When you have talent and skills, there is nothing that can stop you from achieving your dreams. This is what drives these two grandmothers from Chennai who defied the stereotypes of society and limitations of age to become entrepreneurs in the later stages of their lives.
90-year-old Lakshmi from Chennai established a farm stay named Vaksana in Tindivanam’s Rettanai Village in Chennai at the age of 89 along with her daughter Kasthuri Sivaraman who was around 71 at that time. However, starting her own business was not an easy task. Lakshmi always wanted to have a business of her own but couldn’t do so as she grew up in a conservative family. When she got a chance to do so, she started out by making podi and masalas like most Indian women start their at-home businesses. However, the door-to-door selling took a toll on her body and she realised she cannot continue it in the long run because of her growing age.
But Lakshmi did not let go of her dreams and decided to start a not-so-mobile business and that’s when she got the idea of a farm stay. She was joined by her daughter Kashturi and the two established the hospitality centre. Since they were new to this, they were helped by Kashturi Sivaraman’s children and grandchildren who taught them about marketing and social media. The age old recipes are a speciality of the farm stay which their guests love.
Since the mother-daughter duo was 90 and 72 respectively, at times it became physically hard to cook three times a day and operate the kitchen. However, Kashturi took most work responsibility from her mother and engaged in more manual work while she supervised. Talking about working with her daughter, Lakshmi said, “I am glad to have her by my side. I had three children, and two of them passed away. Kasthuri is the only one. So now that I get to spend time with her, it makes me very happy.”
“Living on a farm is an experience everyone should have. The large windows give the guest access to the trees, crops and vegetables being harvested at any given point. There are no roads, vehicles or people around. It respects your privacy while giving you a chance to live in nature,” says Laxmi.
Although the duo has no wanderlust experiences, they were actively involved in how the farm stay will look like. They were particular about giving a unique experience to the guests while providing them with modern amenities like ACs, washing machines, television, internet and more.
The house has wooden flooring, two mini-libraries and several indoor plants that keep the air clean. Every part of the house has an outside view of the farm.
“Due to the lockdown, we did not get any guests for nearly six months. One time a bunch of Youtubers visited who gave us positive reviews online and even made a video. That helped us get popular quickly,” says Kasthuri, who is now learning to surf the internet so that she can read the reviews herself.
Running a farm stay that is nestled amidst a vast agricultural ‘Vaksana’ farm can be physically exhausting, especially for senior citizens.
These inspiring homemakers turned entrepreneurs are not only financially independent now but are also generating livelihood opportunities for the locals during their homestay.