set up a small processing unit to make arrowroot powder.
“There are a lot of health benefits to arrowroot as it contains potassium, sodium, zinc, protein, calcium, and magnesium. I have a regular set of customers who buy the powder from me. I also supply the powder to pharma and other food processing companies that make different products from arrowroot powder for exporting,” Sibi said.
As arrowroot is a seasonal crop, Sibi also cultivates banana, tapioca, and other vegetables on his three-acre land. “People who know the health benefits of arrowroot prefer the arrowroot powder over the highly commercialised energy drink products,” Sibi said.
Sibi added that he is planning to come out with several value-added products in the future. “People are looking for healthy alternatives to several products now available in the market, and arrowroot powder is the best option. There is a growing demand for products made from arrowroot powder,” he added.
