From Loss to Resilience: A New Journey Begins on the Seventh Day

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Just an 8th-grade education... a husband with a serious illness, then an untimely death... two children, elderly in-laws, and a vineyard on the brink of ruin. This story should have ended there—but it didn't! The picture that followed was the opposite, because it was from here that a new battle began for this determined woman farmer, Shobha Gatkal.

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Shobha was born in Koltek village, Lasalgaon, and only completed her education up to the 8th grade. In 2008, at the age of 19, she married Sharad Gatkal from Materwadi. Initially, everything was normal, but in 2015, a major crisis struck their lives. Her husband was diagnosed with a severe lung disease and was bedridden with an oxygen cylinder. This crisis came suddenly. With limited education, no experience in farming, and the responsibility of caring for her husband, managing the household, and the farm, Shobha was burderned with a huge mountain of challenges. Her elderly in-laws couldn't provide much help. But she did not give up. She adapted to the situation and began to learn farm work herself.

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Initially, she faced many difficulties due to her lack of knowledge about farming. When she couldn't read the names of the medicines, she learned to identify pesticides by their colors and symbols. Every difficulty taught her something new. One crisis followed another. The helper who helped her died, but Shobha did not give up. She became even more determined. In 2021, her husband passed away, and her grief was immense. She had lost the biggest support in her life. Yet, she did not stop working. Just on the seventh day after her husband's death, she pruned the vineyard, and on the twelfth day, she applied the paste. She eventually recovered from her grief. She said, "You can't avoid crises; you have to face them. Staying busy gives you strength." 

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Looking at the confidence on Shobha's face today, it seems like she feels, "The situation has taught me so much that everything feels easy now."

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Today, Shobha manages a 2.5-acre vineyard on her own. She has learned to drive a tractor, prune the grapevines, spray pesticides, and manage water. With initial help from others and later her own hard work, she has achieved success in farming. She has proven wrong the label of an "uneducated, unsupported woman with an 8th-grade education," and her farming income shows that she is now a successful grape exporter. From grape exports, she earned 5.22 lakh from 8.42 tons in 2022, 7.05 lakh from 12.05 tons in 2023, 4.99 lakh from 7.46 tons in 2024, and 9.17 lakh from 11.63 tons in 2025. In addition, she has also earned separate income by selling grapes in the local market.

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She has played an important role not only in farming but also in her family. She has two children; her older son is in the 11th grade and the younger one is in the 7th. She has never complained about the work while educating and raising both her children. With her planning and hard work, she has empowered her family and achieved success in farming. Today, she is a shareholder of Sahyadri Farms.

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Shobha Gatkal's story is an inspiration for everyone. It shows that in any difficult situation, success can be achieved with determination and hard work. Her story proves that a woman can competently manage not only her home but also farming and all other responsibilities vested upon her in any circumstance.

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