Fresh, from farms to homes
young guns
Samita Kapali, Shaurav Dhakal, Deepika Gyawali
THT
THT
A GREEN WAY TO CONNECT RURAL FARMERS WITH THEIR URBAN CUSTOMERS
Approaching consumers and establishing a market has always been a problem for local agricultural products produced in remote areas like Jumla, Dolpa, Manang, Mustang, et cetera. As such the agro products from these areas go to waste, while it also has been one of the hindering factors for the improvement of livelihood here.
With an aim to bridge this gap between local agro-products and the urban consumer market, Green Growth was initiated in 2015 by four people — Shaurav Dhakal, Samita Kapali, Deepika Gyawali, and Nischal Pokharel.
The company has its own story behind the initiation of this venture.
Dhakal recalls, “We had been working in Story Cycle with an aim to increase the digital footprint of different places of Nepal and promote lifestyles and cultures of those areas through story, map up and art camps. We had gone to Jumla for a story camp to teach them about social media promotion techniques. Local participants asked us if we could help them market their products rather than provide them tips and techniques of marketing.”
This is how Green Growth germinated.
Four like-minded people teamed up to become a medium to connect rural farmers and urban customers. “As we didn’t have any idea about business model, running Green Growth as a business model was one of the challenges we faced. We started it as a part of storytelling but with actual products,” shares Dhakal.
They returned to Kathmandu with some Jumla products and started selling those here. They gradually got customers and positive feedback. “With the increase in sales, we started to source agroproducts from farms of other places where we had gone for story camps,” states Dhakal.
The company started promoting the organic products through social media platforms and initiated a home delivery system to make the business more effective and systematic. They officially registered their company as Green Growth Group on October 2, 2016.
Green Growth Group has partnered with 14 organic farms in different places of Nepal so far, and delivers a wide variety of organic vegetables, fruits, beans, lentils, et cetera. “Customers can choose organic fruits and vegetables from our list on website.
We also inform of products available through social media. Certain fruits and vegetables are seasonal, so they are available accordingly,” says Kapali.
The company, which has 560 subscribers so far, has been offering delivery service three times a week — Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
“Customers have to place their orders one day prior (before noon) to the delivery day for us to arrange the products,” says Dhakal.
One can order their products through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and also through their official website. The company offers cash on delivery service. According to Kapali, delivery is free within Ring Road for those who place orders over Rs 1,000, while Rs 50 is levied as delivery charge for orders below Rs 1,000. However, “the delivery charge can go up to Rs 100 in other places, according to the distance”. One of the challenges they’ve faced according to Kapali is that delivering products in the Valley is sometimes troublesome due to difficulties in mapping the exact location of subscribers.
Green Growth Group envisions creating an ecosystem of sustainable living of farmers and consumers, and promoting green economy.
The company has initiated the concept of Green Growth Garden to provide expert consultation to farmers on sustainable farming.
They also run Green Growth Travel packages arranging farm stay packages with some of their partnered organic farms where people can see how vegetables and fruits are grown, and experience the local art and culture. They have also started to participate in the weekly KTM Haat at Bhanimandal , Lalitpur to connect directly with customers.
Approaching consumers and establishing a market has always been a problem for local agricultural products produced in remote areas like Jumla, Dolpa, Manang, Mustang, et cetera. As such the agro products from these areas go to waste, while it also has been one of the hindering factors for the improvement of livelihood here.
With an aim to bridge this gap between local agro-products and the urban consumer market, Green Growth was initiated in 2015 by four people — Shaurav Dhakal, Samita Kapali, Deepika Gyawali, and Nischal Pokharel.
The company has its own story behind the initiation of this venture.
Dhakal recalls, “We had been working in Story Cycle with an aim to increase the digital footprint of different places of Nepal and promote lifestyles and cultures of those areas through story, map up and art camps. We had gone to Jumla for a story camp to teach them about social media promotion techniques. Local participants asked us if we could help them market their products rather than provide them tips and techniques of marketing.”
This is how Green Growth germinated.
Four like-minded people teamed up to become a medium to connect rural farmers and urban customers. “As we didn’t have any idea about business model, running Green Growth as a business model was one of the challenges we faced. We started it as a part of storytelling but with actual products,” shares Dhakal.
They returned to Kathmandu with some Jumla products and started selling those here. They gradually got customers and positive feedback. “With the increase in sales, we started to source agroproducts from farms of other places where we had gone for story camps,” states Dhakal.
The company started promoting the organic products through social media platforms and initiated a home delivery system to make the business more effective and systematic. They officially registered their company as Green Growth Group on October 2, 2016.
Green Growth Group has partnered with 14 organic farms in different places of Nepal so far, and delivers a wide variety of organic vegetables, fruits, beans, lentils, et cetera. “Customers can choose organic fruits and vegetables from our list on website.
We also inform of products available through social media. Certain fruits and vegetables are seasonal, so they are available accordingly,” says Kapali.
The company, which has 560 subscribers so far, has been offering delivery service three times a week — Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
“Customers have to place their orders one day prior (before noon) to the delivery day for us to arrange the products,” says Dhakal.
One can order their products through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and also through their official website. The company offers cash on delivery service. According to Kapali, delivery is free within Ring Road for those who place orders over Rs 1,000, while Rs 50 is levied as delivery charge for orders below Rs 1,000. However, “the delivery charge can go up to Rs 100 in other places, according to the distance”. One of the challenges they’ve faced according to Kapali is that delivering products in the Valley is sometimes troublesome due to difficulties in mapping the exact location of subscribers.
Green Growth Group envisions creating an ecosystem of sustainable living of farmers and consumers, and promoting green economy.
The company has initiated the concept of Green Growth Garden to provide expert consultation to farmers on sustainable farming.
They also run Green Growth Travel packages arranging farm stay packages with some of their partnered organic farms where people can see how vegetables and fruits are grown, and experience the local art and culture. They have also started to participate in the weekly KTM Haat at Bhanimandal , Lalitpur to connect directly with customers.