From Making Plastic To Growing Strawberries How Two Friends Built A Thriving Farm In Balasore
Starting with just 25 plants, Kalandi and Sadhab turned strawberry farming into a successful enterprise, creating jobs and steady income for families in Odisha’s Balasore.
Published : January 20, 2026 at 12:34 PM IST
By Jeevan Jyoti Nayak
Balasore: It is rightly said that farming brings joy to those who cultivate the land with dedication. In Balasore district’s Charigaria Sahi area of Sajanpur Panchayat, this dedication has turned into unending joy in the form of sustainable livelihood for two friends who dared to experiment and grow something different.
Kalandi Charan Lenka and Sadhab Roul began strawberry cultivation four years ago, learning about success stories from Koraput and Kandhamal. Inspired, they took up strawberry cultivation on their one-acre farmland and today, not only they earn in lakhs but also provide employment to local villagers.
Kalandi, a former mechanical maintenance worker at a plastic manufacturing company retired from his job and decided to return to agriculture. Though his native place is Khordha, he had been living in Balasore for work. Farming had always been close to his heart. Even during his working years, he experimented with growing fruit plants in spaces available to him.
So in 2023, Kalandi planted just 25 strawberry saplings brought from Himachal Pradesh in plastic grow bags and to his surprise, within three months, he harvested over 18 kilograms of the fruit. He was so encouraged by the results that he expanded rapidly.
“After seeing strawberries grow so well here, I and one of my friends planted 3,500 plants the next year and earned around Rs 2 lakh. Later, we planted 14,000 plants and earned Rs 5-6 lakh. This year, we have planted 25,700 plants,” Kalandi said.
His partner Sadhab Roul, who was working in another state at the time, lent financial support to the venture. Today, both friends jointly manage the farm, sourcing high-quality seedlings from Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra. They grow many varieties like Nebla and Panthan, using drip irrigation, mulching, and raised beds to protect the fruit.
The strawberries reaped from their farm are supplied to markets in Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Jajpur. Wholesalers place advance orders and make payments before delivery so there is a guaranteed steady income.
Kalandi follows a largely organic approach. “We avoid strong chemical fertilizers. We use organic sprays but we found that pure organic methods reduce yield in this climate, so we adopted a balanced system,” he explained.
The farm has also been giving local youths job opportunities. Ramesh Chandra Roul, who works there for over 20 days a month, said the income has helped his family. “We get daily wages and managing our household is not a concern anymore since we work throughout the year,” he said.
Twenty-two-year-old Kuni Saren, another worker, earns her livelihood through daily farm activities such as harvesting, cleaning, and packing strawberries. “The money I earn here helps support my family,” she said.
Kalandi’s wife, Jayanti Lenka, is also seen active in the venture. "Planting trees is my husband’s passion. After retirement, he fully focused on strawberry farming but I also started helping him with watering, harvesting, and packing. People from nearby villages visit us and keep asking ask how this farming is done so that they can emulate,” said Jayanti.
Today, Kalandi has trained two more people and plans to expand strawberry cultivation across different blocks by encouraging landowners to adopt the crop.
What began with a meagre 25 plants has now become a successful agricultural model proving an example for others to follow. Starting from planning, technology and teamwork, the friends have proved how even a non-traditional crop can transform rural livelihoods.
Similarly in Begunia block, Susant Kumar Bhola, a farmer from Haj village has become the first in Khordha district to successfully cultivate strawberries on a commercial scale. For years, Susant relied on traditional farming methods that brought limited returns. That changed when the Begunia Horticulture Department encouraged him to experiment with strawberry cultivation.
With technical guidance and institutional support, Susant received 11,000 strawberry seedlings sourced from Himachal Pradesh. He planted them on his half-acre farmland and in just 45 days, began harvesting an impressive 500–700 grams of fruit per plant.
“I never thought strawberries could grow so well in Khordha. With the Horticulture Department’s support, I am hoping to reap a good harvest. Each plant is giving good yield, and I am expecting an income of Rs 6 to Rs 7 lakh,” Susant said.
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