Reema Sathe

Reema Sathe
in 2023
EducationSomerville College
Occupationsbusinessperson and social activist

Reema Sathe (born 20th century) is an Indian chemical engineer and activist. Her snack company, "Manipur's first women-only farmer producer company", promises to share its profits fairly with small farmers. She was awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2017 for her work by the President of India and later noted for her work in 300 villages, involving 30,000 people, by the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi.

Life

Sathe was trained as a chemical engineer.

Having left a steady job in 2014 to become self employed, she started a beverage company, "Happy Roots", after working for seven years in the food and drink industry in 2016. The move was prompted by concerns about the number of suicides amongst small farmers that she learned about while working for a company named "Krishi Star" as a marketing manager.

She tried giving chickens to farmers so that she could then sell the eggs. When the supply line led to breakages and rotten eggs, she changed her focus to non-perishable foodstuffs. In the case of women farmers in Ahmednagar, their income is said to have tripled as they grew buckweat for Sathe's business. She has been credited with involving 16,000 women in pig farming and creating "Manipur's first women-only farmer producer company". Her company's product ranges have included crackers and cookies made from wheat, buckwheat, amarnath seeds, flax seed and barley.

From "Gender, intersectionality and climate smart agriculture in South Asia" by Prof Rao, Sathe et al in 2025

DD India, an Indian Public Services TV company, featured Sathe in their programme "In Conversation" where she described how she was doubling incomes to make people financially secure. She continues to write and the International Livestock Research Institute in Kenya includes her as an expert in Gender with an impact involving 300 villages and 30,000 people. Her research on women farmers and climate change has been included to support her inclusion as "an independent expert".

Sathe went on to be a Cyril Shroff Scholar reading for a master's degree in Public Policy at Somerville College, Oxford.

Awards

Receiving the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2017

Sathe was awarded "Business Today"'s "Most Powerful Women" Award in 2017.

Sathe was awarded the 2016 Nari Shakti Puraskar. She was one of 27 women who were recognised and five organisations were also honoured. At the awards she met another award winner Ringyuichon Vashum from Manipur. She would later write about her visit to Manipur to see how she could help the people there.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Shetye, Neeraj (8 November 2023). "Reema Sathe". www.some.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Gender Equality and Inclusion - Reema Sathe". CGIAR - International Livestock Research Institute - Gender Equality and Inclusion. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  3. 1 2 "This Chemical Engineer Read One Story on 'The Better India' and Is Helping 10,000 Farmers Now". The Better India. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Five Ngo's, 27 Women given Nari Shakti Award". ourcivilsociety.com. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 "That Happy Feeling- Business News". www.businesstoday.in. 16 September 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  6. ↑ "Reema Sathe & Happy Roots – Empowering Farmers, One Snack at a Time - Solsaga". 22 February 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Commercialising the Grain". Brewer World. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  8. 1 2 Rao, Nitya; Sathe, Reema; Grist, Natasha (24 February 2025). "Gender, intersectionality and climate smart agriculture in South Asia: A review". PLOS Climate. 4 (2) e0000482. doi:10.1371/journal.pclm.0000482. hdl:10568/173608. ISSN 2767-3200.
  9. ↑ Bhat, Mumman. "In Conversation: Meet Nari Shakti Puraskar awardee Reema Sathe". DD India - In Conversation with Founder of Happy Roots. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  10. ↑ Arathimenon (15 January 2026). "Centring women in climate-resilient farming". Mongabay-India. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  11. ↑ "Nari Shakti Awardees- Ms. Reema Sathe, Maharashtra | Ministry of Women & Child Development". wcd.nic.in. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  12. ↑ "Nari Shakti Puraskar 2016" (PDF). Ministry of Women and Child Development. 2017. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  13. ↑ Reema Sathe (5 June 2019). "How A Remote District In Manipur Is Taking Sustainability Beyond Lip Service". Forbes India. Retrieved 22 February 2021.