My parents, Vishnu Maruti Kute and Shalini Vishnu Kute, purchased eight acres of agricultural land in 2012–2013 at Girawali, Taluka Ambegaon, District Pune, after their retirement from service. The land was entirely hilly and barren, with no trees or vegetation. It was subsequently leveled, and terraces were developed through extensive land shaping to make it suitable for cultivation.

At that stage, my father and I considered various options for developing the farm, particularly the establishment of a fruit orchard. After careful thought, we decided in 2013–2014 to cultivate jamun (Indian blackberry). High-quality Bahadoli variety grafted saplings were procured from a private fruit nursery located in Dahanu, Palghar. The saplings were planted at a spacing of approximately 25 × 25 feet.

Since jamun trees typically take about five years to begin bearing fruit, we undertook intercropping during the initial years. Crops such as potatoes, soybean, wheat, and onion were cultivated. Additionally, custard apple (Balanagar variety) was planted between the jamun trees for a short duration. The custard apple trees began yielding fruit within two years, and we continued their production for the next three to four years.

Once the jamun trees started bearing fruit around 2017–2018, the custard apple plants were removed, and full-scale jamun production commenced.