About us
The idea of MSDP has been conceived with the vision to increase the capacity & capability of the system to deliver quality skill training, professional knowledge and awareness of its nutritional & Medicinal values to the youth and other traditional labour to enhance their employability and bridge the skill deficit with a view to meet the growing demand for skilled manpower in the area of growing industry of “Makhana”.
Objectives
- To facilitate youth, women and other traditional labour of adequate employment and entrepreneurship skill opportunities
- To encourage and facilitate skill training from end-to-end i.e., farming to market to youth of India
- To facilitate launching of technology based training programmes for both uneducated and educated unemployed or semi-skilled persons for up-gradation of their skills in the area of Makhana
- To facilitate the training session for upgrading their skills to lead the sustainable employment
- MSDP intends to enhance the employability of the youth,women, semi-skilled traditional labour of India.
- To provide Marketing platform to gain maximum profits.
- To empower women under “Nari Shakti” scheme with an innovative ideas in the field of Makhana industry.
- To create scientific and medicinal information to the general public of India through Social media, Website, Seminar, canopy etc.
- To create a platform for “Phodiwala” to explore opportunities among the suppliers and other channel of Market.
Facts of Makhanas (Foxnut)
Makhana, also called as lotus seeds or Fox nuts, in English. Lotus seeds are nut like round to oval shaped seeds present in row within the dark green colored lotus seed head. They are green colored when fresh and turn cream to yellow color when dried.
Makhanas, also called foxnuts or lotus seeds are mostly consumed during fasting, thanks to their strong nutritional value. Makhanas are an extremely popular ingredient of various recipes and make for a perfect snack for everyone, including weight watchers.
Nutrition profile
Makhanas are low in cholesterol, sodium and saturated fats and are good for your heart. They are a good source of magnesium, potassium, manganese, phosphorous and protein. This high nutrition value of makhanas makes them a perfect and healthy snack.
Being low in calories, makhanas promote weight loss, while their high calcium content makes them good for bones. These are also good in controlling blood pressure, detoxification of the body and improve digestive health. Not just this, here are some other health benefits of makhanasBeing low in calories, makhanas promote weight loss, while their high calcium content makes them good for bones. These are also good in controlling blood pressure, detoxification of the body and improve digestive health. Not just this, here are some other health benefits of makhanas
Improves heart health
The low amount of sodium and high amount of potassium in makhanas help decrease the blood pressure in hypertension patients. The low sodium helps in keeping the blood pressure in check.
The magnesium in makhanas helps improve the quality of blood and oxygen in the body. Low magnesium levels in the body increase the risk of heart disease.
Strengthen your bones
We all know calcium plays a big role in keeping our bones strong and healthy. Makhanas have a decent amount of calcium, which makes them perfect for strengthening your bones.
Promotes weight loss
The first thing we are advised to do when we plan to lose weight is to increase our protein intake. Makhanas are rich in protein, which keeps one full for longer. This in turn stops one from overeating later.
In addition to this, makhanas are low in calories, which makes them a perfect weight-loss snack. The least amount of saturated fats in makhanas make them even healthier.
Helps in controlling blood sugar levels
Makhanas are rich in protein and carbohydrate and are in low glycemic index making them good for people with high blood sugar. The glycemic index of makhanas is lower than that of several staple foods.
The high magnesium and low sodium content in makhanas make them the right food to fight obesity and diabetes.
Good for digestion
The high fibre content in makhanas helps improve one's digestive health. Including them in your daily diet can help improve the bowel movement. In fact, regular consumption can help improve digestion and keep constipation at bay.
Anti-ageing
Makhanas make for great anti-ageing food because they have an abundance of antioxidants. A handful of makhanas every day can keep you looking younger and make your skin glow. The catch is they should not be consumed as a fried snack.
The presence of antioxidants in makhanas makes them even better for digestive health. They also help in the prevention of excessive and frequent urination.
Improve cognitive function
Makhanas have high thiamine content. Thus their consumption helps in sustaining the cognitive function of the nerves. Eating makhanas help in the generation of acetylcholine and thus contributes to the process of neurotransmission.
How and what we do before bringing to “YOU”
Cultivation and processing of makhana is a highly cumbersome and labour-intensive activity involving manual collection of seeds, drying, roasting and popping, storage and grading.
1. CULTIVATION
The cultivation of this aquatic crop (Makhana) involves clearing of pond, broadcasting of seeds, thinning and gap filling, plant protection, harvesting and collection of seed. It is done manually and hence, requires Labour to complete the cultivation. The number of labours depend on the size of area of farming.
Usually, the season of farming start from the month of February and it requires a continuous vigilance on the farming area till the crop removes.
The harvested seeds taking out from the bottom of the farm by the skilled labour from August month.
2. COLLECTION, POPPING AND STORAGE OF MAKHANA
Families of skilled labour are involved into makhana popping business. They collect seeds from various places of Bihar regularly and do the popping-up. During the cultivation season more families of makhana popping up community do this business. After collecting Popped Makhana it is then stored in warehouse for further processing.
3. CLEANING SORTING AND GRADING
a . Dust and foreign matter removing
i. Popped makhana is subjected to various cleaning process where dust, seed portions, unpuffed makhana, foreign matter, are removed mechanically.
b. Grading and Polishing of Makhana
i. Cleaned Makhana is graded into different sizes and wastage. After cleaning and size grading Makhana is packed as per the market and sales equirement.
4. PACKGING OF MAKHANA POP
a. A mix of lined polythene bags and also ordinary gunny bags of different sizes are used to pack popped Makhana manually.
