Züb Züb India: The ultimate cleaning service

Züb Züb India Team at work

Züb Züb India Team at work

Vibi Yhokha Sophie
Kohima | July 1

In 2018, Pelenuo Yhome left her family based in the Dimapur plains to chase the Kohima Mountains. It was in these mountains, Pelenuo set up her innovative agency called Züb Züb India, a professional cleaning service focused on cleaning, sanitizing and beautifying the environment.

Pelenuo Yhome

Having carved a niche for herself in music and a career in civil engineering and interior designing, Yhome started Züb Züb India in 2020- an initiative that is very close to her heart and one she developed to ‘make an impact and touch people’s lives.’

“One of my main ideas in bringing Züb Züb India is because I do not support live in help. We tend to over-exploit them,” says Yhome, adding, “We are so used to exploiting people’s services for free that we are not ready to pay a certain amount for such services.”

After completing her studies and on her return home, Yhome worked on a few projects where she had to give the final touch ups once the projects got over which required a lot of cleaning up. There she had to come up with a team for the final finishing work. Through these experiences, the idea to start a cleaning service was developed. Züb Züb India officially started in November, 2020 with its office based at Billy Graham Road, Kohima. Currently, the start up comprises of over 30 employees (both regular and part time) within the age group of 18-30 years of age, mostly drop outs and mothers.

The ultimate cleaning service, and a sole one in the State’s capital, provides customised and knowledge based services six days a week to residential, corporate and public clients. The services includes: Cleaning events, construction spaces, disposing construction debris, post- part and pre-party clean ups, clearing drainages, wood cutting, housekeeping, pet keeping, and laundry service. “Everyone has their own requirements, so there is no standard rate. We try to fulfil services according to requirements. This is a very new concept. When we first came out a lot of people reacted well to it. The need of the hour is that we do need services like this,” says Yhome.

The name behind the start up, ‘Züb Züb’ is a word Yhome learned from her Ao mother. Loosely translated, Yhome points out that the word denotes “something that’s close to perfection, like the Nagamese term ‘Thik thak.’ For Yhome, the word embodies a perfect maintenance of oneself and one’s environment.

At Züb Züb India, Yhome provides training to her employees before setting them out for work, with the core value of the agency being, “Providing quality services to our clients while ensuring an uncompromised customer satisfaction.”

Züb Züb Your City

Besides residential and office cleaning, the Züb Züb India team is involved in the street cleaning initiative called ‘Züb Züb Your City’.

Pelenuo and her team came up with the initiative to build awareness and to sensitize the public about the environment and to take care of one’s city and town. The team has been collaborating with the Kohima Smart City Mission in this venture.

The street cleaning is conducted mostly during the day’s rush hour in the main town, according to Pelenuo, so that we can impact more people, as they can see things happening.

“Züb Züb your city is an initiative where anyone can come and join us. If you want to contribute, you can. If you want to volunteer, you can volunteer.  But it all work towards one goal: to have a cleaner state/city, a sustainable state and a more beautiful state,” mentions Pelenuo.

While there are challenges starting a cleaning service in a community which thrives on volunteer work, Pelenuo is optimistic that cleaning services like Züb Züb India has potential to provide a sustainable livelihood. “Nagas think it’s a low job. A lot of people are staying at home jobless but feel ashamed to do these kind of jobs. My whole time goes out in just motivating them, teaching them the dignity in labour. My whole energy goes out in changing this mentality,” rues Yhome.

For someone who left her job with the conviction to make an impact and touch lives, Pelenuo Yhome has already influence a new generation. “I feel that we are touching more lives. Times are changing. We are seeing it, my team is seeing it. We are adapting to new ways. Not just adapting but opportunities are opening up for such services,” views Yhome.

As for the future of Züb Züb India, Pelenuo and her team aims to reach out to the whole of Northeast. “We want to make North East India the Home for sustainability in India. That is the dream.It may be a little ambitious but that’s the dream,” says Yhome.