Sustainable Livelihood

Vandana Pagar,
Founder of Malhar Foods

Vandana Pagar, the Founder of Malhar Foods is the woman who showed courage and immense belief in her-self. Before joining the Lighthouse and becoming a successful entrepreneur, Vandana was going through a difficult phase and had to fulfil multiple family responsibilities.

She is a single mother raising three children. Even after completing a Food Processing course from I.T.I Aundh, she lacked support and knowledge to do something of her own. She was often discouraged to follow her dreams from those around her, but Vandana did not give up.

The Lighthouse gave her a platform to organize her ideas and kick off a food business. Today, at 51, she is
exporting spices to the USA, Germany, and Japan. She also has a wide range of instant food products and
snacks. Vandana knows she is not alone in this endeavour and believes that she is part of a larger
family.

“The Lighthouse stood by me through thick and thin and this sense of solidarity has been my strength”.- Vandana

She recently bagged the “Navdurga Udyogini Puraskar” at Baramati for being a successful first-
generation entrepreneur!

Along with support and assistance, the Lighthouse program gives a platform to every individual to transform themselves into successful entrepreneurs. Right from inception to success, the program helps them in every stage of their business.

Mangesh, a resident of Samrat Nagar, in Aundh, always aspired to become an entrepreneur and start a poultry farming business. His father is a farmer in Paud village and often found it difficult to make ends meet. Mangesh knew he had to support his family with an alternate source of income but his fears and lack of knowledge held him back.

On joining the Lighthouse program, he actively participated in the activities and was the first candidate to show an interest in a poultry course. He took the initiative and worked along with the Lighthouse Skilling Coordinator to find the appropriate course to his liking and successfully went on to complete a poultry business course through MITCON.

“The Lighthouse was committed to my dream and supported me throughout my journey. Although I was the very first student to aspire to poultry farming, the Lighthouse found a skilling organization that could help me pursue this. I could overcome my fears and skill myself to start a business of my own only because of the constant support and assistance I received from the team members.”- Mangesh

During his course, Mangesh gained basic information in the poultry farm domain. With technical knowledge and continuous help from the Lighthouse staff, Mangesh was able to connect with experts in the field to broaden his horizons. Mangesh is now set to begin his journey in the Poultry Business.

The Lighthouse program is a multi-disciplinary project, with a holistic approach to skill development and employment. It is designed to awaken deep and long-term aspirations, stemming from a sense of social belonging, and at the same time address skilling needs of young people from socio-economically vulnerable backgrounds.

Vaibhav Nimbalkar resides with his parents and his wife in Pune. Due to lack of education, Vaibhav had worked as a housekeeping staff for a hospital in Hadapsar, while his father is a labourer. Unable to support his family with the required financial assistance, he decided to enrol at the Lighthouse to improve on his skills for a better livelihood.
On successful completion of the Foundation course followed by counselling, Vaibhav decided to enrol for the Ac and Refrigerator Course.
He personally shared with the Lighthouse team that through the Foundation course he inculcated confidence and gauged a career path for himself. The foundation course activities helped him so much so that he successfully cracked the interviews with Blue Dart and Daikin Airconditioning Pvt Ltd. He is now working as an AC Technician with Daikin at 9000 pm.

Sustainable Livelihood: ‘Lighthouses of Pune’ is a multi-disciplinary project, with a holistic approach to skill development and employment. It is designed to awaken deep and long-term aspirations, stemming from a sense of social belonging, and at the same time address skilling needs of young people from socio-economically vulnerable backgrounds.

Mayur Kamble started his Lighthouse journey in August 2016. Though he had been employed in the past, he did not have a clear career trajectory. However, his energy, positive energy and motivation led him to complete his skilling in the Business Communication Business Facilitator course, after realizing his inclination towards the banking sector.
Mayur not only completed the course with flying colours, but also managed to be placed with a job at HDFC Data Processing. He has paid his success forward, by motivating his batch mates to apply for vacancies at his company. Mayur did not stop here. He has been resourceful in helping the Lighthouse with information about vacancies in the larger ecosystem.
He accompanied the Lighthouse staff to multiple organisations, to help source job vacancies – and was able to find over 100 vacancies! Due to his diligence and belief in the collective, 9 of the Lighthouse students have been placed in back office roles.
Mayur has emerged as a leader amongst the Lighthouse students, while also working at HDFC. He motivates his fellow team members to face their challenges – and is on the path to a long term, sustainable career.
Mayur’s journey with the Lighthouse and beyond is one of inspiration and belief.

Sustainable Livelihood: ‘Lighthouses of Pune’ is a multi-disciplinary project, with a holistic approach to skill development and employment. It is designed to awaken deep and long-term aspirations, stemming from a sense of social belonging, and at the same time address skilling needs of young people from socio-economically vulnerable backgrounds.