When we talk about “Aatmnirbhar Bharat” or a self-reliant India, we often think of high-tech industries and digitalization. But when in a telephonic interview The HULAHUL Times talked to Mr. Mansukhbhai Prajapati, we realized that true self-reliance can be found in the very earth beneath our feet. As the founder of Mitti Cool, Mr. Mansukhbhai Prajapati has turned the ancient craft of pottery into a global success story, a journey with lots of learning, hardships, and eventual success.

Reflecting on his deep love for his profession, the very identity of him, Mr. Mansukhbhai Prajapati began by explaining that the work of a potter is as old as Indian history itself. “From the small diyas we light on Diwali to the pots we use for water, clay is part of our everyday life”. In Indian mythology, it is even said that the community of potters was created by Lord Brahma himself. However, the traditional side of this work was also somehow painful to him. He remembers his father bringing heavy loads of soil on the back of domestic animals. His mother would then have to mix that soil using her bare feet. It was backbreaking, manual work back then. Following that, as part of the process, they would use household trash to burn and solidify the pots, creating a constant cloud of dust and smoke.

This environment was highly adverse for his family’s health. Mr. Mansukhbhai Prajapati shared a sad reality, that because of the constant exposure to smoke and dust, none of his grandfather’s brothers,  nor his grandfather himself, lived past the age of fifty. Their lungs were affected severely. Because of this, Mr. Mansukhbhai’s father eventually quit pottery to work as a mason, and advised his son not to engage in such a business, as he did not want to lose his only son to the deadly hearth of pots.

The initial chapters of his life were written with an ink of challenges. After his academic failure in 10^th standard, he had to join his father into masonry at the age of 15. But a severe injury to his eye forced him to quit this job. For a year, he ran a small tea stall, and one day, a factory owner who made roof tiles came to his stall and asked if he knew a boy who could manage office work. Seeing an opportunity, Mr. Mansukhbhai closed his tea stall and joined the factory. He stayed there for five years, and gained insightful knowledge.

Even though he was earning only 300 rupees a month, his heart was constantly calling him to start something of his own. He approached a moneylender and asked for 50,000 rupees. When the man showed up at his house with the cash, Mr. Mansukhbhai’s parents could not process that. To them, 50,000 was a huge amount, and they didn’t believe in borrowing money with interest. Eventually, Mr. Mansukhbhai convinced them to let him borrow 30,000 rupees.

He bought a small piece of land and built a workshop there.  He wanted to do what his father did, but better. While his father made “tawas” (griddles) by hand, Mr. Mansukhbhai used his brain to design a hand-press and a special die. He built machines to grind and knead the soil so that the manual work is minimized. He even installed an electric potter’s wheel. It wasn’t easy at first, as he faced a huge setback when 1.5 lakh of his tawas broke. But his sheer dedication didn’t let him give up. By 1988, he had perfected his machine, and today, that same innovation produces 10,000 tawas every single day.

He followed this by developing plaster-of-paris molds for electric potter’s wheels, which allowed potters to make “Matkas” (water pots) with much less effort and higher quality.

His next big step was thinking about the health of people in villages. He noticed that many villagers drank water directly from wells or ponds, which were often contaminated with trash, animal remains, or germs. Women also washed clothes in the same water. In 1995, he developed a clay water filter. He used a clever technique of mixing wood powder and charcoal with the soil and baking it at a very high temperature. The wood and coal would burn away, leaving tiny pores in the clay that naturally filtered the water. It was simple, affordable, and saved lives.

The real “bulb-on” moment for Mr. Mansukhbhai Prajapati happened after the 2001 Gujarat earthquake. It was a dark time for Gujarat, as a massive earthquake had turned cities into graveyards. A local journalist took a photo of a broken clay pot and wrote the caption, “Garibon ka fridge tut gaya” (The poor man’s fridge is broken). When Mr. Mansukhbhai read those words, it hit him that “poor people also need a fridge to keep their food fresh, but they couldn’t afford the machine or even the electricity bill”. He spent three years, from 2001 to 2004, working day and night to create a fridge made of clay. He went into a lot of debt during this time, but he eventually succeeded. His “Mitti Cool” fridge was the first of its kind in the country, eco-friendly, healthy, and affordable.

The science behind the fridge is pure nature. The upper part is filled with water. As this water seeps into the side walls and meets the outside air, it creates a cooling effect. The temperature inside stays cooler than the outside, keeping fruits and vegetables fresh for a week. This success led him to start several companies, and today, Mitti Cool holds a world record for making over 900 different clay products.

Mr. Mansukhbhai Prajapati is a true believer in the healing power of clay. Highlighting the importance of soil he mentioned “from crops to ores everything comes from the earth.” He described that in the old days, food cooked in clay tasted better and kept us healthy. Today, we use aluminum and steel, and face issues like weak eyesight, indigestion, arthritis, and diabetes. He even invented a clay pressure cooker and had it tested in a lab. The results showed that while aluminum cookers destroy 40 to 50 percent of the nutrients in food, clay cookers retain all the nutrients and make the food taste better. He has also created clay water bottles to replace harmful plastic ones, clay air coolers, and even special cooling tiles for house roofs that keep a home cool without an air conditioner, and sometimes even without a fan.

What makes Mr. Mansukhbhai Prajapati a “Person of Interest” isn’t just his inventions, but his heart. He has trained 15,000 people and given jobs to around 10,000 individuals. He especially looks out for those who are often overlooked, people with disabilities, pregnant women, and senior citizens who need to work but can’t do heavy lifting. He started a line of clay jewelry and pot paintings so they can work comfortably from their own homes, without a requirement to come to the workplace.

His work has been recognized by the highest offices in India. Former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam called him a “true scientist.” President Pratibha Patil called him an “innovator.” He was invited as a guest to the Rashtrapati Bhavan by President Pranab Mukherjee and had an eight-day exhibition organized for him by President Ram Nath Kovind. Most recently, President Draupadi Murmu invited him to her school in Odisha to train students in startup culture.

Even with all these awards, one memory stays closest to his heart. Years ago, when he was 19 lakh rupees in debt, the then-Chief Minister of Gujarat, Sri Narendra Modi, supported him. He gave him land and the strength to keep going. Mr. Mansukhbhai recalled this with a bright, proud voice, “I am very lucky to have met five Presidents of India.”  Having his story taught in schools from the CBSE board to the UK’s Cambridge University, gives him immense pleasure and a sense of pride.

When asked how he wants to be remembered, Mr. Mansukhbhai doesn’t talk about fame. He says he wants every potter and every entrepreneur to help fulfill the dream of a self-reliant India. He wants every household to use clay products because they are good for the planet and our bodies. He wishes to see “every household lightened by a Diya”.

In his message to young individuals Mr. Mansukhbhai Prajapati stated “No matter how many difficulties you face, never give up. God always creates a path for us. You just have to make sure your work is in the right direction and your intentions are good.”

Mr. Mansukhbhai Prajapati is a man who was polished by the frictions of life, and today, he is a gem who reminds us all that the greatest innovations often come from the simplest things. His life is a testament to the fact that with true spirit, and sheer dedication anyone can beat the hardships of life and emerge victorious.