Prajapati with Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

Having failed his 10^th grade exams, selling tea was then the only way left for Mansukh Lal Prajapati to eke out a living. He was so ashamed to do this job that he hid behind his tea-stall, whenever he sensed his in-laws passing by. A self made man now, he is an entrepreneur who former President APJ Abdul Kalam appropriately called ‘true scientist’. Prajapati mixed clay with ‘creativity’ and created products for masses that were appreciated not only in India but also abroad. Prajapati credits the shamefulness that drove to become an extraordinary entrepreneur he is today.

Hailing from Gujarat, Prajapati proudly writes ‘India’s most powerful rural entrepreneur’ on his car’s number plate, is a master innovator who is in the business of making everyday household appliances, including refrigerators, pressure cookers, non-stick pans, and water bottles and dispensers — all out of clay. These products marketed under the brand name MittiCool are not only eco-friendly, durable cheaper than their alternatives.

After closing his tea stall, Prajapati gained sound knowledge of pottery while working in a rooftop tile manufacturing unit for three years. The desire to start an enterprise started to grow in Prajapati’s mind when he recalled what he had seen in his childhood. He had seen earthen pans/hot plates (locally termed as Kaladi/Tavdi) being manufactured manually on the potters wheel (locally termed as Chhakdo). Using this, one person could only make about 100 units per day. He had seen roof tiles being manufactured in large quantity on hand press, which made him think why cannot earthen pans be made the same way?

Mitticool showroom

In 1988, he left his job and took a loan of Rs 30,000 to start his own earthen plate manufacturing factory. Then he modified the roof tile making hand press and developed a hand press machine having capacity to produce 700 earthen pans per day.

But the centre of attraction among all his inventions has to be his Mitticool fridge. It has sold more than 9000 units all across India.  Priced a little over Rs 3000 it is a veritable poor man’s fridge. It can store drinking water as well as other eatables which remain fresh for days. The temperature inside this clay fridge is 20 degrees. The fridge works on a simple scientific principle, evaporation causes cooling.

All ‘Mitticool’ buffet

Prajapati makes the fridge and other appliances out of ordinary clay. His major concern is that the people have given away with clay products and have succumbed to plastics that is non-biodegradable as well as harmful for the environment.

Today, his products are so successful that he now has a row of factories with an assembly line production of myriad clay products. Big machines designed by Prajapati himself, mold the clay in seconds into pots and pans each of them produced in their hundreds to keep up with the rising demand.

He has a turnover of Rs 45 lakhs and a running staff of over 35 people.

Showcasing his Mitticool products in a number of events and with a slew of awards to his name, Prajapati’s products go all over India and sell especially well in Chennai. His products have also gone to Africa and this year, Prajapati has dispatched his first consignment of 100 clay fridges to Dubai.

Prajapati’s is now preparing for even bigger as he now plans to build a whole clay house or MittiCool house as he calls it. It is a house made of clay to keep it cool in summers and warm in winters.