Parvathy Vinod transformed her hobby into a successful business venture. Her story is truly inspiring and showcases how passion and hard work can lead to thriving success.
Early Life and Background
Parvathy Vinod has completed her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Kerala. Later, she got married into a family that owned two small fish ponds for edible varieties. That’s when her entrepreneurial journey began.
Realizing the Market Gaps
After recognizing the limitations and seasonal demand of the edible fish market, Parvathy researched ornamental fish farming and decided to venture into ornamental fish farming. She established Devu’s Aquafarm at her home in Kollam, which has now become a significant name in the Kerala ornamental fish market.
Since she was new to in the field, during the starting days, some times entire fish tanks would die, thus, she had to suffer losses. Despite these challenges, she now sells a variety of ornamental fish, which includes Guppy, Platy, Carp, Angel, and Molly.
Journey from Edible Fish to Ornamental Fishes
Before the establishment of Deva’s Aquafarm, Parvathy’s in-laws were initially focused on breeding edible fish in their small eight natural ponds along with a few ornamental fishes like guppies, Koi Carp, and angelfishes.
Recognizing the potential growth in the ornamental, Parvathy decided to expand the ornamental fish business. In unused rooms in her house, Parvathy started breeding ornamental fishes in small numbers. Then, a few years back, she set up a dedicated farm hatchery.
Investments and Grants
She invested Rs 15 lakh by taking a loan and using her savings. Supported by Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), the hatchery at Devu’s Aquafarm has 21 cement tanks of different sizes, with 7 tanks placed outdoors. Among the tanks, two tanks were 3 meters in length and width and 1.5 meters in height, while the other 18 tanks were slightly smaller. One tank alone holds up to 1 lakh Koi Carp babies.
Daily Hatchery Routine
Parvathy days start with cleaning the tank. She checks for any dead fish and removes them using tubes to prevent ammonia problems. The remaining feed is also thoroughly cleaned to maintain water quality.
Parvathy Fish Farm currently has unique fish species like Kribensis, Moonlight Gourami, Morph, Koi Carp, Julidochromis, Rainbow Cichlid, Zebra Danios, Buticafuri, and Frontosa. These spices are not commonly found. Parvathy regularly updates her stock to meet changing demand by sourcing and exchanging varieties with other fish farmers. This helps build a strong and supportive community.
Knowledge Sharing
Parvathy gained knowledge about fish farming from her husband; he taught her the basics of fish farming. Despite this, she also gained knowledge from Anna Mercy at Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies. Parvathy fish farming journey was not easy. She spent days researching and studying ornamental fishes.
According to Parvathy, the major things to consider when doing fish farming are breeding techniques, disease control, and water quality. Apart from fish farming, she also conducts workshops for other individuals who want to learn about ornamental fish farming. Parvathy educates and encourages more women to explore this field and become financially independent.
Monthly Revenue
Main source of revenue for Parvathy’s fish farm comes from her ornament fish trade with retailers and customers. Typically, clients are from Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Kollam, and Pathanamthitta, as well as some parts of northern Kerala, and make monthly Rs 50,000. Sometimes, the profits go up to 1 lakh. Although in certain seasons it also goes less to 15,000.
During a good season, 3 lakh to 5 lakh fish production mainly Koi Carp and Goldfish varieties. Fishes are priced as:
- Koi Carp Rs 1.50 per inch
- White and banana Morphs at Rs 40 for 2 inches
- Blue Morphs Rs 20 each
- Albino Cribensis (red eyes) at Rs 500 per piece.
When Parvathy started her fish farming, she faced numerous challenges and failures, but she didn’t give up. She overcame these challenges and proved herself by achieving success. Parvathy journey shows nothing is impossible if you dare to follow your interests.
