MALAPPURAM: The story of Jumaila's success story is an inspiring lesson. Jumaila Banu was bedridden for seven years due to a spinal injury in a fall. It took another three years for her to walk. Her family had to sell their house and land for her treatment. But Jumaila was not ready to give up. She regained her life through farming and is now a food entrepreneur who exports arrowroot and turmeric to Europe. She is earning lakhs every month.

In 2003, Kozhikode Kuttikkattoor native Jumaila fell from the terrace of her house and suffered a spinal injury. Even as she remained bedridden, Jumaila, who holds a diploma in electronic engineering, was determined to start her own business when she could walk. However, she did not have capital as her family had sold everything for her treatment. That is when she decided to venture into arrowroot farming. Since no significant investment was required, she leased two and a half acres and started cultivating arrowroot. However, a good portion of the arrowroot did not sprout. As a result, she lost Rs 3 lakh. Jumaila, who learned from her mistakes, started cultivation yet again. She also received constant support from her husband Musthafa, an NRI. This time, her hard work did not go in vain. After spending five lakhs on five acres, she made a profit of seven lakhs. Her friend, who was marketing the arrowroot powder, had assured her that he will buy the arrowroots. Later, an export agency based in Delhi also came up expressing willingness to buy arrowroot from her. 40-year-old Jumaila has not looked back since then. Today, she cultivates 15 acres of arrowroot and 40 acres of turmeric. She has signed an agreement with a European company to supply turmeric and arrowroot powder for 10 years. She has already shipped five and a half tonnes of arrowroot powder this year.