Neelkanth Wood Packaging

Neelkanth Wood Packaging is located at C-11 in the Shankar Patel Estate. It’s right near the Ambamata Mandir in Manjusar, which is quite nice because you can hear the temple bells sometimes when the wind is right. Being in the wood business means there’s always sawdust on the floor and that particular smell of freshly cut timber hanging around the shed. We spend a lot of time moving planks and nailing crates together, so it’s never really quiet here. The Taluka Savli area gets pretty hot in the summer, and the tin roof overhead doesn’t help much, but we have a couple of large pedestal fans that keep the air moving. If you walk into the yard, you’ll see piles of wood waiting to be shaped into boxes. We’ve got a small corner for the office where we keep the records, but mostly we are out on the floor. The estate itself is always busy with different small workshops, so there's a lot of coming and going. Sometimes the power goes out for an hour or two, and everything just stops, giving us a chance to sit outside and have a quick tea from the stall down the road. It’s hard work, and your hands get rough after a few weeks, but it’s a living. We just keep making the packaging that people need and try to stay organized amid the clutter.