After her marriage in 2019, Assam-resident Priya Chhetri moved to Gurugram to work as a domestic help.

While Priya and her husband Sanjit secured jobs, they would often exhaust all their incomes by the 10th of every month.

“While the expenses kept on rising, our collective incomes didn’t. My husband works as an office boy and whatever he earns gets exhausted in meeting my in-laws’ expenses,” says the 24-year-old.

This worried not only Priya but also her employer Rashi Soman, who was trying to find a supplementary income option for Priya and her husband.

Rashi realised that her family spends an exorbitant amount on store-bought fruits and vegetables. Even then the quality of fruits was not up to the mark.

“We thought the same could be sourced fresh and at a relatively better price from the Delhi market. This seemed like a good option as we had seen others also spend so much on sub-standard nuts and fruits,” says Rashi.

On learning about this new opportunity to earn an additional income, Priya decided to set up this small business of purchasing a wide range of fruits in bulk to be sold to households at relatively low prices compared to stores.

Through Rashi’s help, the couple also set up a WhatsApp group of 250 residents. Every Sunday, she mentions the availability of fruits and nuts along with their prices in the chat for delivery on Thursday.

Rashi also pitches in the household chores so that Priya has time to cater to all the orders on that day.

The couple sells 30 kinds of exotic fruits and nuts — including red globe grapes, blueberry, mandarins, hazelnuts, cranberries, and more. With this, they earn a profit of up to Rs 30,000 per month.

Priya says, “I don’t have to worry about anything now. Whenever I get big profits, I deposit all my money. With this work, I have also been able to establish an identity for myself.”