# Indore IT professional leaves corporate salary to build sustainable decor venture using cow dung

> Former IT professional Smriti Paliwal from Indore stepped away from her 60,000 rupees monthly salary to craft eco-friendly home decor from cow dung, empowering local women and promoting zero waste.

**Type:** article · **Category:** Success Stories · **Published:** 2026-10-24 · **Source:** TrendKia
**Canonical:** https://trendkia.com/en/success-stories/indore-ki-it-injiniyara-ne-chhori-60-hajara-ki-naukari-gaya-ke-gobara-se-khara-kiya-iko-phrendali-karobara-51165 · **Language:** English
**Tags:** Smriti Paliwal, Eco Friendly Products, Indore Startup, Cow Dung Decor, Women Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability

Choosing purpose over corporate comfort, Indore resident Smriti Paliwal transitioned from a stable career in information technology to an unconventional green business. Walking away from a comfortable monthly salary of 60,000 rupees, she decided to utilize cow dung as a primary raw material to manufacture handcrafted home decor items. Her enterprise blends sustainability with traditional knowledge, attracting widespread attention and securing customers across both digital marketplaces and physical retail channels.

## Handcrafted utility and decorative products
Paliwal produces a diverse catalogue of household and festive goods using cow dung. Among the most sought after items are traditional oil lamps, fragrant incense sticks, festive doorway torans, and decorative photo frames. Every single creation is entirely eco friendly and processed without harmful chemical agents. In addition to being completely biodegradable, these products serve a secondary ecological purpose. If an item breaks or reaches the end of its useful lifespan, it can simply be mixed into soil to decompose as natural compost and plant manure.

## Empowering local women through artisan employment
Beyond ecological conservation, this sustainable venture serves as an engine for grassroots social change. Paliwal has built an inclusive production network by enlisting local women artisans to craft, design, and finish the products. By providing these women with regular handiwork and dignified income opportunities, the initiative fosters financial independence and community empowerment. The growing demand for these handcrafted pieces directly translates into more consistent work and better livelihoods for the female workforce involved in the venture.

## Overcoming initial hesitations and shifting consumer mindset
Breaking into the market was not without substantial hurdles. Initially, prospective customers displayed reluctance and discomfort around purchasing items fashioned from cow dung, often keeping their distance due to ingrained reservations. Overcoming this stigma required persistent outreach. Paliwal systematically engaged consumers to explain the historic, scientific, and ecological value of cow dung. Once buyers witnessed the aesthetic craftsmanship, durability, and natural finish of the finished items, consumer perceptions transformed dramatically, paving the way for brisk local and online sales.

## Training aspiring green entrepreneurs
Looking ahead, Paliwal is committed to scaling the movement beyond her own workshop. She conducts training sessions for individuals keen on launching their own eco friendly startups using agricultural and organic byproducts. By teaching others how to process raw organic materials into high value consumer goods, she aims to reduce market reliance on synthetic plastics while demonstrating that environmental sustainability and commercial viability can successfully go hand in hand.

## What this means for you
This enterprise demonstrates how grassroots innovations can bridge environmental sustainability and local economic upliftment.

- **Across India:** It highlights viable pathways for converting organic agricultural waste into commercially successful lifestyle products. Environmentally conscious shoppers gain access to zero chemical and compostable home decor alternatives.
- **In Indore:** Local women artisans gain steady domestic employment and skill development opportunities right in their neighborhood. Aspiring local founders can enroll in startup workshops to replicate this sustainable manufacturing model.
- **For the environment:** Biodegradable products eliminate non recyclable synthetic waste during festive and daily decor usage. Damaged or discarded pieces nourish home gardens by breaking down entirely as organic fertilizer.
- **For self-reliance:** It showcases that high-paying corporate roles can be successfully traded for purposeful rural-linked entrepreneurship. This creates repeatable economic models that empower grassroots workers rather than relying on automated factory lines.

## Why this happened
The decision to leave a corporate tech career stemmed from a desire to address environmental degradation through practical, organic alternatives.

- **Commitment to sustainability:** Smriti Paliwal sought to deliver chemical-free daily products that directly contribute to environmental preservation. This environmental consciousness prompted her to walk away from a stable software career and steady salary.
- **Repurposing traditional resources:** While cow dung has deep-rooted traditional value in India, its modern utility had become largely overlooked. The initiative revived this natural resource by converting it into contemporary, aesthetic household decor.
- **Overcoming initial skepticism:** Early consumer resistance was driven by hygiene stigmas and unfamiliarity with dung-based art pieces. Sustained consumer education about its safety, fragrance, and compostable nature turned public hesitation into enthusiastic adoption.

## Questions & Answers

### 1. Who is Smriti Paliwal and what business did she start?
Smriti Paliwal is a former IT engineer from Indore who left her corporate job to build an eco-friendly business producing decor items from cow dung.

### 2. What specific items are made using cow dung?
The product range includes handcrafted oil lamps, incense sticks, decorative doorway torans, and photo frames.

### 3. How are these products eco-friendly and zero-waste?
The items are manufactured without synthetic chemicals and decompose naturally into organic plant manure if broken or discarded.

### 4. What was Smriti Paliwal's previous career and income?
She worked as an IT professional and earned a monthly salary of 60,000 rupees before launching her enterprise.

### 5. What major challenge did she face during the initial phase?
Consumers were initially hesitant and distant because they did not understand how cow dung could be safely transformed into quality home decor.

### 6. Does she offer training for aspiring entrepreneurs?
Yes, she provides dedicated startup training for individuals interested in setting up eco-friendly ventures using organic materials.

## Inspiration & Lessons
Smriti Paliwal's entrepreneurial shift demonstrates that creativity and purpose can turn overlooked natural resources into viable ventures.

- **Courage to pivot:** Leaving a comfortable corporate salary to pursue an untraditional concept requires conviction and resilience. Paliwal proved that walking away from predictability can unlock far greater societal value.
- **Seeing value in waste:** Materials that are routinely discarded or neglected can become high-value assets when paired with smart design. Treating cow dung as an artistic medium created an entirely new market category.
- **Community-first growth:** Meaningful business models deliberately integrate and uplift vulnerable community members. Training newcomers and offering regular income to women artisans turns a commercial venture into a social movement.

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