Shri Shivajimaharaj Shetkari Producer Company Limited

In the village of Khandala, near Washim, we set up this producer company to give ourselves a better chance. We are over at Santosh Pandurang Sawake’s place. It’s a local operation, through and through. We named it after Shri Shivajimaharaj because we wanted that spirit of standing up for ourselves. Farming in this part of the country is never simple. You have to watch the sky and hope for the best, but you also have to be smart about the business side. We handle what the farmers here grow—mostly the usual crops for this district. It’s about making sure that when we harvest, we have a place to take it where we won’t get cheated. We share ideas on how to save water and what kind of manure is working this year. It’s a lot of talking to neighbors and figuring out the best way forward. We aren't experts from some university; we are just people who have been doing this since we were kids. Sometimes we disagree on how to do things, but we always figure it out because we have to. The office in Khandala is always open for anyone from the taluka who wants to join in. We aren't doing anything revolutionary. We are just trying to make a decent living from the ground we stand on. It’s honest, hard work, and we prefer it that way.