Mirchi & Company

Our place is at 2-3-14 in Mangali, which is in the Prakasam district. Mirchi & Company is pretty much what it sounds like. We deal with chillies and other spices that come in from the nearby farms. It’s a dusty job, and you have to be careful not to touch your eyes after a day of work. The building we use is quite old, with high ceilings and heavy wooden doors. It stays relatively cool inside, which is good because the sun out here can be brutal. We don't have a lot of modern equipment. We still use old scales for a lot of the weighing because they never seem to break. My father started this business, and I’ve been helping him since I was a kid. Now I’m the one running things, but he still comes by to check on the quality. We have a good relationship with the local farmers. They bring their crops to us, and we figure out a price that works for everyone. There’s no middleman or big corporate office involved. It’s just us and the people we’ve known for years. Sometimes the market is good, sometimes it’s bad, but we just keep going. We don't have a fancy philosophy. We just want to sell good stuff and be able to do it again tomorrow.