Are you someone who snacks on makhana often?

What if I were to let you in on a secret — every makhana ordered from ‘Pearl Mithila Makhana’, a brand started in Bihar’s Darbhanga in 2020, is handpicked and undergoes a rigid, meticulous and manual screening before it’s deemed fit for you.

Pratibha Bondia Kheria, the entrepreneur behind the venture, is keen that you get your money’s worth. At the heart of her endeavour is the intent to do right by her customers — young mothers make up a majority — and the farmers of Darbhanga, who, for years, have been losing out on their dues as middlemen monopolised a large share of the profits.

In Bihar, makhana — the popped kernels of the seeds of the prickly water lily plant — isn’t just a tea-time snack. It’s a member of the family, one that demands a seat at the table. Pratibha was privy to its fanfare soon after marrying into Darbhanga in 2018. Bihar’s makhana, she deduced, wasn’t just a local hero but drove the majority — 85 percent — of India’s production.

Pratibha had an idea. Why not champion a brand around the state’s indigenous crop?

This, while enabling her to further Bihar’s native makhana legacy, would also help effect grassroots changes among farming communities, the thought that had inspired her move to India in 2010 following a master’s in agribusiness management in the United States. Internships across organic farms in California introduced her to ethical farming practices — a prism through which she began to view the world’s food industries. “Farming practices are native to their regions. I decided to get back to my roots in India,” Pratibha explains her move.

From 2010 to 2018, she travelled across India, conducted training lectures at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Delhi and the National Centre for Organic and Natural Farming, Uttar Pradesh — where she also took a certification course in organic farming. She wanted to understand farmers, familiarise herself with the country’s agrarian models, and dialogue with agricultural research officers; these experiences gave her a palpable sense of the gaps her makhana startup could bridge.

A fair-trade inspired makhana model

Ponds and oxbow lakes decorate the landscape of Bihar. Large, circular, green carpets galvanise........

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