Bio Basics was founded in the year 2015 at Coimbatore, the ecological capital of Tamilnadu. " We wanted to protect and preserve our environment, enable the organic farmers to lead a decent life and to provide safe food to the populace. Our attempt to become organic farmers culminated in ' Bio Basics '. The USA had been our home for many years and I was a fund manager at Kentucky for sometime. My wife Sreedevi Lakshmikutty and myself returned to India by the year 2007. A few years were spent in Mumbai and in Netherlands before calling it a day with the 'routine' of our times, " stated Ramesh Chandran who squats on the ground at his office which is bereft of furniture.
Bio Basics was founded in the year 2015 at Coimbatore, the ecological capital of Tamilnadu. " We wanted to protect and preserve our environment, enable the organic farmers to lead a decent life and to provide safe food to the populace. Our attempt to become organic farmers culminated in ' Bio Basics '. The USA had been our home for many years and I was a fund manager at Kentucky for sometime. My wife Sreedevi Lakshmikutty and myself returned to India by the year 2007. A few years were spent in Mumbai and in Netherlands before calling it a day with the 'routine' of our times, " stated Ramesh Chandran who squats on the ground at his office which is bereft of furniture.
" Its really easy to sit on the ground and carry on with our work. In fact our board meetings are really 'grounded'. Our other directors are Commander Lakshmanan and Vishnu Potty. My husband and myself became aware of healthy organic food in the year 2005. We understood that cheap food was causing obesity. Most Indians tend to think that the US citizens know everything but we were shocked to see the same people eating junk food simply because of the cost. I worked with farmers group abroad while doing my Masters in Sociology. The course gave me an opportunity to check on the food diary of the American kids. They had included ' French Fries ' under the ' vegetables consumed ' category! Accessibility and convenience had played a major role here. On returning to India I worked with farmer groups and tried to understand the reasons for the huge number of farmer suicides. I involved myself in the anti BT campaign too and seed diversity campaigns too. A number of reports were done by me even during our stint in the Netherlands, " supplemented Sreedevi.
First and foremost, Ramesh Chandran and Sreedevi had decided to change their food habits. They stopped consuming white sugar, white rice and avoided milk while adding just desi ghee to their diet. They used to eat outside once in a way but 95 % was home food which was basically organic. Their personal and political conviction made them to put their money in an ethical place.
Bio Basics is an eco venture which works with individual farmers and farmer groups. They do not entertain intermediaries at all ! ' Bio Basics ' is a registered trademark and functions as a ' private limited ' company. Commander Lakshmanan joined the venture in the year 2016 and he added further, " Bio Basics has four channels. About half the business is B2C ( directly sold to the consumers ), a part of the supplies are to shops and departmental stores, institutions and on line sale initiatives are the other two channels. We are found in Chennai, Kochi, Delhi, Udupi, Mumbai, Mangalore and Coimbatore among other centres. Non perishables are sold nationally and we take care of the delivery. Pulses, grains, fruits, dry fruits, spices, cold pressed oils etc., are part of our list. We supply perishables only in Coimbatore. One can order through email or WhatsApp now. Bio Basics is keen to reduce wastage and only 3 to 5 % of the perishables get wasted because we follow a pre order system. We do the ' KNOW YOUR FOOD ' sessions regularly. The people are made to understand that even if palm oil is harmless, the rain forests are the casualty. More than 100 sessions have been done so far by our team. "
The Founders are very clear. They state that awareness should be followed by intent and it should be followed by action. Unless the lady of the house changes herself, an ecological life is not possible for she is the bedrock of the household. The management team at Bio Basics is ready to help clients with recipes, usage methods etc., Organic food may require a little more time to cook. Sreedevi was keen to give additional inputs, " We are providing about twenty varieties of rice. People who are aware of the side effects caused due to the use of pesticides will opt for our stuff. A lot of problems are linked to pesticides. The kids develop a barrier by the time they are twelve years old and if the mother consumes chemically grown food while the child is in the womb itself, it is sure to harm the child. Therefore pregnant women, lactating mothers and kids should avoid pesticide infested food. Otherwise there are chances that it could affect the child either physically or psychologically. The gut is the second brain and there are mood altering chemicals which can work through the digestive system. The phenomenal diversity of micro organisms in the gut can be maintained by consuming organic food. The weight of these micro organisms in the gut will equal the weight of the brain. The best option is going organic."
