Pune, In these difficult times of pandemic, earning your daily bread has been proved quite a task for a number of us. However, it wasn’t that difficult for Uma Vitthal Sutar, a resident of Kumbhari, a village in South Solapur to get her way through this. She started selling the authentic ‘kadak bhakri’ to the factory workers and restaurant and hence, motivated her to start this business on a larger scale.
‘Kadak bhakris’ are Solapur originated hard flatbreads made from jowar, sorghum flour which have a similar texture as a papad and is eaten usually with thecha, shengdanyachi chutney or Mutton Rassa.
Uma has been making and delivering these bhakris since last year with the help of her husband, two daughters, a son and a few workers and earns a margin of Rs 3000-4000 on a monthly basis. Her husband works at a private company and her elder daughter is married.
Talking to UNI, Uma told that she sells upto 500 bhakris per day on a motorcycle. Along with bhakris, she also sells pickles of mango, chilli and lime. She grows her own white sorghum (jowar) for the bhakris and also owns a clothing store in the village. Narrating her story during the first phase of lockdown, she did face certain backlashes during lockdown as there was a complete closure resulting in decrease in sales of the bhakris.
She steadily found opportunities from different states and sold her bhakris across Karnataka as well.
Two years ago, she was offered a loan amount of rupee 50,000 from Anita Malge, the director of Yashaswini Agro Producer to set up her business and also provide employment to the women in the village.
Uma started this business with zero balance in her bank account and has now provided employment to 3 women in her business. She provides a margin of rupee 3-4 on each bhakri that they make.
She has been selling these bhakris to 2 restaurants, a few dhabas, 15-18 shops and the other buyers from village giving her a mass order of 500-600 bhakris per day. She says that if she ever receives help on a big scale to expand her business, she would provide employment to most of the women in the village and help them to grow. Uma has been an inspiration to a number of women in Kumbhari, her persistence and motivation has kept her going. She hopes to make it big someday and help everyone around her.