Meet woman, former IT engineer, left lucrative corporate job in US to start unique business with only Rs 1 lakh, it is now worth Rs..., business is...

Not everyone thinks of living a corporate life but develops a passion for making a difference in their life and everybody else’s through their contributions. Amita Deshpande is one such example who not only became a successful entrepreneur but also brought the Indian art and handicraft out into the world and through the process provides jobs to thousands of villagers and helps in preserving the environment. She started reCharkha, an eco-social company which makes several items like bags from plastic waste. She employs villagers who turn waste into useful daily objects. Here’s her story.  

How Amita Deshpande started eco based company

Amita started reCharkha with an investment of only Rs 1 lakh and the company is now worth crores of rupees. By turning plastics into useful items, Amita started her journey with a determination to preserve the environment and bring out the talent and craft of villagers to people’s homes. This also provides them with jobs. However, this wasn’t her first choice as she had already made a career in the US after completing her studies. Daughter of a fisherman, Amit has seen water bodies being polluted by plastic waste.  

Amita is a former IT engineer from Lonavala who left a lucrative job in the US in 2013 to start her own enterprise. She studied from Pune’s Cummins College of Engineering for Women where she earned a degree in computer science from 2001 to 2005 and worked in KPIT from 2005 to 2009 and was active in its CSR initiative.  

Her idea was to preserve the environment and help the earth get free from choking waste. Her company, ‘the eco social tribe pvt ltd’ started with her husband Abhishek Paranjpay under which she launched her brand ‘reCharkha’. The brand works by turning plastic and other waste into eco-friendly items like different types of bags-beach bags, potli bags, laundry bags etc. reCharkha uses at least 15 to plastic waste to make one bag and the cost of each item ranges from Rs 550 to Rs 3,800. The company achieved a turnover of Rs 2 crore.