Himalayan Haat is a social enterprise that was started in 2014 by mother-daughter duo (Indira and Divya Chowfin) in their farm kitchen in Pauri, Uttarakhand. It was soon after Divya lost her father who had been farming here for decades.
She soon realised that there was no real market for the fantastic produce farmers grew here anymore. It was either sold for a pittance or consumed by the family or just distributed. Divya wanted to change that. Indira had been making preserves, sauces and concentrates for decades. So the duo decided to use fresh produce from their farm, supplemented with naturally grown local produce, to make artisanal homemade products. The journey was not easy.
Divya recalls, “Since none of us – my mum, my husband or I, are from farming backgrounds, we had to learn on the job. We call ourselves accidental farmers and have made so many mistakes, too. My late father, Ronnie Chowfin, had a degree in Agricultural Sciences and he’s the one who built the farm and orchard – he was passionate about farming and about this place. We wanted to continue his legacy after he passed away so took over the reins. It is certainly not easy – it is expensive, labour-intensive and to a large degree – a lot of factors are not in your control – hail, bad rains and so on. The limitations of terrace farming in the hills are also many. We are in a remote place and many things are not accessible etc. All these are challenges. But the key thing for us was our commitment to natural and farming practices and that dictated all the choices we made.” 
Himalayan Haat now makes a wide range of seasonal preserves, sauces, juice concentrates, pickles, herbal infusions and herbed salts. Indira, a retired school teacher with years of old-fashioned cooking behind her, dons the chef’s hat. Everything is made by hand in their home kitchen, in small batches and without any additives, colours, chemicals or preservatives.
Empowering Pahadi women
By using produce from the farm to make handmade artisanal products, Himalayan Haat has been able to create jobs for local village women. These ladies are involved in the harvesting, cutting, chopping, canning and packaging of the products. Garhwal has a huge problem with alcohol and most of the women have alcoholic husbands and ample stories of neglect and hardship. While this leaves women vulnerable – it also places the burden on them to provide for their families – Unfortunately, there are little or no stable income opportunities for women in these mountains.
Divya shares, “Through our setup, we are able to employ, train and enable local village women to get financially independent. To supplement our own farm produce, we also procure naturally grown produce from small and marginal farmers in the villages around us at good prices. Our aim is to help them become financially independent while enabling them to create gourmet, beautifully packaged products that they can be incredibly proud of.”
The role model
The family farm Marrora (a local name for a place blessed with water) is an 8-hour drive away from Delhi in Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand. Divya’s father had dedicated his life to farming and forest conservation since the late 1960s. And, as a result of his life work, the farm, orchard and forest are rich with supplies of spring water that cater to 14 villages in the district.
Divya adds, “We follow a ‘jungle farming’ concept on our farm, which is as close to natural farming as can be. We use leaf mould from the forest and cow dung as fertilisers and our fruit trees are planted in between oaks and wild trees. At no stage are any chemical sprays, urea, pesticides or fertilisers used on our crops or trees. We share our produce with birds and wild animals (bears love our pears and walnuts while barking deer go after our chillis and tomatoes!) and feel it is a blessing to be able to share our living space with these creatures.”
The Chowfins grow strawberries, citrus fruit, walnuts, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, herbs like rosemary, chamomile, lemongrass, bay leaf, and various seasonal vegetables like tomatoes, chillis and garlic on the farm.
Speaking about the rising number of women farmer entrepreneurs, Divya says, “Women play a huge role in the farming sector, but have been “invisible” for so long. They make up about 33 per cent of cultivators and about 47 per cent of agricultural labourers. It’s great to see women emerging as leaders and entrepreneurs. It’s not only about recognition, but I believe that when women emerge as leaders in a community-based setup like farming, they will make decisions that will be good for the community at large. To quote Melinda Gates, when we invest in women and girls, we are investing in the people who invest in everyone else.”
