Success related to soil: Krishna Prasad Dahal
Santoshi Rawal, Nepal News Bank
Kathmandu. As soon as you enter ‘Shri Krishna Nursery’ located in Nakhipot, Lalitpur, colorful flowers and plants of different species captivate everyone’s heart. Krishna Prasad Dahal of Godavari Municipality-13 has made this greenery the basis of his life. Active in the nursery business for the past 22 years, he has now established himself as a self-reliant entrepreneur through his hard work.
Dahal’s journey was not easy in his early days. Before starting his own business, he worked in other nurseries and gained experience in plant production, care and market management. Then in the year 2017, he started his own ‘Shri Krishna Nursery’ by investing about Rs 8 to 10 lakh. Now his nursery has seasonal flowers, indoor and outdoor plants, fruit plants and vegetable saplings.
According to him, the demand for seasonal flowers is the highest. He has his own business style of moving unsold small plants into big pots and growing them with fertilizer, water and regular care and then selling them. He himself takes care of everything from importing plants from other places as per the customer’s requirement to determining the price according to the quality.
According to Dahal, the local varieties of plants are comparatively cheaper, while the prices of hybrid and superior varieties are higher. He suggests that while buying plants, priority should be given to their health and quality rather than the price. Although the daily turnover is not fixed, he says that on an average the business is between Rs 15,
000 and Rs 20,000. He produces his own seasonal flower saplings, and most of the other plants are brought from the Terai region of Nepal and India, while some special species of plants and materials also come from Holland and China.
There are no less challenges in business. The cost of land rent, employee salaries, fertilizer, water and electricity has to be borne regularly. He says that sometimes he has to sell the saplings at a price less than the cost. He says that although about 10 to 15 percent of the plants are damaged, they are balanced by the sale of other plants.
The biggest achievement for Dahal is being able to fulfill the responsibility of the family through this business. Through this profession, he has fulfilled the education of his children and the needs of the family. His daily routine, which is working in the nursery from 7 am to 8 pm, tells a story of hard work and dedication.
“Selling plants is not only a business, but also a job of making people’s homes, courtyards and environment greener,” he says. He urges everyone to increase greenery in the house as indoor plants like snake plant, peace lily and Erica Palm make the house attractive and also help improve the air quality.
Dahal, who has taken the agriculture profession as a legacy from his ancestors, urges the new generation not to consider going abroad only as the path of success. Although the attraction towards technology and modern education is natural, he believes that there is a good possibility in the country if the flower and nursery business can understand the demand, hard work, patience and market demand. He suggested that while buying saplings, one should not only depend on the price seen online but should go to the nursery and choose healthy and quality plants. Krishna Prasad Dahal has become an example that a respectable income and a satisfying life are possible in one’s own country if one works hard by staying connected with the soil.
प्रतिक्रिया दिनुहोस्
