The mobile phone of Krishnarajappa, a silk farmer in Ramanagara, Karnataka, keeps buzzing through the day. And no it’s not because he gets notifications for new likes, shares or comments. On the contrary, these are notifications from Reshamandi, touted to be India’s first and largest digital ecosystem for natural fibre supply chain, starting from farm-to-retail. Krishnarajappa’s notifications are about pH value, moisture content of soil and ideal environmental conditions like light, air quality, humidity, and temperature for the silk cocoons. Or a notification could be a reminder asking him to schedule a pickup of leftover cocoons from farms.
“As we speak, ReshaWeaves, the consumer arm of ReshaMandi, opened its first store in Delhi a week ago,” reveals Mayank Tiwari, founder and CEO of Reshamandi. India’s silk industry, one of the largest employment generators, is growth by 10 percent every year. It is also riddled with problems such as lack of standardisation in the industry, poor database management, unhealthy practices leading to fluctuations in production and quality. Tiwari conceived of Reshmandi as a one stop solution.
“The idea of Reshamandi occurred to me in early 2020 when I was working in Bengaluru and was closely worked with farmers in Ramanagara,” begins this NIFT graduate. Ramanagar is the silk city of Karnataka and the largest market for silk cocoons in Asia. “I evaluated their processes and yield, worked with them on-ground, helped them achieve market linkages and took up the responsibility of logistics and transportation.
For over a month, I drove up and down from Bangalore to Sarjapura, collected the cocoons myself and made sure they reached the Ramanagara mandi after assuring the farmers a good rate for their produce. Sericulture farmers achieved a 35 percent increase in production and 80 percent lesser crop failure,”
states Tiwari.
At the farming level, ReshaMandi offers two IoT (internet of things) devices, one to monitor the soil’s carbon and moisture content, and the other to maintain ideal air quality, temperature and humidity levels in the rearing shed. While the app is free, the IoT subscriptions begin at Rs 500 per month for mulberry farmers.
The devices are connected with an app on a farmer’s smartphone. Sensors installed in the field and rearing sheds enable ReshaMandi to send textual advice via cellphone, with follow-up calls if required. Next, Reshamandi will focus on additional natural fibres like cotton, banana fibre, viscose, hemp etc,” he adds.
And the process and the profits will be smooth as silk.
Quick Takes
✥Farmers can schedule an appointment with ReshaMandi to collect their cocoons.
✥ Weavers, reelers and retailers can place an order on the app for procuring cocoons or yarns. It features real-time market value of the silk cocoons to keep the farmers informed about the fluctuations in the prices.
✥ The app is available in five Indian languages.