Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat
From last over a decade we have seen tremendous technological advancements around us. The modern world demands an effective leadership from the educated women. We need hardworking, progressive and dynamic women as entrepreneurs who can play their role for contributing to the economic growth of nations and communities.
If we can have woman doctors , teachers and politicians why cannot we have successful women entrepreneurs ? Our society with the passage of time has accepted women to be successful doctor , political leader , bureaucrat and teacher, but we haven’t given social acceptance to women for being an effective entrepreneurs. There are lot of reasons for this and I won’t only put the blame on authorities for not coming forward to help women to chose entrepreneurship as their career, but our society as a whole is also responsible for the same. If an educated women wants to become an entrepreneur, she hardly gets any support from her father, brother or husband. We still feel that women is weak and cannot take this challenging profession. There are some women from our state who have taken up this challenge and today they are very successful entrepreneurs in-spite of many hardships . Nusrat Jahan Ara, 38 a computer graduate who hails from Dadoora village of Pulwama took up this challenge by starting a small enterprise in 2002 by cultivating flowers and doing its marketing. Before growing these flowers Nusrat used to but cut flowers from local farmers on credit and used to sell them in Delhi. Today Nusrat is a successful entrepreneur of Kashmir valley having her business expanded to different sectors. Nusrat started with cut flower business namely “Petals & Ferns” by investing mere Rs 30,000 (Thirty Thousand) in 2001, but today she has a an annual turnover of over Rs 1 crore. Nusrat is one of the founders of cut flower industry in Kashmir which she started from her small kitchen garden located behind her ancestral house in Dadoora village.
Women who choose entrepreneurship as a career generally invest in retail trade, boutiques, education, restaurants etc, but very few women opt for Agro based industry or Flouriculture trade. Nusrat took up this challenging job and today she is considered to be a torch bearer for other women especially in the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
Reviving Auyerveda culture :
After her success in cut flower business , Nusrat launched a brand “Kashmir Essence “under another company namely Himalayan Agro Farms. This company involves entrepreneurship activities extending from farming to manufacture of products. The entrepreneurship under the brand “Kashmir Essence” is involved in manufacture and sale of handmade soaps, skin-care products and other beauty related products. Jams, pickles , processed vegetables are also manufactured by Himalayan Agro Farms. Pertinent to mention that , Kashmir Essence ( A Brand of Himalayan Agro Farms) is based on the unique concept of value addition of all important and renowned Kashmiri produce like saffron, Almond, Cherry, Walnut, Apple,olive, apricot,and other active botanical ingredients including the aromatic Oils and also promoting their sustainable utilization through the substantial participation of local people from the Kashmir Valley, especially women. Until 2013, the company was in the business of supplying fruits, herbs and essential oils to other manufacturers who were involved in the further processing of these ingredients. The company now uses the deep knowledge and passion of in-house team of dedicated scientists and entrepreneurs to develop own range of products locally and bring the magic of Jammu & Kashmir to people all over the world. Nusrat has also set up her own farm near Pahalgam where variety of flowers , lavender and other essential herbs area grown.
“Our Hand-made personal care and home care products will cover a wide range from body butters and soaps to Jams and herbal tea. All formulations are based on locally available ingredients, either cultivated by local farmers or grown in forest areas. These Fruits, Flowers, herbs and essential oils are then transformed using centuries-old principles of Ayurveda and ethno-botany, all the while keeping the percentage of botanical ingredients to at least 90% of the total weight of each product. No harmful chemicals, petroleum products or bleaching agents are used in any of our formulations. The name “Kashmir Essence” come from the fact that our all ingredients have the essence of Kashmir in it. For centuries, the name Kashmir has been synonymous with beauty & magic and so are our products. We at Kashmir Essence aspire to use age old Ayurveda formulations in line with the deep knowledge and passion of our R&D team and entrepreneurs to develop a wide range of health and beauty products locally “says Nusrat Jahan Ara
Conclusion :
Nusrat had to face lot of challenges as an entrepreneur. When she started her career ,the challenge was of different nature , but when the business was in full bloom , she suffered from a severe “Kidney Failure “. Nusrat underwent Kidney transplant surgery in 2014, but that didn’t stop her work. She got an overwhelming support from her family particularly her husband, relatives and friends . Soon after her recovery Nusrat again went on the job. From last more than one year Nusrat is again on the job and in addition to her business activities , she is involved in many social and cultural activities also . Last year she along with some like minded people launched a trust namely Centre for Conservation of Culture and Heritage (CCCH). This trust is working for promotion of culture and heritage across J&K and during October last year CCCH partnered with Directorate of Environment & Remote Sensing in organizing first ever Forest Food Festival at Srinagar. Nusrat was instrumental in organizing this event with active cooperation and support of renowned naturalist and Director Environment & Remote Sensing O P Sharma -IFS. As on date Nusrat gives direct employment to more than 25 people, but indirectly more than 150 families are also indirectly benefitted. In 2009 Nusrat was given a National award by TATA group (Stree Shakti award Enterprenuer in Small Enterprise). She has also been awarded with best Women Entrepreneur award by Rotary Club of India in 2010 . Best Grower Award by Kissan Board Govt. of India in 2011, ATMA 2013- Award by Department Of Agriculture (J&K Govt) in 2013. Was awarded during Vibrant Gujarat summit 2013 by the Government of Gujarat.
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