A young man, suffering from economic problems became an entrepreneur with the help of Transformational Community Development (TCD). He started a dragon fruit farm, a unique farming method that benefited the entire community.

Prem* from Chainpur Village is a very hardworking man. He had applied many times for a government job, but he failed to get it. His family was struggling financially. Though it was very hard to manage his children’s education and family expenses, he dared to take the risk for the family.

He got the idea of dragon fruit farming after he joined the TCD Income Generation class. Dragon plants were expensive, so our TCD team decided to help him with a little seed money so that he could buy plants. He also borrowed some money, made pillars ready, and planted 50 plants. The plants started giving fruit and became a good source of income. Later, he expanded the plantation, and now he has 105 pillars of dragon fruit.

Now, he is getting a good income by selling the fruit and he has been able to manage the needs of his family. He is confident that dragon fruit farming will be one of his best economic sources. So now he wants to expand one hundred more pillars of dragon plants. He also wants to multiply income sources by beekeeping. Bees will also help in pollinating the dragon fruit and will provide better fruits. Our TCD team is now ready to help other members of the community so they may become sustainable with the repaid seed money.

*For the purpose of safety and wellbeing, “Prem” is a pseudonym for the individual being helped by this project.

Thank you!

Written by Shakta, GHNI TCD Worker