I Am The Gardener – A Startup That Changed The Status Of Horticulture Industry In Nepal

I Am The Gardener is an agro-based start-up that aims to meet all of your plant needs. It provides services related to gardening, indoor plants and nursery. It entitles itself as,

“A contemporary garden center to meet all of your plant needs”

and aims to uplift the standards and concepts of horticulture in Nepal.

I am the Gardener was initiated back in March 2016 by Biraj Khadka, the founder and CEO of I am the Gardener and his colleagues. The idea of ‘A modern garden center’ a.k.a. ‘I am the Gardener’ was actually brainstormed by five youths who wanted to do something meaningful in Nepal. However, the idea wasn’t decided or brainstormed overnight. It took a lot of research, time, efforts, experiments, trials and errors to make the idea a success.

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Since its inception back in 2016, it has been actively working to improve the standards of horticulture in Nepal. Most nurseries in Nepal follow a traditional method of operation which makes it hard for them to sustain in the modern era. As per the traditional method, they grow their plants in a particular designated area and they reach out to the local customers only. These nurseries don’t have that much emphasis on innovation and customer service. And this is certainly what the management at I am the gardener wants to change.

Initially, Biraj Khadka, the Founder of ‘IATG‘ used to work as an accountant to help his family business (Khadka Nursery) on a part-time basis. While working there, he got to experience and gain exposure to the inside-outs of the horticulture industry in Nepal. He was astonished when he learned that despite what looked like a lucrative business opportunity, the industry standards were low. It was then when he thought of offering something substantially different that will add value to plant producers to have a wider reach as well as make it easy for urban dwellers to enjoy plants where they live and work.

After returning back to Nepal (after completing his education), Biraj Khadka along with his other colleagues, Kewal Risal, Aditya Shrestha, Roshan Shrestha and Brijesh Kumar Upreti used to research and explore different opportunities and possibilities during coffee discussions on Sundays. Later on, in one of their customary Sunday coffee meetings, Biraj put forward the concept of  ‘I am The Gardener – a modern-day garden center that would challenge conventional horticulture practices’ to the group. After some deliberation, the group decided to embrace the idea and thus, ‘I am The Gardener’ was born.

However, the business, which was initiated as ‘Just an experiment to assess the potential of the horticulture sector‘, took a serious mode when I am the Gardener conjured hype from visitors at the 19th Flora Expo at Bhrikuti Mandap on March 31st, 2016. The venture was appreciated for its youthful and innovative approach as a modern-day garden center. Subsequently, there was no looking back from there instead only strides forward to make this dream a reality.

As of now, I am the Gardener has been able to bring a significant change in the horticulture and floriculture sector in Nepal. They have been able to gain popularity and appreciation from the Nepalese people in a short period of time. Not only that but even the horticulture sector has started to bloom as an essential business model. People are getting more aware of plants (indoors) and their benefits.

Also, the trend of keeping plants indoors, decorating rooms and houses with plants and growing them for physical and mental benefits is also increasing day by day. The majority of these plants include indoor plants with astonishing health benefits, plants that add to the beauty of the house, succulents (local and exquisite), etc and these are very popular among people around the globe.

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I am the Gardener is estimated to be worth around $10 million and the number is still increasing. These estimations are made after assessing both the firms i.e. I and the Gardener and Khadka Nurseries. As mentioned, these are estimations only so don’t take them as the real figures of the firm. The real numbers may be different from these estimations, it can be higher or even lower.

In an interview, Mr. Biraj Khadka, the CEO of IATG, said that the venture is able to generate an estimated income of around Rs. 15,000-Rs. 25,000 in a day through their outlets. If we do some calculations then the venture is able to generate about Rs. 2 lakhs – Rs. 4 lakhs in a month and an annular income of Rs. 20 lakhs – Rs. 30 lakhs. However, these incomes also depend upon various factors so they are not the same always.

Yet, it’s a fact that I am the Gardener has proved that every sector has its own potential and no job is high or low. It has revived and brought about a revolution in the horticulture industry in Nepal.

Recently, I am the Gardener merged with ‘Khadka Nursery’ to increase their reach and service to more people. As per this partnership, the Khadka Nursery serves as the source of plants and I am the Gardener is responsible for marketing and sales of the plants. The partnership and this innovative business model have been beneficial for both parties. Because of it, the nursery doesn’t need to worry about the customers and I am the Gardener doesn’t need to worry about outsourcing the plants and related products.

