Jalpaiguri, Sept. 24: Four friends with five acres of land, a knowledge of herbs and a nose for business have come up with an antidote for unemployment.

?You can?t go wrong with herbs and we want to make the youths of our area realise that there is a huge demand for medicinal plants in the national and international market. With a few pointers from us, the unemployed can earn a decent living growing such plants,? said Kalyan Mitra, one of the quartet.

Biplab, Alok, Kalyan and Shambhu began experimental cultivation around one-and-a-half years ago.

?We began cultivating Tholoropithum borivilium, locally called safed musli, on the five-acre plot in Chowringhee area of Mohitnagar, on the outskirts of Jalpaiguri and followed it up with vanilla and shikakai,? Kalyan said.

?Saponins, which is the main constituent and is present up to 12 percent in the herb that has made it popular. In addition, there are carbohydrates, proteins, benzyl glucoside, tokorogenin, and nonacosone that are useful for preparation of different drugs to regulate blood circulation and are known for their anti-ageing and anti-stress properties.?

?We used to export our entire produce to Switzerland, but now it is sent to Hyderabad, where the company has opened a plant. It has already come out with a capsule Biorythm, whose primary component is safed musli? Alok said.

Having learnt the ropes of growing and marketing what they grow, they are trying to organise workshops to educate the youths of their area about the benefits of growing medicinal plants. The first one is slated for November.

?Safed musli yields good returns. It is an annual crop and all you need is a plot of land to plant the saplings,? Biplab said.

We plan to experiment with shikakai, which is used in shampoo and hair vitalisers, and vanilla, which is used in confectioneries and ice creams on the unused lands of the tea estates,? he added.

The quartet said a person could expect 100 per cent returns if s/he dedicated himself or herself to cultivating herbs on an acre of land. ?The person will have to invest only around Rs 60,000,? Kalyan said.

Such ventures, they claimed also create indirect employment.

?We have so far created 4,000 man days in our farm while cultivating the herb,? Alok said.

Ask them what they have planned for the future and pat comes the reply. ?We will continue our experiments. If we fail, we will start all over again. If our efforts pays off, it will be set as an example for the people interested in herb cultivation to follow.?