During a visit to his family farm in Pushkar, Rajasthan, Deepak Sabharwal read a label that made him realise they were growing ‘poison’ by using pesticides.
Some time later, when his mother was diagnosed with cancer, he knew it was time to shift to organic farming for their health and well-being.
Taking a sabbatical from his job as a cost accountant, he visited organic farmers in Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan to learn sustainable farming practices.
Focusing on improving soil health, Deepak started using cow dung and vermicompost on his 21-acre farm in Pushkar.
Once the soil regained its health, he started multi-cropping, growing pulses and flowers together, while completely avoiding chemicals.
Over the next few years, he started growing fruits, vegetables and pulses on his farm. He would distribute this fresh produce to friends and family in Delhi-NCR.
In 2017, Deepak founded Earthy Tales, and started selling this organic produce through a Facebook page and WhatsApp business account.
As demand grew, Deepak built a team and mentored small farmers, helping them switch to organic farming and giving them a platform to sell their produce.
Earthy Tales has a dedicated team that trains farmers, provides them with inputs, helps establish market linkages, and assists in obtaining organic certification.
The farm-to-fork company has since trained over 500 farmers. It is incubated under the Ministry of Agriculture’s Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) - Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied sector Rejuvenation (RAFTAAR) scheme.
“Farmers can get the same yield they receive currently only after a period of three years. It’s not going to happen overnight,” Deepak explains.
Today, Earthy Tales has served 15,000 consumers, making a turnover of Rs 4 crore in FY 2023-24.
The certified organic brand sells over 300 products, including fruits, vegetables, ghee, oil, pulses and value added products like jams. Fruits and vegetables are delivered in Delhi-NCR, while the other products are delivered across India.
“We want to become a farmer’s best friend,” says Deepak.