E Week Yatra Stories
An affair with worms
Indira Institute of Business Studies, Pune
February 7, 10.00 am
Ewww!
I am not particularly fond of squiggly worms, but NEN E Cell members of Indira School of Business Studies surely are. And with good reason.
The E Cell this morning launched their campus company, a vermicomposting unit, this morning to celebrate E Week India.
The company was funded through a Rs 100 exercise - part of the E Cell induction program where E Cell members make money out of Rs 100 investment. The entrepreneurial students proved their mettle – Rs 23,000 was earned in 3 days!
The waste for the unit is collected from four canteens and a popular restaurant in the neighborhood. The six collection pits are populated with worms who help convert both kitchen and agriculture waste into valuable manure. Six nurseries have already signed up as customers for the manure, which is priced at Rs 40 per kg. “The unit has a capacity to produce 6 tonnes of manure a year. Right now, we are limiting the production for three months as we are still experimenting ways to improve the quality of the manure,” says NEN E Leader Pritesh Salunke, an agriculture studies graduate who is spearheading the effort.
“We have been thinking of this idea for eight months now. It’s the right business idea for our campus company as the investment is low and revenue is high. Also, we have a ready market needing high-quality manure,” adds Kumendra Raheja, NEN Faculty Leader, at the institute.
