Sri Lakshmi Tamalapakula Farmers Producer Company Limited

Sri Lakshmi Tamalapakula Farmers Producer Company Limited is out in Gandhodivaripalli Village. We are part of the Tanakal Mandal, and our door number is 26-152. This area is famous for betel leaves, or tamalapakula, and that is exactly what we focus on. Our company is basically a group of farmers who decided to work together. The village is small and everyone knows what everyone else is growing. We meet up in a simple building to discuss prices and how the leaves are looking this season. Betel leaves are very sensitive to the weather, so we spend a lot of time worrying about the rain and the sun. It is a very green place when the vines are healthy. The work is mostly manual, picking the leaves carefully so they don't tear. We don't have a corporate structure, just a board of members who are all farmers themselves. Sometimes meetings get a bit loud when we disagree on things, but that is just part of being a group. We handle the collection and the sorting before the leaves get sent off to the bigger cities. It is a slow way of life in Gandhodivaripalli, but we are proud of the leaves we produce. We just keep our heads down and keep the vines growing.