In addition, they have also extended their plant outlets to more places around the Kathmandu Valley. Around 5-10 new outlets have been initiated within the first few months after the partnership. Some of their major outlets include; Mandikatar, Chakrapath, Labim Mall (Lalitpur), Kalanki Bhatbhateni, Big Mart (Gyaneshwor), Big Mart (Bhaisepati), etc.    

I’m sure you know the YouTube channel named ‘Paradygm TV’, right?

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Then you might also know that I am the Gardener has been one of their pioneer partners that has been collaborating with them for a very long time. I am the Gardener provides gifts, mainly ‘Indoor Plants and Succulents‘ for the guests at ‘Paradygm TV‘ and they all appreciate their plants very much. This (collaborating with Paradygm TV) has been one of their best moves as they have been able to brand/promote their business across the nation.

P.S. I also got to know about them through Paradygm TV only.

Related: Paradygm TV – A Small Channel That Changed The Face Of Nepali YouTube Industry

Talking about the management of I am the Gardener, they have people of diverse fields working day and night to improve the status of horticulture in Nepal and change people’s views regarding this field. Starting from Gardening, Agriculture, Cultivation to Digital Marketing, Finance, Social Media Management, they have the team that takes them to be a pioneer in the horticulture field.

To name a few of them: Roshlina Bajracharya – Senior Executive of Marketing, Mahima Pathak – Digital Marketing Executive, Surya Dev Chaudhary – a prominent worker at IATG, Nirmal Thapa – Assistant Manager, and most essentially Biraj Khadka – the Founder and CEO of I am the Gardener. 

Want to work at I am the Gardener but don’t know how?

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Don’t worry, I am the Gardener believes that ‘A mixture of youth and experience‘ is synergistic to sustain the kind of disruption that they want to have in the horticulture industry in Nepal.

So, they are always open to the idea of having conversations with bright individuals who might want to join their team.

You can contact/reach out to them through their mail: info.iamthegardener@gmail.com for further discussions. However, they are more willing to accept the individuals who possess the following criteria:

1. have a positive mindset to add value to the lives of others
2. are open to learning and growing from the experience
3. like to view challenges as opportunities to solve real-life problems
4. fit a culture that values learning and growing together as a team
5. believe in enjoying your life while working hard in the process

I am the Gardener is also involved in many side projects in order to contribute to sustainability efforts in improving the environment. As of now, it is currently involved as a collaborator in the project known as ‘Vriksha‘ in transforming urban spaces to be cleaner, greener and ultimately, healthier and happier. The primary aims of this project are:

1. revitalize under-used public lands into well-planned open spaces for all to enjoy
2. unlock the potential of public space and incite innovative ways of rethinking public spaces
3. bring awareness on climate change, adaptation and mitigation strategies
4. have a local impact while encouraging a global culture of sustainability
5. lead as an example to the decision-makers, leaders, and citizens
6. to inspire people to adopt pro-environmental approaches and
7. help generate environmental awareness in communities.

The following is a major CSR project that they have been working on recently:

Pocket Park in Lalitpur:

A tangible outcome of our collaborative effort with ‘Vriksha‘ has been in the form of a pocket park in Lalitpur. The idea is to reclaim the encroached piece of land and transform it into a pocket park that adds to the beauty of the vicinity and allows space for people to come together and have communal experiences.

To sum up, I am the Gardener has been able to grow from a small experimental business into a pioneer in the horticulture industry. They are not only popular in Nepal but in other countries as well and has a wide range of national as well as international customers.

In addition, the firm has been able to achieve great feats and has been appreciated by great/well-known names across the nation.

Yet, the main mission, like on the very first day, remains the same:

“To create a modern garden center that bridges the gap between plant growers and buyers in a way that revolutionizes the horticulture scene in Nepal”.

For the creation of this article, I took some references from the following sources:

1. I Am The Gardener’s Official Site
2. I Am The Gardener’s Instagram
3. I Am The Gardener’s Facebook Page 
4. PNP Media Pvt. Ltd.’s Video of I Am The Gardener