Tengin was founded by Madhu Kargund, who hails from a humble farmer family in the Kargunda village of Karnataka. In 2017, Madhu came across the concept of Zero Budget Farming. He then decided to merge Zero Budget Farming with multi-level cropping and help farmers have a more dependable harvest every season.
Explaining the modus operandi of coconut farming, Madhu Kargund said he decided to implement this in his own farms first and educate farmers in his village to follow this sustainable practice. “This was the beginning of Tengin. I put in all my savings and started it as a 100 per cent bootstrapped startup (Rs 6L), helping farmers convert the coconuts to cash flow. We value coconuts. We add coconuts into virgin coconut oil and other coconut shell products, by preserving the traditional practices while also creating a socio-economic impact in rural communities.”
Shedding light on his farming background, Madhu Kargund said, “I grew up in the fields, helping my farmer father cultivate crops and make a living. This was when I was exposed to the dark side of agriculture, where everything depends on rain, climate and environment. My father always believed in education. He didn’t want me to work in the fields and suffer as he did. At that time, sending me to the city was probably the right choice.”
Indeed, Madhu has a good educational background that helped him to fulfil his dream. He did BCA and MCA and went on to work as a software engineer and investment banker in the corporate world for over eight years.
After finishing graduation and post-graduation in Computer Applications from the Malnad College of Engineering in Karnataka, Madhu Kargund said, “For another eight years, I worked as a Software Engineer and Investment Banker in the corporate world. But something always drew me back to my village. I was happy with my life but was battling with an inner conflict – would it be right to continue living my best life in the city when people in my small village struggled to make ends meet? Could I do anything at all to help them and stop them from migrating from villages to cities?”
INITIAL CHALLENGES
- Juggling between corporate career and Tengin
- Initially, Madhu Kargund’s parents weren’t happy with his decision to come back to the village. By 2020 Madhu quit his job to work at Tengin on a full-time basis
- When Madhu Kargund went to the fields to convince farmers to switch their farming techniques, he was met with hesitation. Slowly and steadily, he was able to educate and gain the trust of the farmers. Many of them switched from growing only coconuts to now harvesting tomatoes and bananas. Meanwhile, he began producing value-added products of coconut and was helped by farmers and rural women
- Tengin started off in a decentralisation mode. Each farmer would make the oil and drop it at the Tengin collection centre where it started being processed and manufactured naturally. Madhu Kargund would market them on Instagram and deliver them himself. He also attended flea markets to display his products and build a customer base.
Coco-Tourism & Innovative Programme
Tengin started something called Coco Tourism. This is for customers who want to trace their food. Tengin invites them to his farms and see for themselves how everything is hygienically grown and manufactured. Tengin also operates a Sweat Donation camp where customers and local people are encouraged to join the farmers and help them out in their field work for a whole day. Customers always come back to Madhu Kargund and tell him how this exercise instilled an unwavering gratitude in them.
Additionally, Tengin launches “Give Back Programme” which helps in improving rural upliftment such as donation of books, uniforms to Government Schools and educating rural women on menstrual cups.
Market Value of Products
Initially, Tengin struggled convincing people to eat sustainable healthy food. Post-COVID-19 people became more health conscious. They showed immense support in buying sustainable and healthy products such as virgin coconut oil, coconut sugar which has low glycemic index among others.
Future Plans
Madhu Kargund’s future plans include tapping into these international markets by obtaining organic certifications and enhancing packaging to meet global standards.
- Making Tengin International: There is a huge untapped potential for indigenous and sustainable products outside India. The customers understand conscious choices better *Planning to scale our model to more rural villages and create more employment opportunities
- Explorations in bio-based resin and the innovative repurposing of coconut shells into coco particle boards. This approach not only minimises waste but also offers an eco-friendlier alternative to traditional plywood. This approach not only minimizes waste but also offers an eco-friendlier alternative to traditional wood production methods.
