Every brand has a story, and ours begins in the fields. But the story of every field begins with a farmer. Today, that farmer is Varun Jha.
Meet the Hero of Purnea
Meet the Hero of Purnea
In the heart of Bihar’s Seemanchal region, where rivers feed the land and fields hold water for much of the year, Varun Ji tends to his makhana farms.
He farms in Purnea, a region renowned for its GI-tagged Makhana. Here, farmers like Varun Ji grow makhana not in the deep waters of rivers, as one might imagine, but in shallow, water-filled fields.
Working closely with the water and the land, Varun Ji tends to the crop through the season, carrying forward a farming tradition deeply rooted in Purnea.
A Crop Grown by Hand, Not by Machine
Makhana, also called fox nut or lotus seed, comes from the prickly water lily. Its journey from water to your plate is almost entirely manual.
The plants grow through the warm months, their broad, thorny leaves spreading across the water. When the seeds mature, they sink into the mud below. Farmers gather them by hand, sifting through the silt and water to collect each one. The seeds are then cleaned, sun-dried, and roasted over fire, before being struck with a wooden mallet so the kernel bursts out into the light, crunchy makhana we know. It's a skill passed down through families, and it takes years to master the timing and touch.
Why Varun Ji's Story Matters
For farmers like Varun Ji, makhana isn't just a crop. It's a livelihood that supports families, and keeping an age-old craft alive. When you choose our makhana, you're choosing produce grown with patience, harvested by hand, and carrying the soil and water of Purnea in every bite. And you're supporting the people who make it possible.
