My Story: Santosh Kaveri

Posted on Thursday, February 06, 2014 by LEAD

Santosh Kaveri (Samiti BBA College, Belgaum)



"The way I see it, all problems give me an opportunity to enter into business and provide products which are helpful for Indians."

I faced many challenges growing up.  I come from a rural background in the village of Shedbal, which is very remote.  When I was younger, I used to walk 10 kilometers every day just to attend school.  When I got older and was in high school, members of my family started facing different health and economic issues.  In order to feed  my family, I had to start working on the farm.  I used to work on the farm every morning before class starting at 5 AM and I would continue working immediately after returning from classes every day. It was a very tough time for me, but thankfully I was managed to get through it and get myself to college.

During my first year in college, I joined LEAD.  While in LEAD, I came to know about the need for technology, as well as the important for innovating it to make it inclusive and affordable for everyone.  Before joining LEAD, I had always been interested in becoming an entrepreneur and I utilized LEAD as a platform to execute my ideas for improving the lives of farmers.


Carrot Cleaning Machine
When I was thinking about my first LEAD project, I reflected on the struggles that my own family faced and I identified a problem in carrot cleaning.  Before farmers can sell their carrots at the local markets, the carrots must be cleaned to make them appealing to customers.  However, carrot cleaning is a lengthy and demanding process; cleaning one quintal of carrots requires usually the labor of 12 people.

I thought about the problem and searched determinedly for a solution to this problem.  My epiphany came at last one day after observing a washing machine.  I realized I could apply the same concept to devise a machine that could quickly, and efficiently, clean carrots.

Being a business student and having no prior experience with engineering, I struggled to develop a technology that could clean carrots. After developing 11 unsuccessful machines, I finally devised the Carrot Cleaning Machine.  My Carrot Cleaning Machine can clean a quintal of carrots in just 15 minutes and requires the labor of only two people.  The Carrot Cleaning Machine uses no electricity, and very little water.  This machine is now helping hundreds of farmers throughout 10 villages.  

Carrot Cleaning Machine

Eco Hot Water Coil
In India, gas is costly, and no one seems to be concerned about that.  We use a lot of gas every day without even realizing.  We use it to make tea, cook food, heat water for baths, and more. I tried to find a way to still be able to do all of this, but use less gas while doing it.  My Eco Hot Water Coil can perform two functions at once, thereby helping people conserve gas.  The Eco Hot Water Coil is a stovetop device that simultaneously boils water for cooking and collects hot water for bathing. This device has been fixed in several hostels, and the hostels have reported that the Eco-Water Coil is helping them save more than Rs. 1000 per month.   I plan to soon introduce this technology to individual homes for domestic use. 

Eco Hot Water Coil

Brake System for Bullock Cart
Farmers around the country rely on bullock carts to transport large quantities of goods over long distances.  However, many problems have been caused by the fact that most of these farmers are using bullock carts without a proper braking system.  Instead, the bullock carts are usually stopped manually, which is putting strain on the laborers, the oxen and the bullock cart. I innovated a bullock cart brake system that is simple, effective, and affordable. Farmers using this brake system for their bullock carts are receiving many benefits.  Bullock cart accidents are being reduced, and farmers can now carry more weight on their carts.  In addition, less manual labor is required to manage the cart.  Moreover, no pollution is being created from the cart as the brake system requires no fuel source.  

Brake System for Bullock Cart


I  was presented the "Best LEADer" by Ratan Tata during Yuva Summit 2013 for the entrepreneurial and innovative nature of his Carrot Cleaning Machine, and I won the "Best LEADer" award again during Yuva Summit 2014 .  Because of LEAD, I have developed myself.  I now feel that I have something inside worth showing to others.   I know that the confidence I have gained from my successful initiatives will continue to drive me to work on bigger, bolder ideas in the future.

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11 Response to "My Story: Santosh Kaveri"

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orionmahesh Says....
September 21, 2015 at 10:39 AM

Fantastic Need of the hour Innovations! Keep it coming santosh Cheers!

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Kranthi Kiran Ale Says....
September 22, 2015 at 12:31 AM

so great and interesting story. I wanted to meet you once Mr.Santosh Kaveri.

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हेमंत साळुंखे Says....
February 21, 2018 at 2:22 AM

Sir, can we have your interactive session at the Annual prize distribution in college of agriculture pune
Please, do reply

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Manoj Talwar Says....
May 10, 2019 at 7:39 PM

Hello Santosh,

What is your phone number? Do you use whatsapp?

Regards

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Unknown Says....
June 12, 2019 at 10:03 PM

Dear Sir/Madam,

My name is Peter Asante, 29years old farmer from Ghana, Africa. I am writing to introduce to you my farm products and also to request for business partnership.
I have been following or reading a lot about your company on the internet.
Sir I am a fruit and vegetables farmer in the Ashanti Region of Ghana and I wish to start a business partnership with your company which i know will create market avenue for my farm products.
I am also planning to establish a fruit drink processing industry in near future, providing I'm able to get a foreign investor for partnership. I am saying this because I'm new into farming, so I'm lacking financial resources to operate on my own.
I am hoping my request will be considered.

Regards...

Peter Asante

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Professor.S.G.Bhate. Says....
June 13, 2019 at 10:03 AM

hello Peter,
I do not know how your mail has come to me.
pl send further mails on bhate48@gmail.com

I can only guide and advice you and no financial help is possible.
Do write if you are interested.
I am an Architect and social Entrepreneur engaged in social work
in the fields such as water, health and nutrition, sanitation,
affordable housing, bio gas, solar lighting , skill development etc.
pl see this presentation.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1D05NCcIrGW9nol2ntq1qKweTMFDlyCKvvKZ2aedkq70/edit?usp=sharing

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