By Tejaswi Hanumant Sawant

Pune, November 28, 2020

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, 2 daughters, a son, and a few workers and earns a margin of ₹3000-4000 on a monthly basis. Her husband works at a private company and her elder daughter is married. Today, she sells up to 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.

During the first phase of lockdown:

Uma did face certain backlashes during the lockdown as there was a complete closure resulting in a 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 ₹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 delivering bhakris on her motorcycle door to door.

A new vision:

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 ₹2-3/- 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 grow.

Bhakris getting packaged for delivery

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.

About the Author:

Tejaswi Hanumant Sawant is BA  SY third semester, Journalism and Mass Communication at Vishwakarma University, Pune.  She is a student representative at VU’s Centre of Communication for Development.