KOLLAM: Despite possessing a doctorate, Shailesh was not ready to waste time looking for a white-collar job. Even while sitting in the driving seat of a car loaded with coconut fibre and coir, he does not believe that his studies and efforts have gone in vain.

Oachira Kottampally native Shailesh, a PhD degree holder, had worked as a guest lecturer for two years at Sasthamkotta Devaswom Board College and MSM College, Kayamkulam. He later gave up those jobs as he was not paid properly. However, he did not waste any time by wondering what to do next. He soon bought a pickup van and became its driver. Shailesh thus started his work by delivering coir to the homes of coir workers. One will get Rs 30 for delivering a bundle of 35 kg. Soon, he started delivering coir products to markets for a salary of Rs 12,000.

Shailesh received a doctorate in 2016 from Mahatma Gandhi University in the paper 'The Changing Face of a Middle-Class Woman - In Usha Priyamvada's Novels'. He also has a B.Ed and M.Phil in Hindi.

Shailesh became close to the coir industry after becoming a teacher in a job-training class organized by Coirfed and Nehru Yuva Kendra. In 2016, the Oachira Kotampally Navodaya Coir society was formed. Shailesh was its promoter. The shed in front of his house became a coir manufacturing unit. 65 electronic ratt machines were provided to houses and 10 automatic spinning machines were provided to the society. Now, there are around hundred workers. Shailesh was the president of the society for five years. He is now a board member. His wife Athira Mohan is the secretary. Shailesh formed the coir society while preparation his PhD dissertation.