Watch: Organic Honey Beekeeping Business Helps This Maharashtra Woman Earn Rs 25 Lakh/Yr

In the village of Sulewadi, amidst the rolling hills of Maharashtra’s Satara district, Rohini Prakash Patil found herself captivated by a small newspaper advertisement. It was about beekeeping, a craft she knew little of, yet something about it stirred her imagination. 

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Life, however, had other plans then, and she could not enrol in the course. But the seed of curiosity had been sown, and she refused to let it fade.

Determined to learn, she gathered 35 women from her village and convinced a training institute in Mahabaleshwar to conduct a beekeeping workshop right in Sulewadi. As she learnt to care for bee colonies housed in wooden hives, Rohini identified more than just the art of harvesting honey and beeswax; she found a pathway to self-reliance, sustainability, and empowerment. 

Beekeeping, she realised, demanded little space or capital yet offered immense growth potential.

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With no savings to her name, she mortgaged her jewellery and took a loan of Rs 1.5 lakh to buy 35 bee boxes. The early days were far from sweet — bee stings, losses, and scepticism tested her resolve. 

Yet, she persisted, learning from every failure, refining her craft, and nurturing her buzzing colonies with patience and care.

Today, she manages over 100 bee boxes that yield nearly 900 kilograms of pure organic honey each year, earning her an impressive Rs 25 lakh annually. 

Her journey stands as proof of how determination can turn a simple curiosity into a flourishing rural enterprise. With India’s honey market poised to cross Rs 68,000 crore by 2033, her story is both inspiring and prophetic.

“I just want to tell all women and farmers that if we keep working hard with full dedication, success will surely come one day,” she says.