When 35-year-old Jaleena Ignatious of Payannur in Kerala received a call about her brother’s tragic road accident on April 23, 2021, little did she know that the pain of losing her sibling would also mark the beginning of a life-defining mission.
Her brother, Maijo Ignatious, an ambitious entrepreneur, had been tirelessly working to build a waste management company in Payannur focused on tackling Kerala’s mounting plastic waste problem. But his untimely death in a vehicle accident four years ago left behind not only a grieving family but also a debt-laden startup on the verge of collapse. He was returning from Mahi with a truck load of plastic waste when the accident occurred.
“All I had was his mobile phone, which the police handed over from the accident site,” said Jaleena, an engineering graduate in computer science who was then working as a software engineer at an IT company in Kochi.
“I knew nothing about his business. But I realized that if I didn’t step in, we would lose everything — not just the money, but also his dream,” Jaleena told Open Digest.
Determined to honor her brother’s vision and salvage the family from financial ruin, Jaleena began studying the basics of waste management — in between her demanding tech job and household responsibilities. For two years, she juggled both roles, ensuring her salary supported the family while slowly piecing together the operations of the dormant company.
“I didn’t quit my job immediately. My income was crucial. Only after I had streamlined the operations and built a small team did I feel confident enough to leave the job,” she said.
Today, her relentless perseverance has paid off. The company, Thiruvonam Eco Industries Private Limited, which she incorporated in June 2021 in memory of her brother and built from scratch, now handles plastic waste collection and processing for 26 local self-governing bodies across Kerala.
With a current turnover of Rs five crore, the firm has grown into a reliable waste management partner, offering scientific segregation, recycling, and disposal solutions.
She not only fulfilled her brother’s incomplete mission but also turned it into a thriving enterprise contributing to a cleaner, greener Kerala. “I think he would be proud. This was his dream,” Jaleena said.
