It has been raining on and off and as one enters Subashree Vijay’s house in south Chennai, a mixture of pleasant scents waft through the doors. The 200-odd herbal plants on her terrace give the feel of being transported to a mini forest. Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned her as a woman entrepreneur who was working with herbal products in his ‘Mann Ki Bath’.
“I had taken an online entrepreneurship course on medical plants from the Directorate of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants under the Indian Council for Agricultural Research. And as part of the course, I had to submit a product idea, which was selected for incubation. It was a herbal deodoriser, a substitute for naphthalene balls. I gave an improved version and with their guidance I am doing research on that,” explained Ms. Subashree, who is currently using her learnings from her M.Sc. Physics in her research. She is now working on the application of nanotechnology in herbal products.
“I got married as soon as I finished college and then my family became my priority. But a chance meeting with a traditional siddha practitioner, Nellai Nayakam, changed all that. I started out to assist him and he introduced me to the texts and soon herbs became my passion. I kept attending training programmes, learning about herbs from botanists, traditional practitioners and from tribals. In 2011, I started Atri, my company with three verticals, selling food products, herbal cosmetics and herbal plants,” she explained.
Apart from her work with the herbal deodoriser, she also helps set up thematic herbal gardens for schools and colleges, runs a seed bank and sells medicinal plants. “Every home should have at least 10 basic medicinal plants for respiratory and digestive issues. Tulsi, Aloevera, Manathakkali, lemon grass and thoothuvalai are some that can be easily grown. Apartment complexes can have community herbal gardens,” she said.
EOM
