Mumbai Couple Empowers 1,000 Tribal Women With Jamun Fruit

Rajesh and Pooja Oza watched tribal women in rural Rajasthan walk miles each day carrying heavy baskets of jamun, custard apples, and other forest fruits to market, only to sell them at rock-bottom prices before they spoiled. The couple knew there had to be a better way.

Rajesh grew up in Bera village in Pali district, where he witnessed this struggle firsthand. After years of searching for opportunity in Mumbai without a college degree, he returned home in 2016 feeling defeated but determined to make a difference.

When he married Pooja in 2017, he found not just a life partner but someone who shared his vision. Together, they launched Jovaki, an agro-food company focused on helping tribal communities process their abundant forest harvest instead of racing against the clock to sell fresh fruit.

The couple started small, asking a few tribal families to trust them with their produce. Rajesh personally took the fruits to market, negotiated fair prices, and returned every rupee of profit to the families. Word spread quickly through the close-knit communities.

In October 2021, they launched Tribalveda, a processing venture centered on the jamun fruit. The purple berry is prized in Ayurvedic medicine for managing diabetes and heart health, but it's only available fresh for 20 days each year.

Now tribal women transform jamun into seed powder, green tea, and vinegar that sells year-round. They use every part of the fruit, turning rinds into vermicompost and planting seeds to grow more trees. Nothing goes to waste.

The couple built processing units right in the villages, eliminating the exhausting daily treks to market. Women learn food processing skills while earning steady income from products that don't perish overnight.

The Ripple Effect

What started as one man's desire to give back to his childhood community now supports 1,000 tribal families across Rajasthan. Women who once sold fresh fruit at a loss now run a multi-crore business processing products that reach customers nationwide.

The venture proves that sustainable income doesn't require leaving rural areas for cities. By adding value to what communities already harvest, Jovaki and Tribalveda created economic opportunity where none existed before.

The processing skills tribal women learn stay with them for life, creating a foundation for future entrepreneurship. Their children watch their mothers run successful businesses, planting seeds of possibility for the next generation.

Two people who believed in the potential of India's tribal communities and the power of the humble jamun fruit built something remarkable from the ground up.