Tanisha Phanbuh may be young, but she is accomplished. At 28, Tanisha already employs six women at her bakery, The Art of Cake, in Shillong and expects she’ll have 15 employees by the end of next year.
But not so long ago, Tanisha was only catering a few items at a canteen in the school where her mother taught. She had only a short-term baking course to her name, which she had completed after passing class XII. “I did not have a store front or high-end baking equipment,” she says, which was a challenge for this business-oriented Khasi.
During the pandemic, Tanisha provided free tiffin services to some 300 families of daily wagers in Shillong
However, as the scale of orders grew, Tanisha overcame the odds and invested in establishing a small cafeteria at home and supplementing her kitchenware. Of late, Tanisha, who has handled social media marketing and guest relations in the hospitality sector, has expanded her horizons by launching her online venture Tribal Gourmet, “wanting to show to the rest of the world the diversity of the North East of India via the local food”.
But besides her entrepreneurial side, contributing to social causes too comes easily to her. During the pandemic, Tanisha was providing free tiffin services to “some 300 families of daily wagers vegetable, fruit and meat vendors who lost their source of income because of the lockdowns in Shillong”. “I also employed 10 additional women helpers to assist me,” she points out.
I was relying solely on my savings and income from regular catering orders to sustain this initiative
“I obtained their data from friends who are associated with local trade unions etcetera,” she says. “I am relying solely on my savings and income from regular catering orders to sustain this initiative.”
Tanisha says she learnt the value of frugality and community service at a young age, and it certainly shows in her actions.
