I’m not a new inclusion into the world of entrepreneurship. My relationship with the agriculture industry began almost 15 years ago. At that time, I knew very little about how a business works. I never knew that I could manage a business, let alone do it for more than 15 years. My story began with an unpleasant incident. My husband got ill and that led me to think of ways to support my family.

That’s when I thought of opening a business with cattle. Since I already saw many had their farms and how they were doing well financially, it encouraged me to start my farm too. Besides, If I did not start earning, my child’s survival would be at stake. That’s why I had to muster up my courage and take a leap of faith. I would not deny that I had my fair share of doubts about having any success in the business. However, my doubts were all cleared when the sales became stable. From then onwards, I never had to look back. In fact, I would say that my business made me more confident about myself.

After 5 years, I wanted to expand my business by adding chili cultivation. It did not take long to make it a reality. That’s how I had two different businesses under my control within just 5 years. My cattle were giving me enough profit to support my family. In addition, the chili farm grew tremendously over the years. I could not be any happier. While there was some difficult time now and then, I was content with my circumstances. But I never realized that the days of contentment were making a pivotal change.

My husband died from the illness when my son was in Class 5. For that little boy, it was a traumatizing event. Still, he did not lose hope and continued to support me. After he joined the business, things became easier. We shared the responsibilities and both the businesses were going well. But that fortune did not stay very long.

At the start of 2020, when Covid-19 had made the lives miserable of people from all walks of life, my business took a massive hit. The demand for chili fell drastically because of the lockdowns. I suffered a lot as my businesses were not getting any traction. I took a loan of BDT 50,000 to minimize the losses. Although it was not enough, we managed somehow.

After Covid-19, my father gave me a piece of land and my son bought a truck to help the business. Those things helped me to regain my faith in running the businesses. My son could also transfer the cattle and food more easily with the truck. Moreover, I got to know LightCastle Partners and Oxfam. They made a huge impact on our businesses. Now, I am slowly rebuilding my business and starting again.