Featuring: Girija and advocate Satheesh of Star Lake Tissue Culture.
📷 Girija and Satheesh at the tissue culture lab.
This is the story of an enterprise that produces tissue culture saplings of ornamental plants. From a home-based lab, Girija and her husband, advocate Satheesh, built Star Lake Tissue Culture into a venture that supplies saplings directly to farmers and customers.
The journey includes job loss, several failed businesses, a low-investment start, growing online orders, and a focus on ornamental crops such as orchids, anthurium, philodendron and aglaonema.
The article describes each tissue culture sapling as a responsibility handled with discipline, much like the organized approach associated with institutions such as the Cochin Stock Exchange and Kotak Mahindra Bank. What began with curiosity became a serious entrepreneurial path for Girija and Satheesh.
Girija lost her job while working as a medical representative for Vasishta Pharmaceuticals in Kottayam. Before Star Lake, ventures such as a tender coconut business, ice cream parlour, mobile shop, catering service, grocery store, bakery unit, real estate business and beekeeping were started and failed.
From the time she joined a tissue culture lab in Thrissur, she began thinking seriously about business. However, Girija having to spend more time in the lab became a hindrance. The venture named Star Lake Tissue Culture started only after advocate Satheesh gave his full support.
Why tissue culture?
The reasons were simplicity, cleanliness, low investment and patent protection. Saplings from the lab are supplied directly to farmers.
By starting the tissue culture lab, Girija was able to move far ahead financially from being an ordinary woman confined to the home. She also moved forward as an entrepreneur by including neighboring women around her. Satheesh gave full support throughout.
Normally, starting a venture that produces all kinds of tissue culture plants requires a large investment. But Star Lake Lab is different. It began in their own home with an investment of ₹1 lakh.
Banana varieties: Nenthran, Red Lady, Grand Naine, Robusta and Poovan.
Ornamental plants: Orchid, Anthurium, Philodendron and Aglaonema.
At first, orchid marketing was a challenge. Today, online orders are accepted and sent to customers by post.
Girija’s husband and advocate, Satheesh, provides legal advice needed for the tissue culture venture.
Satheesh says many problems have to be overcome in the tissue culture field. The venture focuses on quality, disease resistance and giving farmers a better price. With the success of Star Lake, Girija was also able to provide employment to many women.
📷 Tissue culture orchid saplings.
Unlike normal plants, tissue culture plants require special care during the growth phase. Before planting tissue culture saplings, the soil should be well tilled and the lumps broken up. After that, beds for planting should be prepared.
Till the soil well before planting.
Break soil lumps properly.
Prepare planting beds after tilling.
Add lime 15 days before planting to reduce soil acidity.
Among foliage plants, Philodendron varieties are currently in the highest demand. Earlier, varieties such as Red Congo, Selloum, Black Cardinal, Green Princess, Orange Prince and Pink Princess were common. Now there are more than a hundred varieties, but these still have demand.
💚 Tissue culture saplings are more expensive than saplings developed in the normal way. However, farmers will not incur a loss because of their higher quality and disease resistance.
Hard work and patience are required to succeed in the tissue culture field. Before starting any venture, one must study it well and understand the market.
One should not expect profit right when starting a venture. Any enterprise takes time to succeed.
Star Lake provides training and technical assistance for those who wish to start a venture. Anyone can start this enterprise with a small investment. For more information: 9961170680
