Can you build a successful farming enterprise by mastering techniques from YouTube? The answer is yes. Three brothers from Idukki in Kerala are showing the world how a business enterprise can be successfully built without heavy investment and fancy business management qualifications. According to them, all you need is dedication to put in the best efforts, hard work, and an open mind to learn.
For the last eight years, Lijo Varghese, 29, Lince Varghese, 27, and Linto Varghese, 25, of Kallamakkal House, Kamakshy panchayat in Idukki have been successfully running a nursery that sells saplings of different fruit-bearing trees, plants, and vegetables. Born to Varghese and Lillikutty, who were traditional farmers, the siblings were passionate about farming right from their childhood days.
Apart from the nursery, they also undertake landscaping and gardening projects. Though all three ended their formal education after completing plus two, their urge to learn more about gardening and plant nursery made them watch YouTube videos from which they acquired knowledge on different high-yielding vegetables and farming techniques for their better growth and care.
Their three-acre nursery follows modern farming technology for pruning, growing plants, and also breeding fish. “We love farming. So after plus two, we decided to put our three-acre land to use by setting up a plant nursery where we can work together,” Lijo Varghese told “Open Digest“.
It was Lijo who first got into farming after completing his Plus Two education, while Lince and Linto followed suit after completing their Plus Two.
Their nursery, named Mertil, now has saplings of different varieties of fruits and herbs that include nutmeg, pomegranate, rambutan, mangosteen, and miracle fruit, etc. “We also educate our customers on how to take care of the plants,” Lijo said adding that they used to extensively watch YouTube videos to update themselves on new varieties of plants and farming techniques.
