Born in a poor household in Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu, Sudha grew up in a family with little assistance for education. Her father and mother both worked as daily wage labourers. He would climb up palm or coconut trees to prune them. Her mother used to work in a sugarcane field. Her family was struggling to meet ends consistently.  She failed classes 5,6 and 7. While her siblings gave up, she persevered.

“Everyone was pressuring me to get married. I wanted to first complete my higher education and earn well enough to support my family. I asked my mother to give half of the money she saved for my wedding and jewellery for my BEd degree”, says Sudha.

She completed her BSc and MSc becoming not only the first graduate but the first person to complete matriculation in her family. She moved to Coimbatore with her husband in 2011 and started working as a teacher in a play school with a salary of Rs 4000. While teaching at the play school she was becoming aware of the importance of nutrition and all the different ways of making healthy food for children.

Her entrepreneurial venture started from a motherly instinct to nurture her daughter. Her daughter used to be reluctant to eat spinach and other greens. To make her consume all the nutrients of the leafy vegetables enterprising Sudha started to make podis (powder) of moringa, spinach, mint and more.

“When I gave her moringa powder or mint powder with dosas she would eat it with great relish. I would add dals for protein in the powder” says Sudha

The moringa powder was an instant hit with her daughter, and Sudha’s friends pushed her to convert it into an entrepreneurial venture. As Sudha did not have a fridge, these powders were a clever way to preserve the greens that get spoiled very easily. Their guests were also sent home with this powder. After a few times accepting these powders for free, they insisted that Sudha should start charging them for these powders. Since then, Sudha has been selling over 37 different types of podis, masalas, health mixes, soup powders and more.

Sudha started making these powders with Rs 2,000 which she saved from her salary in 2016. Two years later, she registered with the company ‘Iniya Organics’. The process of making these podis was rather easy. She would purchase different kinds of spinach, moringa leaves, mint and coriander from organic farmers nearby. Then she will go through a tedious process of sorting them and drying them in the sunlight. Next, she will powder them in her mixie with the secret recipe from her mother. Gradually she diversified the catalogue, and these catalogues were available in the organic stores in Coimbatore.

Sudha later secured a loan of Rs 2 lakh, which was instrumental in setting up a unit and buying a solar dryer and other machines. She hired two women to help her. Her husband Kumar also quit his job and joined the venture. Sudha would attend workshops conducted by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) and other organizations to learn more about manufacturing, packaging and marketing organic products.

As of now Sudha and Kumar have a store of Iniya Organics in Coimbatore. They supply their powder and masalas to more than 500 families and are present in 25 organic shops in Tamil Nadu. They sell approximately 170kg of products per month and earn approximately Rs. 50,000.

From an illiterate family and living in abject poverty to an M.Sc. and B.Ed. graduate to become an entrepreneur. This journey shows grit, dedication, passion and perseverance. She hopes that more women come forward to start their own businesses. Iniya Organics has won two awards, the Swayashakti Award from Shakti Masala and the Herb Award.

“I started this from our rented house with just Rs 2,000. You need to believe in yourself. There are many avenues to educate yourself and expand your horizons. The sky’s the limit,” she says.