Dhiren Solanki had been preparing for government examinations since 2020. He appeared for many state and central-level examinations but did not achieve success in them.

“I was sitting idle for at least six months. I did not know what to do and was just waiting for my results. I was getting demotivated,” he recalls.

In 2021, his father introduced him to the idea of starting a donkey-rearing business. Dhiren found out that while there is little demand for donkey milk in India, it has significant demand in countries like Turkey, Malaysia, and China.

“It has an international market and is widely used in pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries to make products like moisturisers, baby cream, and soaps,” he adds.

Dhiren notes that the demand for donkey milk also increased amid the COVID-19 pandemic to make immunity-boosting tablets.

Seeing a potential business opportunity, Dhiren shifted his focus to start TDS Donkey Farm in his village Manund, Gujarat, in 2022.

In the first year, Dhiren incurred losses up to Rs 40 lakh, discarding 3,000 litres of milk due to transportation challenges. To address this, he began converting the milk into dry form, taking a year to master the process and find suitable companies.

Today, his farm has 50 donkeys, producing about 50 litres of milk daily. By selling the milk in dry powder form, the 22-year-old manages to earn up to 3 lakh per month.

Talking about his decision to become a farmer instead of pursuing a government job, he says, “If I had become a government teacher, I would be earning Rs 30,000 in a month – an amount that I generate in roughly three days.”

“With the government job, I could have only cleared my EMIs, not fulfilled my dreams,” he adds.