Farmers are undoubtedly the backbone of the nation. Yet, many of them are impoverished, unable to secure enough agricultural resources for good harvests. Very few people have the best interests of farmers in their mind. Keshav Amai, a resident of Koila – a village in Kadaba taluk of Dakshina Kannada district – is not amongst them. Keshav has an organisation that caters to the needs of farmers at very low costs. The company, named SRK Ladders, now supplies materials to agricultural farms all over the country. It is imperative to know that Keshav, the man behind the company, is visually impaired. About 25 years ago, one of Keshav’s seniors had a discussion about the shortage of labour that the farmers were experiencing in the plantations. In 1999, he started a company called SRK Ladders. After that, using his own skill, he made many tools including aluminium ladder, human powered trolley, hook and provided them to farmers at a very low cost. Lightweight foldable aluminium ladders designed by him help even women and children climb the tall areca palms or harvest pepper on tall trees. He has a full-fledged factory in Puttur taluk of Dakshina Kannada.
These high quality equipment are now in huge demand all over the country. States where products of SRK Ladders are shipped include Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha. Keshav lost his eyesight twenty-five years ago due to glaucoma.
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can cause vision loss and blindness by damaging a nerve in the back of your eye called the optic nerve Despite this, he uses his experience to personally inspect every instrument manufactured by his company. His honesty and commitment have ultimately made Keshav Amai a successful businessman today. He spoke about his vision issue, saying, “When I first started my business, I could see objects that were very close to me, but my eyesight worsened over time. Despite this, it hasn’t been a hindrance; I have consistently innovated and enhanced the ladder models.