{
  "type": "article",
  "title": "Studying for an MA by Day, Farming by Trellis: How Gonda's Preeti Shastri Turns a 7,000 Rupee Bottle Gourd Crop Into 60,000",
  "summary": "In Uttar Pradesh's Gonda district, MA student Preeti Shastri grows bottle gourd on roughly 1 bigha using the trellis (machan) method, spending about 6 to 7 thousand rupees and expecting an income of 50 to 60 thousand rupees.",
  "content": "In the Itiyathok development block of Uttar Pradesh's Gonda district, a young student is proving that books and farmland can be managed side by side. Preeti Shastri is currently pursuing her MA, and alongside her studies she is earning a healthy income by growing bottle gourd in her field using the trellis, or machan, method. Her effort is fast becoming an example for nearby farmers and for young people in her village.\n\nThe advisor who picked up the spade herself\nPreeti explains that she works as a CRP under the Pani Sansthan in Basantpur Raja gram panchayat of the Itiyathok block. Her job in this role is to share new farming techniques with local farmers. She believes that simply offering advice does not carry the same weight as adopting a technique yourself and setting a living example. With that thinking in mind, she began cultivating bottle gourd on roughly 1 bigha of land using the machan method.\n\nTime for both studies and the field\nSpeaking to TrendKia, Preeti Shastri said she keeps to a regular study routine every day and looks after the field in whatever time is left over. It was her wish to try something new in farming that led her to the machan method. In this technique, instead of letting the bottle gourd vines spread across the ground, they are trained upward with the support of bamboo and wire. Because the plants stay elevated, they receive ample sunlight and air, which in turn improves the quality of the crop.\n\nWhy the trellis method works\nAccording to Preeti, this method offers several advantages. With the vines held up high, the fruit grows to a better size and the chances of rot or disease drop sharply. The field also stays clean and tidy, and harvesting the fruit becomes much easier. For all these reasons, the method delivers higher yields than ordinary cultivation.\n\nThe cost, and the returns\nOn the economics, Preeti Shastri says cultivating bottle gourd on 1 bigha with the machan method cost her roughly 6 to 7 thousand rupees. Asked how much she expects to earn in return, she says a bottle gourd crop on 1 bigha can fetch an income of around 50 to 60 thousand rupees. In other words, a strong profit on a limited outlay, and all without stepping away from her studies.\n\nWhat this means for you\n• For farmers and students: Growing bottle gourd on about 1 bigha with the trellis method costs only 6 to 7 thousand rupees yet can earn 50 to 60 thousand rupees, showing a low-investment path to extra income.\n• In Gonda (Uttar Pradesh): Farmers around the Itiyathok block can lift vines on bamboo and wire for better quality and higher yields, while students here can add farm income in their spare time without leaving their studies.\n\nQuestions & Answers\n\n1. Who is Preeti Shastri and what is she studying?\nShe is a student from the Itiyathok block of Gonda district who is currently pursuing her MA. She also works as a CRP under the Pani Sansthan in Basantpur Raja gram panchayat.\n\n2. What is the machan (trellis) method?\nInstead of letting bottle gourd vines spread on the ground, they are trained upward using bamboo and wire, so the plants get ample sunlight and air and the crop quality improves.\n\n3. How much did cultivation on 1 bigha cost?\nAccording to Preeti Shastri, growing bottle gourd on 1 bigha with the machan method cost roughly 6 to 7 thousand rupees.\n\n4. How much income does she expect from this crop?\nShe says a bottle gourd crop on 1 bigha can fetch an income of around 50 to 60 thousand rupees.",
  "url": "https://trendkia.com/en/success-stories/gonda-ki-priti-shastri-ma-ki-parhai-ke-bicha-machana-vidhi-se-lauki-ugakara-7-ha-1452",
  "category": "Success Stories",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-17",
  "tags": [
    "Preeti Shastri",
    "machan trellis method",
    "bottle gourd farming",
    "Gonda",
    "Itiyathok",
    "farmer success",
    "Uttar Pradesh agriculture"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "site": "TrendKia"
}