“Sangharsh hi sabse badi kaamyaabi hai. Agar badhna hai to peecche mud kar nahin dekhna hai.” (The strength to struggle is the greatest success. There is no looking back, if you want to move ahead in life.) This is not just some idealistic romanticisation, but a truism by which Dharamveer Singh Kamboj lives by. Born in 1963, Dharamveer is the youngest among five siblings. Always inquisitive by nature, his mother also inculcated in him a love for nature. He learnt about herbs by a holy man who visited their village, and while working as a rickshaw-puller in Delhi, where he used to ferry passengers dealing in herbs.

Genesis of the Multi-Purpose Machine

In 2004, Dharamveer got the opportunity to visit aloe vera and amla processing units in Rajasthan, along with a group of farmers, through the Department of Horticulture, Government of Haryana. He got interested in the business. However the exorbitant cost of machinery deterred him. Instead of backing out, he decided to develop his own machine. In April 2006, Dharamveer was ready with the first prototype of the machine, which was used mainly for extraction of aloe vera juice. He further modified the machine and transformed it into a multi-purpose machine for processing several herbs and farm produce.

The multi-purpose machine which can process a variety of fruits, herbs, vegetables and even flowers.

Multi-Purpose Processing Machine The multi-purpose processing machine is a portable machine, which works on a single phase motor and is useful in the processing of various fruits, herbs and seeds. It has features like temperature control and condensation mechanism which helps in the extraction of essence and extracts from flowers and medicinal plants. The machine is a cylindrical container made of food grade stainless steel having an opening (with lid) at the top to feed the herbs, and an outlet at the bottom to collect residue. It is powered by an electric motor whose power depends on the capacity of the machine. It is also equipped with an oil jacket outside the main chamber to prevent direct heating of the herbs. This machine is unique as it has the capacity to process a wide variety of products without damaging the seed of the fruit or vegetable. It can be used for processing mango, amla, aloe vera, tulsi, aswagandha and flowers like rose, chameli, lavender. The multi-purpose machine is available in two models with juice extraction capacity of 50 kg/hr and 150 kg/hr.

Dharamveer demonstrating amla processing in the multi-purpose machine.

Innovation Diffusion Dharamveer is supported by NIF-India and GIAN North for value addition and business development under the Micro Venture innovation Fund (MVIF) support. A patent application has been filed in his name for the multi-purpose machine. NIF-India has also engaged a designer to improve the usability and aesthetics of the machine. Relying primarily on word-of-mouth, Dharamveer has sold his machine in many states of the country and also exported one to Kenya. He has given employment to over 2 dozen women in the village who engage in producing and selling processed amla and aloe vera products made by using the multi-purpose machine.

The new design of the multi-purpose machine

Through his sheer hard work and determination, Dharmaveer has gone from being a rickshaw-puller to a successful entrepreneur with an annual turnover of 40 lakhs. He was awarded the NIF-India Haryana State award for his innovation.

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