Patel Poha

Patel Poha is located in Village Garda, over in the Dediapada area. We are right near the local school, so we hear the kids playing during their lunch break every day. The mill is a simple structure. We take the paddy and process it into poha, which is what most people around here eat for breakfast. It’s a dusty business, honestly. There is always a fine layer of rice husks on the machinery, no matter how much we clean. We have been here for years, and most of the farmers in Garda bring their harvest to us. The machines are old and they rattle a lot, but they get the job done. My sons help me with the heavy lifting because the bags are quite heavy once they are full. We don't have a big corporate office or fancy marketing. We just have a scale, a ledger, and the milling equipment. When the harvest season hits, we work late into the night under a few dim lightbulbs. The smell of toasted rice is everywhere. Sometimes the rain makes the roads muddy and the tractors get stuck, but we wait it out. It is a quiet life in the village, and we are just happy to keep the mill running. We sell most of our stuff to the small shops in the nearby towns. It’s not a glamorous job, but it’s what our family knows how to do.