Commander Lakshmanan gave some more inputs, " When we put chemicals in the soil, the earth worms disappear. Presence of life in the soil is important. Therefore we have to begin with the soil, keep our environment pristine, support organic farmers in order to get food which will keep us healthy. Once we begin to consume organic rice, our consumption will come down because of the bran found along with it. Good taste is guaranteed. We are not just promoting organic food but whole food. Now, we are getting on line orders from more than twenty cities in our country." Commander Lakshmanan and Sujatha are blessed with Anugraha.
Bio Basics has a number of interesting items like kudiraiwali aval. Aditya, the son of Sreedevi and Ramesh Chandran lives in Mumbai with his family. The directors live in Vadavalli and the company employs nine full time people, two part time and three on a contractual basis. Bio Basics is making available over six tonnes of organic stuff every month and they hope to hit ten tonnes in sometime. The aim is make it huge and also encourage others to take up cudgels on behalf of the environment.
The cheerful Sreedevi was happy to supplement the cause with more information, " The seminal books by Michael Pollen - 'Omnivores Dilemma' and 'Food Rules' are good reads. According to him, obesity can go down if people cook at home. People should desist from ' App- ily ' ordering for unhealthy food. Ready made food is visible but the diseases that they cause become visible much later. People should be sensitive to what they eat and food need not be sensational. Being sensible is actually sense - able. All these words have SENSE but we have to be SENSIBLE. "
Ramesh Chandran was very open while sharing the guiding principles, " We procure goods directly from farmers or farmer groups, Price negotiation is absent for we pay the farmer as per his wish and the farmer gets the largest component of the Maximum Retail Price ( in line with the fair trade proportion ), produce is purchased only after prior enlisting, farm visits and interviews are mandatory and the farms are monitored regularly. Our product principle is simple. Chemicals should not be used for sowing, growing, harvesting, transporting or storage. We do not sell products which contain preservatives, animal products are a taboo and honey is the only exception. Milk products are not in our list and we sell whole foods only. Exotics or imported items are not sold by us. We concentrate on local and seasonal stuff. We do not export our stuff as a matter of principle. Exports result in ' food miles ' issues and we do not want to indulge in ' virtual water ' exports. "
One of the marvelous organic paddy farmers, P. S. Sadasivan was eager to share his experiences with Bio Basics, " Sridevi and Ramesh Chandran belong to a rare tribe of ecopreneurs. They believe in fair play and never try to buy the produce by shortchanging the farmer. Their commitment is unbeatable. May their good work flourish for they are interested in helping ethical farmers." The tag line for Bio Basics is ' Be Organic, Buy Organic '.
Ramesh Chandran is active in the theatre through CATS and he gave some numbers which could make people understand the financial costs that will have to be incurred by an ‘ organic home ‘, " According to Ernst & Young, a family of four may have to spend an additional sum of Rs.1500 ( per month ) for turning organic. However we tell people that they should be ready to spend Rs.6 per meal per person in order to lead an ' organic ' life. The invisible savings will be much more for our life will be healthier."
People who wish to purchase organic stuff from Bio Basics can contact them via [email protected] or www.biobasics.org or 9790516500. They can be accessed through the facebook page and the Instagram page is biobasicsin
Coimbatore has been an enterprising city for the past two thousand years. It has been the hotbed of commerce since the Sangam Era. A number of green NGOs have done much to the region due to the support received from Ecoconscious Corporates and the well meaning citizens. The citizens should support this fabulous eco venture .This eco enterprise Bio Basics is an ' ecoprize ' for our people. Its time that the eco conscious people of the region support, invest and encourage people managing ventures like Bio Basics. Companies like Bio Basics are the need of the hour.