Students of Mother Terasa College of Agriculture selling honey-infused beverages and snacks at the MTCA Honey Cafe.
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Students of Mother Terasa College of Agriculture (MTCA), in Iluppur, Mettusalai, have sweetened their classroom exposure to beekeeping by venturing into small business enterprises based on value-added honey products.

On Tuesday, MTCA Honey Cafe, a student-driven entrepreneurial space offering honey-infused beverages and healthy snacks to promote nutrition awareness, was launched on the college campus in the presence of M. Shahreyar, senior regional manager, Indian Overseas Bank, Karaikudi, and senior officials.

The newly launched snacks include preserves made with honey and garlic, ginger, dates, raisins, figs, mixed nuts and rose petals (Gulkand).

“All final year students have an experiential learning course module, in which they use existing technology to create products from natural ingredients. While studying beekeeping, they also are taught about honey extraction. Seeing the substantial amount of honey that had been extracted this year, the students were encouraged to come up with ideas on how to add commercial value to the raw product. Both the honey preserves and the beverage cafe are a result of students’ innovation,” R. Kavitha, assistant professor, Agricultural Extension, told The Hindu.

“Once they graduate, the students will have a basic understanding of how to run a start-up, which is the purpose of the experiential learning module. The projects will be continuously run by the staff and the following batches of final-year students,” she added.

The honey-based preserves have a shelf-life of 12 months. If successful, the college plans to expand the product line-up and market them more widely.

R.C. Uthayakumar, chairman of Mother Terasa Group of Institutions, spoke during the inauguration ceremony.