Maata Maanikeshwari Fish Farmers Producer Company Limited

Our office is over at Matoshree, H.No. 4-5-41/2. We are right near the rural police station and just behind the Balaji Temple. It’s a busy area with people coming and going, but once you get behind the buildings, it’s all about the fish. A group of us who have ponds and tanks decided to get together to form this company. Fish farming is a lot different than growing crops in the dirt. You have to worry about water levels, oxygen, and making sure nothing gets into the ponds that shouldn't be there. We spend a lot of time checking the water and feeding the fish. It’s a wet and messy job most of the time. We aren't a big corporation with a lot of money; we're just local people who found a way to make a living from the water. The name Maata Maanikeshwari is important to us and reflects our local culture and history. We meet up near the temple to discuss who is harvesting what and where we should sell. Sometimes we have problems with the pumps or the weather gets too hot, and we all have to pitch in to help each other out. It’s not a glamorous life, and we usually go home smelling like the ponds, but it’s what we know how to do. We’ve been part of this community for a long time, and we just want to keep our fish farms going for the next generation of farmers here.