POKHARA, June 7: Until a year ago Sardikhola, 17 km away from Pokhara, was one of those many villages that people in cities hardly knew of. But today it has transformed into one of the buzzing spots where large number of city-dwellers flock in everyday to buy and enjoy Rainbow Trout delicacies.
The trout farm and restaurant that two locals - Lakshin Gurung and Amrit Gurung - opened in this scenic hilly village is presently luring more than hundred visitors every day. The number goes up so sharply on weekends and public holidays that visitors barely find space to park their vehicles.[break]
“People are coming not just from Pokhara. We are getting customers from far off cities like Butwal, Chitwan and even Kathmandu,” Lakshin told Republica.
The demand for fresh supply and consumption in the restaurant has grown so rapidly that Gurung brothers, who started trout farming some nine months ago, are facing difficulties in fulfilling the demand.
Gurung brothers had started Gandaki Rainbow Trout Farm (GRTF) in October 2011, setting up the largest trout farm in the country with an investment of Rs 8 million.
In the initial months, they used to sell trout directly to wholesalers in Pokhara and also to customers that reached the farm on weekends. On requests of some of the customers, who preferred to enjoy delicacies at the site itself, they opened restaurant about four months ago.
“Orders from Pokhara-based stores are growing. But the number of customers, mainly youths, visiting restaurants has remained phenomenal,” said Lakshin.
The restaurant during weekends remain so cramped that customers have started reserving seats in advance.
Sudeep Rimal, a resident of Pokhara who reached the trout restaurant with a group of seven friends on Saturday, said he had booked the seats days earlier to make sure he and his friends could enjoy the trout delicacies comfortably. “I had realized during my previous visits that it is wise to reserve the seats,” he said.
Buddhi Malla, general manager of Om Finance that Repaublica caught while dining in the restaurant, said he was attracted by the scenic beauty of the village and tastes of trout delicacies. “I am planning to bring my family here soon as well,” he stated.
Lakshin said the restaurant alone consumers around 100 kg of Rainbow Trout everyday. In order to lure more youth, the Gurung brothers have also set up a fishing center wherein visitors could try their luck, have fun and take home their catch.
While disclosing their plans, Gurung brothers admitted that they will have to rapidly increase their capacity if they are to able to manage supply.
GRTF ventured into Rainbow Trout farming with 90,000 fingerlings in October. Since then, the farm has already sold 10,000 kg of fish, profiting more than Rs 10 million. The farm still has around 8,000 kg of trout ready for harvest. But as the new harvest will become ready only in October, Lakshin said they are under pressure to manage business for next four months through that stock.
Given the sudden rise in demand, he disclosed that the farm had to reject order for a ton of Rainbow Trout placed recently by Bhat-Bhateni Super Market, Kathmandu.
“We have received another order of 2 tons from Bhat-Bhateni´s new outlet being opened in Pokhara,” he added.
The GRTF is presently farming 60,000 fingerlings. Those will be ready for harvest in October. Though their plan was to increase the productions, Lakshin said they could not do so due to scarcity of fingerling.
Nonetheless, once the harvest become ready, the Gurung brothers anticipate it will generate them a profit of around Rs 14.4 million. Given the scarcity of fingerlings, they have also developed a plan to produce fingerlings themselves.
“We plan to produce 300,000 fingerlings next year. We will farm 100,000 of them ourselves and sell the rest to other farms,” Lakshin disclosed.
The Gurung brothers have proved that if Nepalis committed themselves and work innovatively in agriculture sector, they can easily earn Rs 10 million from their farms themselves. “The earning is much higher than what we used to make in foreign jobs,” said Lakshin.
GRTF is presently selling raw Rainbow Trout at Rs 750 per kg and cooked trout delicacies at Rs 1,000 per kg. The rate is cheaper compared to prices of other farms.