Two IIT graduates have developed a revolutionary solution to India's crop burning crisis. Anand Bodh and Arpit Dhupar, who studied engineering at IIT, have transformed paddy straw into packaging material that functions like thermocol but decomposes naturally in approximately 60 days. According to reports from YourStory, the business generates an annual turnover of around ₹2.5 crore, addressing both environmental pollution and agricultural waste disposal challenges. The entrepreneurs, who started working together on projects more than 13 years ago, later decided to use their skills to find a solution to one of India's major environmental problems - the burning of crop residue.
The entrepreneurs founded Dharaksha Ecosolutions in 2020 to address India's major environmental problem of crop residue burning. As reported by YourStory, the company uses mycelium, the root-like network of a mushroom, to convert paddy straw into packaging material. The name Dharaksha comes from two Hindi words: 'Dhara', meaning earth, and 'Raksha', meaning protection. The process involves collecting straw from farmers in Punjab and Haryana, working with aggregators who collect and compress the straw into bales, and processing it through chopping, steaming, and mushroom mycelium introduction, which can take up to 10 days. The company has developed its own mushroom strain for this process, as commercially available mushroom strains did not have the required qualities for their packaging material.
According to the 2023 report from YourStory, Dharaksha collected around 750 tonnes of straw during the previous season from more than 250 acres of land. The company procures stubble from districts within a 200 km radius of epicentres where crop burning is most prevalent. The finished packaging material has a reported shelf life of more than three years and is designed to resist moisture, heat, and has fire-retardant and anti-static properties. The material can be shaped according to the size and design of the item it needs to protect, and the company makes packaging for products needing protection inside cardboard boxes during transportation.
As reported by YourStory, Bodh and Dhupar initially invested ₹45 lakh from their personal savings to start the business. The company later attracted investors including Zerodha co-founder Nithin Kamath, former MakeMyTrip executive Anshuman Bapna, and investors associated with IIM Bangalore, along with other angel investors. According to the 2023 report, a small, six-inch pot made from the material costs around ₹30, while packaging for a typical glass jar costs around ₹10, and larger pieces could cost up to ₹250.
According to YourStory, the company's mission focuses on eliminating pollution sources and replacing them with sustainable alternatives. Dhupar stated that access to clean air should be everyone's right, not the privilege of the rich. The packaging decomposes in around 60 days under normal soil conditions, addressing the environmental concerns from stubble burning that affects Delhi and surrounding areas during winter months. The company emphasizes that their products are grown from nature rather than manufactured, with Dhupar noting that 'These materials are made from nature, which is at the core of what we do. We don't manufacture our products, we grow them'.
