Just three years ago, Harpreet Kaur, 38, worked in a modest hotel, and her husband Ram Singh, 40, served as a foreman at a paddy pellet manufacturing company in Gohana, Haryana, 200 km from their village of Majha in Bhawani Garh, Sangrur district of Punjab. The couple, who have studied up to Class 10, barely made ends meet. Today, they run a successful pellet-making unit that processes between 8,000–9,000 tonnes of paddy straw annually and earning around Rs 50-60 lakh annually. In the process, they prevent stubble burning on at least 3,500 acres of land and provide a sustainable solution to the stubble-burning menace.Their journey began in 2022, when Harpreet decided to take the bold step of becoming an entrepreneur along with her husband, an expert machinery mechanic who discovered that a factory shed was available on rent in Haryana.“One day, my husband phoned me and said there’s a second-hand pellet-making machine available. I told him, ‘Buy it.’ He asked, ‘Do you have some money?’ I said, ‘I’ll contribute my savings.’ That’s how it all started,” recalls Harpreet, adding that the cost of that machine was Rs 10 lakh.With some more investment — scraped together from personal savings, some loans, and some family support — they rented the same available shed, spread over around 6 kanals (0.75 acre), and started their work with the second-hand machine. From struggling workers, they became first-time owners.The couple got married when Harpreet was in Class 10. They are marginal farmers and own just two bighas (1.2 acres) of land. Because of this, she worked first at a petrol pump, then in a hotel-cum-restaurant, while her husband was doing farming on their small land along with labour work. Later, her husband gained knowledge in the machinery repair, and became a foreman in a paddy stubble pellet-making unit in Gohana.Today, their plant houses two machines — the latest one worth Rs 25 lakh was purchased last year. Soon, two more machines will be installed by relatives from Punjab, each capable of producing 30 tonnes of pellets per day. Their unit runs for nearly 9-10 months in a year, with a two-month off-season.Paddy straw, often seen as a waste product responsible for pollution woes in North India, became their raw material — and their opportunity. Purchasing straw at Rs 170 to 200 per quintal, they began converting it into biomass fuel pellets used in brick kilns, boilers, and industrial furnaces. After collecting stubble, it is stored at the plant for further drying, then cut into small pieces with a machine, then another machine turns it into powder, and its moisture is dried before converting this powder into pellets.“Initially, with a single machine, we were able to produce around 30 tonnes of pellets in 24 hours. In the beginning, two–three kilns and boilers used our pellets, and then some people shared our work on social media. Slowly, people started noticing — some even posted our videos online,” says Harpreet. “That’s how our marketing chain started, from one buyer to another.”Story continues below this adThe business not only helped them grow financially — funding the purchase of a second machine worth Rs 25 lakh purely from profits — but also sparked interest among locals and relatives.“Now, our whole focus is this plant. My husband is an expert in machine repair and upkeep — that’s been a major strength,” Harpreet says proudly.“Currently, we are purchasing the stubble from around our plant only in Gohana, but soon we will start purchasing it from Punjab, especially Sangrur, as I want that no one in Punjab and Haryana should burn parali (stubble),” says Harpreet. “My goal is to make people join this business and grow this business so big that no parali is ever burnt again.”Punjab generates around 220 lakh tonnes of paddy stubble annually. Despite government efforts, around half of it is still burnt in the fields, leading to dangerous air pollution levels.The couple have now employed at least a dozen permanent employees in their factory. Harpreet is proud of her sons aged 21 and 18 — one has completed engineering from Thapar Institute, and the other is pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering. Both are now helping their parents in the pellet-making company.Story continues below this ad“Mostly, we use paddy stubble for making pellets, but even press mud from sugarcane mills and maize residue are also being used to make pellets. We are manufacturing pellets in different sizes from 6mm to 90mm, and the rates also vary from Rs 4/kg to Rs 8/kg,” says Ram Singh, adding that Harpreet encouraged him to take this step, and her support led them to reach here.After meeting all expenses like purchasing raw material, power, machinery maintenance, labour charges, and rent of the factory, the couple are earning around Rs 5–6 lakh monthly. However, at the moment, their focus is on building infrastructure, and they are investing all their profits back into the business to enhance it and open more units.Their success has made them a point of reference for aspiring pellet manufacturers. “Many people get trapped by fake suppliers and poor-quality machines. Anyone who wants to start should visit us — we’ll guide them properly,” Harpreet says.Even the Punjab government had instructed brick kiln owners to replace 20% of their coal consumption with paddy pellets. This replacement alone can manage 40 to 50 lakh tonnes of Punjab’s paddy stubble. However, kiln owners are not accepting this decision of the government at the moment, citing the lower calorific value (GCV) of paddy straw pellets — around 3,500 kcal/kg, compared to 7,200 kcal/kg for coal.Story continues below this adHarpreet says that in Haryana, several kiln owners, who are slowly transitioning towards cleaner green fuels, are already purchasing pellets from them. “We are just marginal farmers. If we can do it, others can too. All you need is the will, the right guidance, and belief.”