In a small village of Kalimela Block in Odisha’s Malkangiri district, life has changed for several women — with just a little bit of chocolate.
Farm Colony’s women had been impoverished, dependent on a sporadic income from labour and seasonal farming. A group of 10 Koya tribals then decided to form the Self Help Group (SHG), Maa Gayatri.
After a couple of years of failure, the state-run Odisha Livelihood Mission (OLM) gave them a better sense of direction and an achievable objective for their collective efforts. They began making chocolates under the aegis of OLM.
“We hired a trainer from Berhampur, Ganjam, for a two-week course in making chocolates,” Rosalin Dash, OLM project manager for Kalimela, says with a smile. “Now, their business props them up during financial emergencies.”
Odisha Livelihood Mission promoted the SHG and soon, the tribals were making special chocolates like pros. They now take orders for preferred designs and make festive chocolates in celebratory shapes — firecrackers for Diwali, trees for Christmas, rakhi for Gamha Purnima and bouquets for New Year
The women got a loan of Rs 10,000 from the Gram Panchayat Level Federation. Within six months, they had paid it back.
The Maa Gayatri chocolates turned out to be bestsellers — replete with peanuts, cashews, cherries and desiccated coconut, among other goodies. The fruit-flavoured chocolates are in high demand during a festival or for a birthday alike.
Business has flourished and the tribal women have now taken another loan, of Rs 50,000. “We are sure to pay it off in a year,” says a confident Sujata Khara, secretary of Maa Gayatri. “We earn a profit of over Rs 70,000 per month on an average and divide it among ourselves after keeping a portion to clear our loan.”
The Self Help Group also takes special orders for innovative designs as per customer preference. And its festive chocolates come in celebratory shapes — firecrackers for Diwali, trees for Christmas, rakhi for Gamha Purnima and bouquets for New Year.
Dash, though, regrets that the market for these innovative and popular chocolates is restricted to Malkangiri. “If agencies like the Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society lend their support, the business can spread to other districts,” she says.
Meanwhile, these tribal women continue to lead the sweet life.
