There are many who still doubt their chances of success in a profession involving animal rearing and farming. However, a few have broken these preconceived notions and changed the way one looks at these jobs. One such story is of Shweta Tomar who decided to get into goat rearing despite holding a fashion designing degree from the esteemed NIIFT college.
Shweta’s journey began in 2015 when she got married and had to shift to Bengaluru with her husband. She was already a successful fashion designer at the time. After coming to Bengaluru, she did not like staying idle at home, and started thinking of starting her own business.
Shweta once visited a goat farm with her husband, and loved spending time with the goats there. After this, she started frequenting the farm to understand the intricacies of goat-rearing.
Having born and raised in a small village, Shweta was well aware that she cannot start this work in a city. She decided to leave her comfortable life in Bengaluru, and went to a small village Ranipokhri near Dehradun in Uttarakhand. She invested all her savings till then to start her goat-rearing work, and even took a loan from the bank to scale her business.
Shweta says that her closed ones were initially shocked by her decision. Looking at her educational qualifications, everyone expected her to take a well-paying job in a big company. Many told her that she was making a mistake when she proposed her idea of starting a goat-rearing business.
Many wild animals lived in the area where Shweta decided to start her business, and she feared that her goats might be attacked. However, she did not let anything deter her spirit, and took a bank loan to start this business with 250 goats initially. Her farm has only desi goat breeds- from Jamnapari and Totapari to Sirohi and Barbari breed.
Shweta ensures that the goats are provided with proper care and nutrition. At times, she takes the goat to the marketplace herself. Apart from the traditional market, she also sells her goats through the internet.
Shweta had a turnover of Rs 25 lakh last year, and has also started providing training sessions at the farm to encourage others to start their own business. Now, she wishes to expand in other regions of Uttarakhand as well.