The man behind Jharkhand's Mor Mitti initiative is cycling 1400 kms to New Delhi, hoping to pick up 1000 investors in his rural project along the way. We spoke with Biswambharnath Naik about his ambitious journey.
Biswa: ‘Parichay’ stands for introduction. Now that we’ve established Mor Mitti in Simdega, we are on a mission to introduce it to the world. It’s not just Mor Mitti either – it’s Simdega and the whole of Jharkhand that we want the world to know about.
We want to tell more people about our mission of reversing migration in Simdega. Mor Mitti as an initiative wants to ensure that no one in India migrates because they’re missing the four basic requirements – roti (food), kapda (clothing), makaan (shelter) and internet connectivity.
Besides introducing Mor Mitti and Simdega, through Parichay Yatra I want to promote our collaborators, connect with fellow entrepreneurs, raise funds and learn from people from all walks of life.
Biswa: Bicycles represent the common man in India. It represents the people we work with and work for. Since I want to interact with as many people as possible, cycling means I can interact and learn from many people – entrepreneurs, students, travelers – along the way.
As I talk to them about our Mor Mitti mission, I also intend to learn from them. Reaching Delhi is not the aim. It’s the journey that excites me.
Biswa: I want to take Mor Mitti, Simdega and Jharkhand’s identity to places. Because of the lack of livelihood opportunities, almost everyone in Jharkhand has migrated to bigger cities like Delhi. Ensuring inclusive, collective growth of the local community is at the core of Mor Mitti’s inception.
Through my Parichay Yatra, I want to tell people that rural and remote places like Simdega can host business and job opportunities. I want to expand this idea to more places with the help of other entrepreneurs, so that more people can earn their livelihood living in Jharkhand.
Biswas: ‘Mitti’ does not discriminate, it treats everyone equally, and it’s where life, death and everything in between lies. So we wanted to create a space based on the principle of inclusion. We chose the word ‘Mitti’ to indicate the inclusiveness aspect. In Jharkhand it would be called Mor Maati. But we modified it slightly to Mor Mitti as we want this idea to reach every corner of India.
But the word ‘Mor’ will also always remind us where it all began, in Jharkhand. In a way Mor Mitti also conveys our story – our journey from Jharkhand (Mor) to all of India (Mitti). Mor Mitti is a space with various aspects to it – training, food or recreation are part of it too.
We prefer to call it a ‘space’ rather than define and limit it. Since it is up to your perception, it can be a space for everyone. You give it meaning and that is the beauty of Mor Mitti. I spoke about the migration earlier- that was a huge motivation for us to create Mor Mitti.
Biswas: We want to create 450 entrepreneurs (1 per village in Simdega) in the next 5-10 years. If they invest in Mor Mitti, they are investing in a transformative vision for rural India. In the future we want to make Mor Mitti an incubator for entrepreneurs from small towns and villages. We want support from organizations and individuals who share this vision for rural India and its people.
At the moment, everyone can support Mor Mitti’s work by making it reach more people. By instigating conversations about the need for entrepreneurship in rural India. More conversations will create more opportunities.
People can see daily updates on Parichay Yatra and Mor Mitti on our Youtube and social media pages (Instagram, Linkedin, Facebook).
The lead image at the top shows Biswambharnath Naik, starting his cycle journey from Simdega, Jharkhand.
