Oorvi gives ‘new life’ to wilted flowers
Hyderabad: Almost every alternate day, a lorry collects flowers from various temples in the city and dumps them at a flower recycling unit. These flowers are then weighed and four women sit to weed the stems, threads, and plastic from the petals. Situated at the far end of Hyderabad, Oorvi Sustainable Concepts’ factory doesn’t just […]
Hyderabad: Almost every alternate day, a lorry collects flowers from various temples in the city and dumps them at a flower recycling unit. These flowers are then weighed and four women sit to weed the stems, threads, and plastic from the petals.
Situated at the far end of Hyderabad, Oorvi Sustainable Concepts’ factory doesn’t just recycle discarded flowers, but also provides livelihood opportunities to the women from Gundlapochampally village.
The start-up that manufactures various products, including incense sticks, dhup and soaps under their brand Holy Waste, out of floral waste, was started in December 2019, by Maya Vivek and Minal Dalmia.
The two ladies, who left their 9 to 5 jobs to give wings to their idea, battled through the pandemic to keep their company alive. Today, Oorvi receives about 300 kg of flowers from various sources, including temples, flower sellers and also events and weddings, at least thrice a week. From starting their company in the community hall of Gundlapochampally village, to setting up their own recycling unit, the duo has surely come a long way.
“We wanted to start something of our own for a long time and also discussed a few ideas,” says Minal, reminiscing about how they started Oorvi Sustainable Concepts.
“One day me and Maya came across a video about the company in Uttar Pradesh working with floral waste and we thought it was a great idea. A friend of ours suggested we get in touch with the temples in the city. The heads of the temple were quite happy with the idea and agreed to help us with all the floral waste, which usually ended up in a garbage bin by the end of the day,” she says.
Keen on working with only female employees, the two hired about 15 women who segregate the flowers, weed out stems, and spread the flower petals for drying. However, during the first and second wave of coronavirus, many women had to quit the job.
“The pandemic, however, was a difficult period. Since there were no major events, the flower supply was quite low and we did not have many orders,” shares a smiling Maya, who adds that they are quite hopeful that the company will do well next year. “We are looking to launch several new products, including a line of home care products. I am sure people will like it a lot.”
Aiming to expand the company, Minal shares that Oorvi will be procuring flowers from other parts of the country as well. “We have been approved by several people from other cities including Chennai, which is a temple town. We have tied up with an NGO that supports elderly people who can segregate the flowers, and once they are dried send it to us here,” she says.
Incubated at a-IDEA (Association for Innovation Development of Entrepreneurship in Agriculture) at ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad, Oorvi is also looking to recycle plastic and e-waste in the future.
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