Organisation:
ecoLogin Rural and Tribal Products Pvt Ltd (https://thaen.in/)
Location:
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Problem:
Wild Honey collection is a predominant livelihood activity of Tribal Communities in the Western and Eastern Ghats regions in Tamil Nadu. In apiculture, the honey is being cultivated artificially from Italian bees. The bees are sometimes fed sugar water & antibiotics during lean season. The honey also filtered and heat treated for longer shelf life. Such artificially cultivated honey is not suitable for using with medicinal purposes. The wild honey is natural and raw without any antibiotics. The wild honey possesses medicinal properties and effectively used in Ayurvedic medicinal purposes. March – August is the predominant season for collecting wild honey, which limits the source of income of tribal people. Therefore, Ecologin initially identified honey sources across the state of Tamil Nadu that can ensure supply throughout year. Ove the years, it has expanded its base for sourcing unique varieties to the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Kashmir.
Solution:
ecoLogin has packaged, and marketed wild collected honey. In the past four years, the organisation has been able to sell about 4 tonnes as trial and test marketing with good feedback and positive review. It has developed a technology to prevent fermentation of honey, without heat treatment or using stabilizing agents. It has already sold 7 Tonnes of honey over a period of 3 years, with good feedback, positive reviews and repeat orders. The organization sells its honey-based product range under various brand names like Madhumeeta. The current channels of sales are: exhibitions organic melas, shops, telephone enquiries, retailers, and organic shops.
Scalability and Impact:
The organization looks at adding more unique varieties of honey , expanding its sourcing base to other states in Western, Northern and North Eastern India, exploring retail market and other sales channels, and exploring premium markets and export.
Financial Requirements:
Financial
Partners
Awards and Recognition:
NA