I was mocked by my family and neighbors. They said that I have failed my parents and their hard work because I could not get a job even after finishing my diploma. They said I was a disgrace to my family and a lot of other things that deeply hurt me. But I could not just listen to their harsh comments and do nothing about them. I had to prove them wrong and so I did.

I finished my diploma in 2016 and even after applying to several jobs, I did not get any positive response from anywhere. In those times of hopelessness, I discovered Facebook and Youtube. I heard people say that I could learn anything online for free using these platforms. So, I used these resources to the best of my abilities and researched dairy and fish farming methods. I learned from successful farmers from all over the world. I spent day and night learning the methods and techniques. 

After a lot of research, I finally decided to start my farm in 2017. At that time, there was one pond and one cow in my own house. So, I started my farm with these two. Later, I took a loan worth 1 Lac Taka and bought 2 more cows. With these, I embarked on my journey. This was a loan for 1 year and within this period I repaid all the loans to the bank with the money that I got after selling the cows. In addition, I also had some profit left for myself. Towards the end of 2018, I took another loan worth 2 lac Taka and invested in my business to buy 3 cows and lease 1 pond. Thus my business started growing. Currently, I own 5 cows, 2 ponds, and a fruit garden in 3 bighas of land. I grow Guava and Boroi in my garden.

The road to success had many challenges. Apart from the taunts and the mockery, I also had to struggle with the loan sanctioning process. At the start of my business, I did not get the loans sanctioned in the first go. Rather, I had to apply 3-4 times to get the loan. The times were tough. But I let nothing break my confidence and I kept going. Today, I can proudly say that I can see the fruits of my hard work and sacrifices now. This has increased my faith in myself even more. Now, my family also supports me in my endeavors and they even say that they are proud of me for my resilience and courage. It feels good to hear their praises. I finally feel that I have accomplished something, no matter how small that is.

In addition to the financial constraints, dealing with the pandemic has been a big challenge for me. It has caused the prices of almost everything to fall causing small entrepreneurs like us to face huge losses. The market demand for dairy products was low even before the pandemic but now it has only worsened. My fish sales also dropped drastically causing me a huge amount of loss. Because of these reasons, I started my fruit farm this year to diversify my earnings. Now I aim to make my fruit cultivation successful like my other ventures. I took part in the WorldFish’s IDEA project where I got access to many experts who gave me training and advice on maintaining a fish farm more efficiently and increasing profitability. I have also attended the training sessions with LightCastle Partners which have helped me flourish my overall business acumen. I am forever grateful for these experiences.   

Currently, I have 8-10 workers working part-time for me. But most of the work is done by me and my family. I dream to expand my business so that I can ensure the employment of at least 4-5 people in my locality. I do not want anybody to go through the pain that I have been through due to unemployment. I want to start a vermicompost plant as well. But to make my dreams come true, I need financial support. A bank loan alone is not enough for that. So, if I can avail myself of an investment of 2 lacs, I will be able to successfully expand my business and conquer my dreams.