2 weeks ago
Entrepreneur's Greenhouse-in-a-Box Saves 98% Water for Small Farmers
A long time ago, a boy named Sathya saw a farmer who had nothing to eat because his crops had failed.
The farmer told him his stomach didn't know his pockets were empty.
That moment stayed with Sathya, and years later he helped create a company called Kheyti.
Kheyti builds special little greenhouses called Greenhouse-in-a-Box for farmers who own small farms.
A greenhouse is like a little house for plants that protects them from very hot sun, heavy rain, and bugs.
Inside, crops use 98% less water than they would in an open field, and pests are reduced by 90%.
The greenhouse also keeps temperatures 2-4 degrees Celsius cooler, so plants don't suffer from heat.
Farmers also get advice on which crops to grow and when to plant them.
The greenhouses come in two sizes and cost about Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3.35 lakh.
The idea is that one bad weather spell should not wipe out a whole season of a farmer's work.
At age 17, Sathya Raghu Mokkapati saw a farmer eating mud after his crops failed, a moment that later inspired the Greenhouse-in-a-Box.
In 2015, Sathya, along with Kaushik K, Saumya and Ayush Sharma, founded Kheyti, an agricultural startup.
The Greenhouse-in-a-Box saves 98% water, cuts excess heat by 2-4 degrees Celsius and reduces pests by 90% compared with open-field farming.
It comes in two sizes: 320 square metres for about Rs 2 lakh and 462 square metres for about Rs 3.35 lakh.
Kheyti also advises farmers on which crops to grow, when to plant and how to cultivate them inside the greenhouse.
- Who
- Sathya Raghu Mokkapati and his co-founders Kaushik K, Saumya and Ayush Sharma of the agricultural startup Kheyti
- What
- Built the Greenhouse-in-a-Box, a compact greenhouse that protects smallholder farmers' crops from extreme heat, rain and pests while saving 98% water
- Where
- In Sathya's home village, where the moment of inspiration occurred, and on the smallholder farms where Kheyti installs its greenhouses in India
- When
- Kheyti was founded in 2015; Sathya's inspiration came years earlier when he was 17
- Why
- To protect small farmers from crop losses caused by hotter summers, unpredictable rains, pest attacks and water scarcity linked to climate change
Key facts
- Company
- Kheyti
- Product
- Greenhouse-in-a-Box
- Founded
- 2015
- Co-founders
- Sathya Raghu Mokkapati, Kaushik K, Saumya, Ayush Sharma
- Water savings
- 98% compared with open-field irrigation
- Pest reduction
- 90%
- Heat reduction
- 2-4 degrees Celsius
- Pricing
- Rs 2 lakh (320 sq m) and Rs 3.35 lakh (462 sq m)
Quotes
Sathya Raghu Mokkapati
Founder of Kheyti
“Our greenhouse cuts off excess heat by 2-4 degrees Celsius, reduces pests by 90 per cent and saves 98 per cent water as compared to open-field conventional irrigation.”
thebetterindia.com
“We build houses to live in safety and to protect ourselves from environmental factors like heat, rain, insects, etc. Likewise, a greenhouse helps plants thrive.”
thebetterindia.com
Unnamed small farmer
A smallholder farmer in Mokkapati’s village
“My crops failed. My stomach doesn’t know my pockets are empty.”
thebetterindia.com




