Ujala Devi, a resident of Angadha Block in Ranchi, is today a self-made entrepreneur earning between 40,000 and 50,000 rupees a month, a recipient of multiple government awards including the Best Self Help Group recognition, and a member of the Board of Directors of a Farmer Produce Organization. The distance between where she started and where she stands now is extraordinary, and her journey is one of loss, relentless work, and a single opportunity that changed the course of her life.
Three Deaths in a Single Year
Within the span of just one year, Ujala Devi lost her father-in-law, her husband, and her father. Three people, three irreplaceable relationships, all gone in rapid succession. The grief was enormous. But she also had a young son to raise entirely on her own, and a household that still needed to function. There was no time to stop.
Surviving on Daily Wages and Masonry Work
To keep food on the table, Ujala Devi took whatever work she could find. She worked as a daily wage laborer and also took up masonry jobs. On a given day, she would earn somewhere between 100 and 200 rupees. From that, she bought rice and salt and made do with the most basic of meals. She raised her son through those difficult years without any additional support, relying entirely on her own hands and refusing to give up.
The Self Help Group That Opened New Doors
The real turning point arrived when Ujala Devi joined a Self Help Group. That one step changed the trajectory of her life completely. She began receiving government training, which has continued on an ongoing basis. Through the group, she started making finger millet laddoos, honey, a range of pickles, papad, and cooking oil. She also learned to package all of these products herself, giving them a clean, professional, branded finish that could hold its own in any market.
Neem Phool Farmer Produce Company
Her enterprise now operates under the name Neem Phool Farmer Produce Company. The flagship products are finger millet flour and finger millet laddoos, but the range also includes jamun vinegar, pure mustard oil, and organic sesame oil. Every product is packaged by hand to a fully professional standard, and the group's regular government training ensures consistent quality across the entire product line.
IndiaMart, Government Fairs, and Sales of Up to One Lakh
Marketing has been a significant driver of growth. Ujala Devi gets free access to government fairs, which has taken her to cities like Mumbai and Delhi. She can also list her products on websites like IndiaMart, giving her a national online reach. The numbers speak for themselves: at a single fair, the group has on multiple occasions sold products worth up to one lakh rupees. All of this has added up to a monthly income of 40,000 to 50,000 rupees.
A Life Transformed
The contrast with where she began is stark in the best possible way. Her son, whom she raised alone through the hardest years of her life, now studies at a private school. The meals that were once just rice and salt now include a full spread of varied dishes. The government awards she has earned and her position on the Board of Directors of the Farmer Produce Organization stand as proof of how completely she has rebuilt her life and her future from the ground up.
