Bengaluru: Balwinder Kaur is a resident of Bathinda, Punjab. 

She worked in different schools for a long time. But all thanks to family responsibilities, she quit her job and started doing her household chores. 

But the income that was generated was not good enough. So she thought of doing something different. That is when she decided to do some homemade business like pickles among others. 

However, her business froze. 

She says, “I have always been fond of making pickles. I learned this work from my grandmother and mother. That's why I thought why not start this business. After this, I did a 15-day course from Punjab Agricultural University. Then I participated in some training programmes. When I felt that I was trending for professional level work, I started making pickles from home and selling them to other shopkeepers”. 

She invested Rupees 10 thousand in the beginning. She prepared about 20 kg pickle. This pickle was sold out in a few days. She then increased the quantity. Along with pickles and chutney. She says that we had not kept any business plan. As the demand of people increased, she says they increased the quantity. Balwinder currently prepares pickles up to 5 quintals in a season.

Now with the orders increasing, her husband and children have joined hands. They have hired several people as well. Now they cut vegetables and fruits. 

They make different variety pickles according to each season. For this, they take raw material from nearby mandis and farmers. Millets are sourced from Tamil Nadu. Along with pickles, they also market amla candy, jam, marmalade, sorbet, chutney and multigrain flour.

With this effort, she earns Rs 1.5 lakh a month.