Oorvi, a startup that recycles floral waste for good

Oorvi is Earth, that which beholds us all, that which is life-giving and sustaining, say Minal Dalmia and Maya Vivek, founders of Oorvi Sustainable Concepts Private Limited, which markets its recycled products under Holywaste brand

Recycling waste is an essential task that helps in saving the Earth from calamities and envisages a healthy and eco-friendly lifestyle, which is beneficial to many people. OorviSustainable Concepts Private Limited, which sells its products under Holywaste brand, is one such startup which recycles flower waste coming from different sources. The company is a brainchild of two sentient women who wanted more from life and envisioned giving back more to life, to the Earth and to fellow women around.

Oorvi is an all-women enterprise started by Minal Dalmia and Maya Vivek in 2019 and the products are made under the brand name of Holywaste. Based in Hyderabad, the startup aims to focus on ideas that create a positive social impact with sustainability as the cornerstone.

The company wishes to take up activities that result in direct and regular employment of women, benefit education of children and improve health and living conditions of people, especially women and children. "Needless to say, all projects taken up centre round the wellness of Mother Earth," Minal Dalmia and Maya Vivek, founders of Oorvi, tell Bizz Buzz.

The startup had barely entered the market when Covid hit. Planning, marketing, promotion and several more parameters went for a toss for the next two years. "It was nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. But it is also during this period that we realised our strengths and thought that if any startup or an entrepreneur can survive the pandemic, then overcoming other business-related challenges would be easy too," they add.

Oorvi was started with the aim ofcreating sustainable employment opportunities for marginalised women and work in the waste management sector, especially the floral waste section. It makes products such as incense sticks, soaps, floor cleaners, holi colours, cupboard fresheners, compost and many more items.

"We are working on getting more such eco-friendly products out soon and all products are made by our women rejuvenators who use discarded flowers," say Minal and Maya.

The startupworks with partners, associates and stakeholders in building self-reliant business models that shall have a definite influence on their living and the ecology at large. "Holywaste is a floral project for us! We infuse life into floral discards by a process named 'FloRejuvenation' – a rejuvenation of floral trash," say the founders.

Hyderabad generates around 7,000 metric tonne of garbage every day in which 1,000 metric tonnes of flower waste gets generated. This motivated the startup to prepare products made out of flower waste. "A gargantuan rise in use of flowers and leaves is seen during festival and wedding seasons. What happens to these flowers after every use should be of grave concern to all of us," the women entrepreneurs feel.

The objective of Holywaste is to convert such waste into eco-friendly and child-safe lifestyle products, which can be put to use in our daily lives and in this process generate employment for women in the target markets. The collected waste is segregated, dried and further processed into earth-friendly products as a natural fertiliser, agarbatthis, incense cones and soaps, to begin with. "We are further working on different product possibilities with floral waste and looking for more ideas in this area," say Minal and Maya.

The initial operations began at the village community hall provided to the startupby the Sarpanch of Gundlapochampally near Hyderabad to benefit the women of the locality. "We have since moved to a rented premises in the same vicinity and the operations of segregating, sorting, cleaning, drying, composting and development of products currently happens from this facility," they explain. "Having a zero-waste unit is our dream that we are working towards too," they added.

"We belong to a State which has an exclusive Women entrepreneur hub(We-hub) and they have mentored us in all areas. We consider ourselves rather lucky as we are blessed with a supportive family and business ecosystem around us," say Maya and Minal.

The products are advertised through the company's website oorvi.org and also through social networking platforms like Instagram (holy.waste) and through Amazon also. "Apart from that, our products are available in few select stores in Hyderabad and other cities," say the owners. Initially, the owners started with an investment of Rs 50,000 to Rs 70,000 and they also did some ground work for four to five months before incorporating the company. The owners believe that a proper and a sound business plan would definitely help in getting people to invest in a company.

"If you have an idea, just go ahead and give it a try. You may win or lose but the learning you gather in your journey as an entrepreneur will remain for a lifetime," the duo say.

The founders' commitment to work towards providing sustainable revenue initiatives makes the company stand apart. Buying these products would make you a partner in reducing the trash burden on the environment and keeping India clean. "Currently, Holywaste prevents a humble quantity of 1,000 kilograms per week from clogging our water bodies or rotting in the landfills. Our products are eco-friendly, free of harmful chemicals and hand-made through FloRejuvenation," the founders conclude.