Failed bibliopole finds fortune in animal husbandry

Bookseller Mohammad Rejaul Karim could turn the wheel of his fortune through farming goat and fat-tailed sheep after failing to maintain his eight-membered family with the earning from his two-decade-old book shop.

With the emergence of online-based home delivery service and the Covid-19 pandemic, Rejaul lost most of his customers and had to find a way to run his family, he said.

Born into an underprivileged family, Rejaul could not continue his studies for long.

His thirst for knowledge and enthusiasm had helped him surpass the difficulties life threw at him, he said.

As a self-taught book enthusiast, he established his own book shop near the Birshrestha Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir Road in Barishal in 1997.

After running the shop for 21 years, Rejaul had to sell his book store to find some other profession with a greater economic prospect. Advised by one of his relatives, he started a farm of goat and fat-tailed sheep, better known as “dumba” in the Indian subcontinent,  at his home in 2018 and became a successful entrepreneur.

“I started my farm with two sheep and four goats I bought from Meherpur and Khulna. After a few months, I became more confident and invested Tk 2 lakh in my farm. Now I have Tk 30 lakh to Tk 35 lakh worth of sheep and goats and earn Tk 6 lakh to Tk 7 lakh every three months,” said Rejaul.

He mentioned that he has 56 Turkish sheep and 200 goats of six varieties – Black Bengal, Tota Pari, Brittle, Gujri and local – on his farm.

“I have six employees who work round the clock to take care of the animals. The sheep give birth to multiple offspring every six months, and as they mature, we sell them. This way, my farm is growing day by day,” said Rejaul adding that his farm has a monthly expense of Tk 1.5 lakh.

Rejaul said, “If everything goes well, we will meet 20 per cent of the demand for goat and sheep in Barishal during the Eid-ul-Azha after a decade. We will also launch our own online platform pretty soon so that our customers can enjoy our services from the comfort of their homes.”

Dr Nurul Alam, director of Barishal Divisional Livestock Department, said, “Although rearing fat-tailed sheep is a relatively new concept in the country, Rejaul’s successful endeavour has inspired other farmers of the area, enabling them to find a better economic prospect.”

He also said that they regularly inspect the farm and assist Rejaul with their available resources.