The success of vermiculture development has been entirely due to its business viability. In the initial years beginning with a very small investment of only Rs. 5,000/-, over the years entrepreneurs have come forward to setup large scale commercial units with investment upto Rs. 5,000,000/-. By and large a majority of the business units have been able to recover their investments in 1-3 years time.

Business Model for Small Enterprises

S. No.	Particulars	Investment Levels (in Rs.)			Remarks
		10,000/-	50,000/-	100,000/-
1.	Project Details
1.1	Annual Production Capacity (in MT)	30-40	80-100	200-250	Generally self employed units attain better efficiencies
1.2	Work Area Required (in sq. m.)	100	500	1000
1.3	Persons Employed	Self Employed part time	Self Employed full time	Self and two person full time
2.	Cost of Project
2.1	Land	Own	Own	Own	Most of the facilities are available at the farm itself
2.2	Working Shed (local materials)	2000/-	10000/-	25000/-
2.3	Tools and Machineries	500/-	5000/-	10,000/-
2.4	Earthworms and Biological Culture	4000/-	20000/-	35000/-
2.5	Working Capital	3500/-	15000/-	30000/-
	Total	10000/-	50000/-	100000/-
3.	Production Costs for First Year
3.1	Raw Materials - Dung	12500/-	50000/-	90000/-	All costs have been calculated on the basis of procurement from outside
3.2	Agriculture Wastes	2500/-	5000/-	25000/-
3.3	Salary - Wages	-	-	70000/-
3.4	Overheads	10000/-	30000/-	70000/-
	Total	25000/-	85000/-	255000/-
4.	Economics
4.1	Sales Realization @Rs.1500 per MT	60000/-	150000/-	375000/-	Can vary upto 20%
4.2	Net Margin	35000/-	65000/-	120000/-

Note: The above assumptions are based on our experiences in different parts of India.

Business Development Plan for commercial units can be provided on demand.