Our story

Empowering rural women: all-natural products straight from India's heartland

Khatamla Women's Cluster is a social enterprise in southern Rajasthan, completely owned by the tribal women who harvest the crops and make the products. It sells handmade teas and essential oils from produce grown by small, marginalized farmers, and the profits stay in the village.

Khatamlaa panchayat in Rajsamand District
Seva Mandirthe NGO the cluster grew out of
CSIR-CIMAPthe Aroma Mission behind the crops
Seva Mandir team members walking through a green field in Khatamla Seva Mandir team in the fields, Khatamla
How we started

A fellowship project the village made its own

01

The fellowship

The cluster began as a fellowship project with Seva Mandir, an NGO based in southern Rajasthan, via Sumana Palle's SBI YFI Fellowship.

02

Aroma Mission

CSIR-CIMAP, a government department, supplied free planting material (lemongrass, chamomile and rose), market linkages and technical training on growing and harvesting aromatic crops.

03

The still arrives

Seva Mandir donated the distillation unit and subsidised fencing and sprinklers. Processing units opened in the village, run by local women.

Now

Owned by the women

Oils and teas ship from the farm to customers directly. Chamomile tea and haldi are in the works.

Our process

From farm to product, with no middlemen

A village-centric supply chain. Farmers pay the women a processing fee; farmers keep every rupee of the sale; the cluster does not take a cut.

1

Farmers grow and harvest

Small and marginal farmers get high-quality planting material through government subsidies. Water-efficient crops are grown with regenerative, indigenous practices and harvested at peak season.

2

Women distill and dry

At the cluster's processing units, local rural women distill the oils and make the teas for a fee, and are trained to package products and run the logistics.

3

Sold direct, village benefits

You get oils and teas straight from the source. Women are paid from the processing fees. Farmers keep all the profits. The whole village of Khatamla benefits.

Our farming practices

Regenerative farming and capacity-building

The crops are grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Farmers use indigenous methods such as jeevamrit, choose water-efficient crops suited to the land, and run a closed-loop system where what comes off the farm goes back into the soil.

Farmer trainingsOrganic, soil-friendly practices, such as making fertilizers and insecticides from cow dung and neem leaves.
Subsidised resourcesSeva Mandir provides subsidies for fencing and sprinklers and donated the distillation unit. CIMAP provides free planting material.
Water-efficient cropsLemongrass and chamomile suit the local climate and need far less water than conventional cash crops.
The cluster's steam-distillation unit under a blue sky The distillation unit, donated by Seva Mandir
A woman planting seedlings in a Khatamla field Lalli ji planting chamomile
A Khatamla farmer standing in his field Moti Lal ji on his lemongrass farm

Quality and care

Made with love and careHand-cut, hand-dried, hand-packed, in small batches, by the women who own the cluster.
Quality assurance guaranteedDistilled the day it is cut, packed right away, no chemicals added at any point. FSSAI-licensed.
Empowering women and farmersA sustainable income for tribal women and a fair market for small farmers, in the same village.
Partners

Who stands behind the cluster

Seva Mandir NGO based in southern Rajasthan. Fellowship host, infrastructure and on-the-ground support, donor of the distillation unit. sevamandir.org ↗ CSIR-CIMAP Aroma Mission Free planting material, market linkages, technical training and scientific guidance for aromatic crops. aromamission.cimap.res.in ↗
SBI Youth for India Fellowship The fellowship through which Sumana Palle began the project with Seva Mandir.
FAQs

Questions people ask us

Anything else, write to us and a member of the cluster will answer.

Email[hello@khatamla.com, confirm] Instagram@khatamlawomenscluster

How are the products made?

Farmers harvest at the optimal time. The same day, tribal women of the cluster distill the oil, or cut and sun-dry the lemongrass for tea. Everything is packaged right away and reaches you within days.

Where do the ingredients come from?

From small and marginal farmers in the Khatamla panchayat, Rajsamand District, Rajasthan. The cluster buys their harvest directly.

Are the products organic?

The crops are grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides and no chemicals are added at any stage. [Confirm whether the cluster holds organic certification before publishing.]

Do you ship internationally?

Yes. Orders ship from Khatamla. [Add shipping costs, timeframes and the returns policy here.]

The simplest way to support the cluster is to drink the tea.

Every order pays a farmer for the harvest and a woman for the work.

Shop teas and oils
Khatamla Women's Cluster

A Seva Mandir initiative, via Sumana Palle's SBI YFI Fellowship. Completely owned by the rural women of Khatamla, southern Rajasthan.

Prices in Indian rupees Website by Studio Saltwater