Khammam: Vinoda Chandawat, a poor tribal girl from Palvancha in the joint Khammam district, was looked down upon by people as a student and taunted that she does not need to look for a job, which she will get because of reservation. Vinoda, who was preparing for her competitive exam for a government job, quit the coaching midway due to the taunts and followed her passion for cookery.
Years down the line, the business is worth Rs 3 crore. In a special conversation with ETV Bharat, Vinoda recalled her childhood struggle, her passion for cooking and the challenges she faced while following her passion. Vinoda, who has two younger sisters, said her mother wanted her to become a government employee.
The family was looking forward to Vinoda's selection after she enrolled in a coaching centre. However, when Vinoda quit coaching to pursue her passion, the family asked her to leave home, she recalled. “As the pocket money from home stopped, I wanted to do something in Hyderabad. I wanted to do something on my own since Class X.
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Being interested in cooking since childhood, I wanted to try my hand at it,” she said. Vinoda said she got a contract to supply meals to 200 BPO company employees. Later in 2016, while experimenting with spices and her culinary skills, she started a small stall named 'Malhari Foods' in Kachiguda with an investment of Rs 60,000 and introduced her spices to the market. Vinoda said the food outlet had a positive response. “People said the food is like homemade and I should start an industry and not stop with this small stall,” she said.
Vinoda said she approached a bank, which offered a loan provided she showed them the physical infrastructure and the machinery. “So I sold my gold and deposited Rs 25 lakhs with the help of my friends,” she said. Vinoda set up the food processing unit at Charlapalli Industrial Estate under the name of 'Sri Malhari Masala Organic Foods Private Limited'.
She said they started with spices besides veg and non-veg pickles. Currently, the unit is making 80 types of products under the 'Namaste Kitchens' brand name. Vinoda said they distributed the samples in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for six months for free and later increased the number of products due to the warm reception by the people.
However, Corona affected the demand as profits went down. “But I am not afraid. Currently, we have reached a turnover of Rs 3 crore. We are marketing our products in Odisha, Karnataka and Maharashtra as well as Singapore, the UK, the US, and Dubai,” Vinoda said. She currently employs 20 women. She has also opened a special store named 'The Mahila Factory'. “Both my sisters are settled in the IT and banking fields. I strongly believe that fate can be changed by determination. My mother also agrees with me now,'' she said.
