From labourer to entrepreneur

by Surekha GALAGODA

Life is neither a bed of roses nor a thorny path. hard work and commitment can make a person realise the dreams in double quick time. Proprietor of Charana Oil Mills Wasantha Udayasiri said.

Young Udayasiri started life as a labourer and down the path he became interested in the charcoal business but he had one problem the availability of finances, but it was sorted out with the help of the Rural Development Bank which gave him a loan of Rs. 150,000.

"I purchased a landmaster tractor and started the business. I was able to settle the loan in one and a half years. As I settled the loan I was able to apply for a second loan. I borrowed Rs. 500,000 and together with the funds I had I purchased a small expeller to extract oil from coconuts as I saw potential in this business too.

He experienced problems here too as the percentage of poonac in the oil was higher than the stipulated amount according to the Coconut Development Authority officials after conducting the relevant tests. This was due to the capacity of the expeller.

Wasantha Udayasiri and his wife Nirosha Samanthi at the Mill. Pictures by Lalith Liyanage.

"But I didn't have cash to buy a bigger expeller. As I was a member of the Industrial Development Board the officials introduced me to the LankaPuthra Development Bank who understood my request and gave me a loan of Rs. 500,000 at an interest rate of 12 per cent to buy a bigger expeller. This has helped me to get over the problem of the high percentage of poonac in the coconut oil. I have undertaken to settle the loan in three years. In addition to these two loans I have taken Rs. 125,000 on high interest.

To settle the instalments of these loans, pay electricity bills and for daily expenses I need to earn Rs. 60,000 a month.

Oil produced by me is sold in Colombo as well as to wholesale shops. In addition I sell oil for catering and shops at retail price. Once a week I sell two barrels of oil to Colombo while the balance of 600KG is sold as mentioned above. Udyasiri has two children a boy and a girl aged five and three. "we leave them at our mother's place in the morning and come and work in the mill from morning till night. As I am still not in a position to employ more people my wife and I have to do all the work." He said if he has extra cash he can purchase a stock of copra, but at present I can't do it as I don't have any extra cash. In the event I had cash I could buy copra and if the copra is kept for two weeks before putting it to the expeller then I can get more oil which means more profit. At present I earn a modest profit after obtaining the loan from LDB. Earlier there were days I made a loss due to the capacity of the expeller.

He said that "loku expeller eka gaththata pasuwa loku pahasuwak denenawa." I am grateful to the officers of LDB for giving me a loan."I don't have any intention of obtaining another loan, but if some organisation gives me a grant then I can invest that money to buy the stocks of copra and also give employment to more people when I make better profits.