Kannur youth quits engineering job, finds sweet success with backyard jaggery unit

When 31-year-old P Sreejith quit his engineering job to start a small-scale enterprise in his backyard, he was betting on a simple idea: making good quality traditional jaggery without additives. Today, his venture, Chembakam Foods, is finding customers who appreciate the taste and purity of his product.

Based at Kallinkeel House in Shanthinagar of Pariyaram in Kannur, Sreejith makes jaggery from sugarcane juice without adding artificial colours or other additives. His journey is emerging as an example for young people keen to start their own businesses.

Sreejith had dreamt of running his own venture while studying electronics engineering at CFT in Kaithapram, Payyanur. His father, K Sreedharan, a former Health Department employee, and mother P Anitha encouraged him to pursue his ambition.

After graduating, he worked at several establishments. However, It was during a temporary stint at the Animal Husbandry Department's Payyanur office that he decided it was time to take the plunge and start his own business.

Initially, he considered marketing unadulterated coconut oil and jaggery. However, after realising that most panchayats already had coconut oil mills, he dropped the idea of entering that segment and focused on jaggery production instead.

Convinced that there would be a market for good-quality jaggery, he travelled to Mysuru to learn the manufacturing process from established units.

The biggest challenge was securing a steady supply of sugarcane. He decided to source the raw material from Mysuru and begin production. With a loan under the PMFME scheme, a joint initiative of the Union and state governments to strengthen micro food processing enterprises, he set up a manufacturing unit in his backyard.

The making of jaggery
The process begins with cleaning the sugarcane, which is then crushed to extract the juice. The juice is filtered twice before being boiled for six hours to reduce it to a thick consistency. It is then shaped into small cakes and packed.

The unit has the capacity to produce 100 kg of jaggery a day. Around eight kilograms of jaggery can be obtained from 50 litres of sugarcane juice. The product is marketed through supermarkets and online platforms.

Currently, the jaggery is sold in 500g packs priced at ₹90. Sreejith also uses the sugarcane residue left after juice extraction. It serves as cattle feed and is also used to make manure. The residue is the main feed for the cows at his home, while the remaining portion is mixed with cow dung to produce organic manure.

To bring down production costs, Sreejith is now preparing to start cultivating sugarcane himself. His brothers, Sreekanth and Sreenath, are also supporting the venture. Phone: 7994295195.