# From Farm Labourer to Lakhs in Profit: How Illiterate Albina Ekka Built a Business Out of Chikoo Farming

> Albina Ekka of Palandu village near Ranchi can neither read nor write, yet the 2,000 chikoo saplings she once planted now yield a tonne of fruit a day and earn her over a lakh rupees every month.

**Type:** article · **Category:** Success Stories · **Published:** 2026-07-03 · **Source:** TrendKia
**Canonical:** https://trendkia.com/en/success-stories/majaduri-se-lakhon-ke-karobara-taka-anaparha-albina-ekka-ne-chiku-ki-kheti-se-racha-di-kamayabi-ki-misala-4257 · **Language:** English
**Tags:** Albina Ekka, Chikoo farming, Ranchi success story, Jharkhand farmer, Organic farming, Woman entrepreneur, Palandu village

In Palandu village, roughly 15 kilometres from Jharkhand's capital Ranchi, lives Albina Ekka, whose journey is a lesson for anyone who treats circumstances as an excuse. Albina cannot read or write and signs only with her thumb, yet today she is a successful businesswoman. The 2,000 chikoo saplings she once planted have grown into full trees that now produce up to a tonne of fruit every single day, which is supplied to Bengal and several other states.

Albina runs the farm herself, with more than 25 people working alongside her, and her monthly income has crossed a lakh rupees. She explains that she farms on 2 acres of land, but the land is not her own. It was leased to her under a government scheme, and it was on this plot that she took up chikoo cultivation. She was also given training for it. Since the land is on lease, she has to hand over 20 percent of the profit to the government.

## Organic Manure Behind the Top-Quality Fruit
Albina says the quality of her chikoo is excellent because only organic manure is used in its cultivation. Every day, 25 people look after the orchard. Traders come from as far as Bengal, Ramgarh, Latehar, Lohardaga, Dhanbad, Chhattisgarh and Odisha to buy the fruit. Around a tonne of chikoo is harvested each day, and all of it is sold off almost immediately.

## The Journey From Labourer to Owner
Albina recalls that she once worked as a labourer in other people's fields. Despite having no education, she has become an entrepreneur. Her children, who earlier studied in a government school, are now enrolled in a private school. They are pursuing an MBA from a private institution, and one of them has already landed a job. Today she owns a car, a smartphone and every comfort she never once imagined having.

## Courage Opens Its Own Paths
Albina believes that with courage and determination nothing is impossible; all one needs is the passion to work hard and move forward. Excuses, she says, are easy to find, but the day a person stops making them, the paths begin to open on their own. Her monthly earnings now comfortably cross a lakh rupees, and she has even built herself a permanent house.

## What this means for you
- **Across India:** The story shows how small farmers can earn lakhs from horticulture by using government land-lease schemes and training.
- **In Jharkhand:** For farmers around Ranchi, it is proof that organic chikoo cultivation can create local jobs and a solid income at the same time.

## Questions & Answers

### 1. Who is Albina Ekka?
She is a woman from Palandu village near Ranchi who cannot read or write yet runs a chikoo farming business worth lakhs.

### 2. How many chikoo saplings did Albina plant?
She planted 2,000 chikoo saplings, which have now grown into large trees.

### 3. How much chikoo is produced each day?
Her orchard yields about a tonne of chikoo a day, and all of it is sold off almost immediately.

### 4. How much does she earn every month?
Albina's monthly income has crossed one lakh rupees.

### 5. Does she own the land?
The 2 acres are not her own; they were leased to her under a government scheme, and she pays 20 percent of the profit to the government.

### 6. Where is the chikoo supplied?
Traders take it to Bengal, Ramgarh, Latehar, Lohardaga, Dhanbad, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

### 7. How many people work with her?
More than 25 people work at her orchard and tend to it every day.

## Inspiration & Lessons
- **Drop the excuses:** Albina says the moment a person stops making excuses, the paths start opening on their own.
- **Use government schemes:** Owning no land herself, she began by leasing 2 acres from the government and taking the training on offer.
- **Focus on quality:** Using organic manure made her chikoo so sought-after that traders come from several states to buy it.
- **Build a team:** By employing more than 25 people, she scaled the orchard into a real business.
- **Education isn't the only requirement:** Illiterate herself, she still put her children through private school and an MBA.

---
_TrendKia — Har trend, sabse pehle.. Machine-readable view; canonical HTML at the URL above._