Kudumbashree - Success Story of Samridhi Pappad unit

Making Pappad and earning livelihood: Success Story of Samridhi Pappad unit

Samridhi Pappad unit is located in Uzhavoor grama panchayath of Kottayam district of Kerala. The unit was started in 2005 with 10 members. Now, Hema, Sudha, Ponnamma, Chandrika, Omana are the members of Samridhi Pappad unit. The unit is registered under Dhanya NHG, which was started in 2002 with 20 members.
The unit members decided to start a pappad unit because all the unit members knew to make pappad as it was their ‘Kulathozhil’ – hereditary job. Their parents used to make and sell pappads in the house at early years. As their time comes they want to expand the business so they decided to registered as a micro enterprise unit under Kudumbashree Mission.

The main activity in the units is making pappads in different sizes and ‘boli’ for ‘pappadavada’ – a tea time snack in Kerala. The activity starts at 7 in the morning and ends by 5 in the evening. The ingredients for pappad are urad dal, pappad atta, rice flour, baking soda, gingely oil and salt. The raw materials are easily available in the local markets. The first stage was mixing the ingredients in correct proportion. The mixing is done with the help of a mixer. Then the batter is converted to a hydraulic machine. The main process is done within the machine. 100 pappads can be made from 1 kg of batter. In a month, around 60,000 pappads are prepared.
The mixing machine costs Rs.5000 and the hydraulic machine costs about Rs.4 lakhs. The expense for the machine is brought through their small savings and the loan was provided by Kudumbashree Mission.

After all expenses like loan, electricity, raw materials, wages, transportation etc they can manage to collect Rs 300 to 400 per day and about Rs 9000 per month. During the festival and marriage season the figure changes. The profit is gone to a common account and later they divide the amount every month equally. The main reason for their success is their unity. As they were relatives they know each other very well and helped one another. Another reason for the success is no compromise in quality and delivers the orders on time.
The main challenges they face in the early stage was finding the markets because there is a lot of branded products available in the markets. Now they get orders from wholesale as well as retail markets and from catering units. They also sell their products through trade fairs and exhibitions conducted by Kudumbashree District Mission Office. Another challenge is the climate. For drying pappads, sunlight is needed and it is very difficult in rainy season. This difficulty is overcome by constructing furnaces. The turning point of the unit was the hydraulic machine they brought. That machine increased the productivity of the unit by thrice. It decreased the time for production and additional labour.

 In future they plan to expand the unit as they were the only group who make pappad in their area. They also wish to find market in other districts as well. They also have an idea to find out another product with the same raw materials. Once they had received a first bulk order from a whole sale market during an Onam season. They consider it as the happiest moment in their life. Their message to upcoming entrepreneurs is to find out the hereditary job (kulathozil) as they did and turn the idle time productive.
With her commitment, confidence and hard work, they are moving forward with their Samridhi Pappad unit. It is sheer confidence that brought their unit to greater heights. By extending opportunities to many women like them, Kudumbashree Mission is giving wings to the dreams of many. Their success story can undoubtedly be considered an embodiment of women empowerment and sheer self-confidence.