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See Where Your Food Begins
A specification sheet tells you what a product should be. A day in the fields tells you why it turns out the way it does. We invite buyers and business partners to come to Purnea, meet the farmers and farmer producer organisations we source from, and see the crops growing across the Seemanchal, Koshi and Mithila belts of North Bihar.
You can walk the processing floor, watch produce come in and get graded, and ask our team how a lot is recorded and traced back to where it was grown. For anyone weighing up a young company like ours, that first-hand look often counts for more than a brochure. Visits are arranged in advance and planned around what is in season.
On the Ground
No two visits look the same. We pick from the stops below depending on the season and what you most want to see.
Rabi season, roughly December to May
Purnea is one of the biggest maize districts in India, and in winter the crop covers much of the land around town. Growers can show you how the crop is managed and what they look for before harvest.
Mid-May to late June
The lichi window is short, so picking starts early in the morning and moves fast. You can see how bunches are cut, sorted in the orchard and sent on before the heat gets to them.
June to August
Old family orchards sit alongside newer plantings across the region. A walk through one gives a fair picture of varieties, tree age and how fruit is picked at the right stage.
August to November
Makhana seeds are gathered from the bed of shallow ponds, then roasted and popped by hand. Few buyers have watched this done, and it explains a lot about grading and price.
Mainly the cooler months
Many of the growers we buy from are small operators and women’s self-help groups working out of simple huts. You can see the growing conditions and how a crop is picked and packed.
Main harvest in summer and the monsoon
Kishanganj, a short drive east of Purnea, has grown pineapple for a long time. The fields are worth a stop if your interest is fresh fruit or processed pineapple.
Through the year
At our base in Gulabbagh, Purnea you can follow produce from intake and grading through processing and packing. Ask us anything about checks, records and how a lot is traced back.
A rough guide to what is in season. The months are approximate and move with each year's weather, so check with us before you book travel.
| Crop | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maize (rabi) | In season | In season | In season | In season | In season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | In season |
| Lichi | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | In season | In season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season |
| Mango | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | In season | In season | In season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season |
| Makhana | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | In season | In season | In season | In season | Not in season |
| Mushroom | In season | In season | In season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | In season | In season | In season |
| Pineapple | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season | In season | In season | In season | In season | Not in season | Not in season | Not in season |
| Processing base | In season | In season | In season | In season | In season | In season | In season | In season | In season | In season | In season | In season |
Green marks the months when a crop is usually in the field or being harvested.
Visits are by prior arrangement only. Give us a few weeks' notice if you can, and a little more during the lichi season, when everyone in the orchards is flat out.
Send us a rough window, the products you buy or want to buy, and how many people are coming. We will tell you plainly what will be in the field at that time.
We plan the farm stops, time at our processing base and meetings with growers or FPOs, then share the plan before you travel so you can change it.
Purnea has its own airport with a limited number of flights, and trains run to Purnea and Katihar. Bagdogra airport has more connections and is about three to four hours away by road. We can help with pickups.
Most visitors stay in Purnea town, which works well as a base for day trips across the region. Someone from our team travels with you and helps with language on the farms.
Farm Visits
Tell us when you would like to come and what you want to see. We will come back with what is possible for those dates.