It's been quite a long time that I had kept the keyboard away from myself to type anything new and present it to the world. I had always prioritized traveling over and above anything and everything. Even today things haven't changed a bit. The only difference is, now I would like to restart or come back to the same world of writing that I had left in between, however with a very different notion. While traveling to the Himalayas, I always had an inclination to do something for the local people be it Himachal Pradesh or Uttarakhand or any mountainous region for that matter. But, wasn't sure what needs to be done and how? These 2 questions hovered every time and I could never get any answer, until recently, when I realized during the pandemic how important is the role of a farmer to each one of us. Then I started linking every bit together and I am super glad to have found a beautiful picture.
I have many friends living in the interiors of the Indian Himalayas where there is hardly any road connectivity or communication. Tourism is one of the biggest source of livelihood for them. It's after the lockdown, I came in contact with a couple of friends who literally narrated the impact of lockdown on them. As we are aware, tourism industry has been worst affected because of the mandatory lockdown imposed nation-wide. When the situation was normal during pre-pandemic era, the people from the nearby village provided farm/ration supply to the home-stays or guest-houses or lodges in their area with which they use to make their livelihood. There are many who worked as a tour guide or operated adventure tourism business. But with this pandemic, things have stalled for a longer duration and nobody can answer until when. I personally feel, it would take another one year to bring back normalcy. As things are moving, I am assuming until 2022, things would be more or less same because of the steady increase in the number of positive cases not only in our country but globally.
The effects of corona virus can be seen majorly in the urban cities and doctors always advised to eat fresh fruits and vegetables and and avoid unhealthy lifestyle by eating freshly cooked food. To sum in simple words, I realized the importance of sattvic or pure food when I had an hour long conversation with my friends living in the remote regions. The local pahadi people grow a variety of vegetables, pulses, herbs etc in their kitchen farm. In such regions there is no dearth for the cultivated area. Anything grow there becomes a medicine or a jadibuti to cure something or the other. Even nettle leaves has significance which scares and can give nightmare to anyone. Who has thought it can help in hair growth and has many health benefits? The food we eat in the city is no less than a garbage and the lifestyle we follow is leading to adverse health impacts. Now, we are looking for raw turmeric to drink with milk, cutting down on sugar and salt by replacing it with stevia or honey, giloy or ashwagandha and even shilajit as immunity booster.
After our conversation was over something clicked within me, of creating an opportunity for self and for others during this crisis ridden hour. Few people in my list were sending many Himalayan local herbs to their clients. I had also asked for some products to taste. I really liked it. The taste was good and the nutritional value cannot be ignored. These two factors combined can give a lethal combo of power packed food items loaded with numerous vitamins and nutrients to a city dweller living in toxicity. It took quite a lot of time to convince myself. Initially I started gifting these products to my family members and then to close friends and acquaintances. Based on their liking and feedback, I decided to come up with my own brand so started with my name itself NITYA HIMALAYA to HOME. Nitya, a Sanskrit term means eternal. Like the meaning of my name, longevity of the products is also maintained. As NO CHEMICAL or PRESERVATIVES have been added to these products, it gives a longer than normal shelf life. What else do you need in life when you can get Himalayan food products at your door step especially when you have to think twice before stepping out of house?
I would always advice people to not just switch to healthy lifestyle but include healthy food in your daily diet. Try investing in your food, you might not have to invest in doctors. My doctor friends, please don't feel bad and I am sure you would agree to what I have written. Just like we Indians realized the importance of Yoga when foreigners started doing it and educating us with its health benefits. Similarly, let's realize the importance of our own products before anybody else comes to impart it's significance!
Nitya Himalaya to Home, offers a wide range of products. You can visit the Facebook page or connect with me directly on any of the social media handles (enclosed below). The packaging would be very simple and grounded like our products. I try to reduce the plastic packaging to a great extent by replacing with paper packets for the time being. Based on its success and feedback, I can think of shifting to jute or cloth packages. I am not using glass bottle for honey, jams and other liquid items like apricot oil etc because of its handling inconveniences.
While researching for Indian manufactured bottles. I came across with STEELO, an established and reputed Indian manufacturing company of PET (Poly Ethylene Threpthalate) containers and bottles. I started using their bottles which are absolutely safe BPA free with food grade and odor resistant material. I got many positive responses, therefore, I connected with this company and now, STEELO is NITYA Himalaya to Home's packaging partner.
So, that's how this entire journey began. Now looking forward to your feedback and suggestions on how to improvise further so that these farmers could benefit out of it while sitting in a remote area.
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nityahimalayatohome
Instagram: nityahimalayatohome
Email: nityahimalayatohome@gmail.com
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