Twelve years ago, Usha Rani and her husband began experimenting with natural farming on their 3.5-acre holding. A family health crisis during the pandemic convinced her that chemical-free food was not a luxury but a necessity, and she committed fully to regenerative methods taught through the Save Soil Movement.

Turning Grain into Gold

Instead of selling paddy at the local trader’s price of ₹18–23 per kg, Usha Rani invested in a small huller, polished her traditional rice varieties—Karuppu Kavuni, Thooyamalli, Kattuyanam and Thanga Samba—and marketed them directly to urban consumers for ₹80–150 per kg. Even the husk became cattle feed, eliminating waste and cutting costs. The result: fewer bags harvested than her chemical-farming neighbours, yet far higher net income.

A Cottage Industry of 30-plus Products

Rice was only the beginning. Today she processes or sources raw material from fellow natural farmers and offers:

• Traditional foods: health mixes, dosa and murukku flours, rice laddus, millet snacks
• Herbal personal care: turmeric-sandal soaps, face-mask powders
• Eco-home essentials: citrus bio-enzyme cleaners, natural dish and floor powders
• Cow-dung handicrafts: incense sticks, mosquito coils, clay-dung diyas

Demand routinely outstrips supply—her rice even features on the grocery list of a leading Chennai film director.

Sharing Knowledge, Spreading Impact

Recognised by the local Agriculture Department, Usha Rani now hosts official training days on her farm. In the past year alone she has taught 45 farmers to brew low-cost bio-inputs and guided many more to recover crops once written off to pests. Her message is simple: “Natural farming lifts soil, health and income together; every part of the harvest has value.”

Economic & Ecological Gains

• Input savings: On-farm compost, green manures and bio-pesticides slash purchased inputs to near-zero.
• Soil revival: Continuous organic matter returns have restored fertility, reducing water needs and 
• stabilising yields.
• Women’s enterprise: Local women earn supplemental income assembling value-added products under her mentorship.
  
  

Why It Matters

Usha Rani’s journey illustrates the core thesis of SS-TKV’s Farmer Enterprise Development vertical: with the right skills, even a smallholder can climb the value chain, keep profits within the village, and become an ambassador for healthy soils and healthy communities.