Occupation: Sells firewood and hay
Will this article be of any benefit to my business? Anyway, since you have stopped after seeing my signboard here at Pathamkallu, near Nedumangad, I am happy to tell you all about my business. I have been running this business for nearly three decades now. My late wife, Shareefa Beevi, was managing it till she passed away one-and-half years ago. Now I am looking it after along with my second wife, Rasheeba.
This is among the few shops that sell firewood in Nedumangad. You might wonder whether people use firewood these days. I get enough customers, especially from in and around Nedumangad, Azhikode, Peroorkada, Valukode and from the city too. Even now there are households here that use firewood for cooking. When there is a shortage of cooking gas, the demand for firewood picks up. Some hotels and restaurants also buy firewood from here.
I buy huge logs of timber from Kollamkavu. A tonne costs Rs. 2,300. Then the logs are split into small pieces. I hire a labourer for this work. The pieces are stacked on the small verandah of my house.
Right now, I have stocked rubber wood. It is priced Rs. 5 per kg. I also sell wood of mango, jackfruit and mahogany and other indigenous varieties, which are priced Rs. 4 per kg. I don’t have an alternative space to stack the wood. So, when it rains I cover it with a plastic sheet.
I have regular customers, most of them who buy the wood in bulk, say 25 to 50 kg at a time. As my house/shop is bang on the roadside, sometimes passersby also stop to purchase wood.
In another section of the house, I store hay. I get the stock from Tamil Nadu. A bunch, which we call pidi , is priced Rs. 18. We replenish the stock as and when it gets over.
I wouldn’t say this is a profitable business. But I earn enough to run my family. My three daughters have been married off, thanks also to my job as a peon. The pension I get comes in handy. I have studied only till class five. I retired from service while I was working in University College. I had worked under several prominent principals in government colleges in the city and its outskirts and I remember those days with much pride. I am 71 now and have not been keeping well. My wife takes care of the business, which is a huge relief for me.
(A weekly column on men and women who make Thiruvananthapuram what it is)
