ROURKELA: At first sight, the ‘e-Cool Bazaar’ in the midst of the Traffic Gate market in Rourkela may well be dismissed as a new gimmick. A group of women showing off their solar-powered cold room to sell their products. But a little more prying eyes reveal a story of quiet transformation by not only creating sustainable livelihood for the women of the slums but, more importantly, preventing vegetable wastage and adding to the food cart while easing the sanitation burden on the city itself. In short: A simple idea with an outsized impact.
At the Traffic Gate market, Tulashi Das (48) and her four colleagues from Timber Colony slum manage the ‘e Cool Bazaar’, a cold storage-cum-common facility centre, dealing with farmers, vendors and other customers. Small farmers and vegetable vendors have found a huge support in the women. They no longer have to worry about their unsold highly perishable produce. They rush to the cart after the market hours and submit their leftovers for storage at affordable fees, which they can retrieve the next market day for sale.
Small farmers and vegetable vendors form the backbone of the food supply chain. Yet, without protected storage, unsold produce often spoils overnight, forcing farmers and small vendors to resort to distress sale. The cold room at Traffic Gate, with three chambers and a 30-tonne capacity, offers them the solution to store their produce without being forced to let them rot. The reduction in spoilage has not only curbed food wastage but also eased sanitation pressure in crowded markets.
Tulashi, president of the Jai Matadi women SHG that operates the facility, says the difference is visible. “Earlier, farmers would dump damaged vegetables in the matket itself. Now they store them safely and sell later. Their losses have reduced along with the stinking rotten vegetable heaps in the marketplace,” she says.
The intervention goes beyond storage. The women coordinate bulk orders from restaurants, eateries and canteens, take produce from small farmers, and ensure timely delivery in an e-rickshaw. “Quality, hygiene and punctuality combined with affordable prices is our hallmark. In just two years, since we started this as an experiment, our enterprise has taken ground and is on expansion mode,” says Tulashi.
They have also opened a sales counter at the campus of the National Institute of Technology Rourkela, retailing organic vegetables and food products sourced largely from women’s SHGs and local producers. The Rourkela Cold Room Project now operates in five high-footfall markets Traffic Gate, Chhend Colony, Sector-19, Fertilizer Township and Panposh.
Each unit employs five to six women, along with a driver and a watchman, generating direct livelihood for 25 to 30 women and around 10 additional workers. After setting aside funds for maintenance and future investment, the group members take home between Rs 8,000 and Rs 15,000 a month which has brought financial stability to their families.
The project was envisaged after Rourkela’s selection in the Global Mayor Challenge of Bloomberg Philanthropies. Catalytic funding and mentorship from Bloomberg enabled the model to be piloted while the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provided technical assistance, capacity-building and sustainability planning. The Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) provided land at busy market areas, facilitated infrastructure and solar integration, mobilised SHGs under urban livelihood programmes and continues to oversee monitoring and vendor engagement. RMC’s ownership ensured institutional sustainability beyond pilot funding.
The project is designed to become financially self-sustaining through nominal storage charges, bulk storage provision, logistics and delivery linkages, solar energy and SHG-led enterprise management to cut cost, officials said.
Sarada Parida, secretary of the SHG, says they also procure millets, pickles, indigenous spices, and brown and black rice. “We procure these from different women’s groups and local producers. There is good demand,” she says.
For Tilottama Mahakud, another member, the change is deeply personal. “We all come from the slum and poverty. We now have stable income and can support our children’s education,” she says.
“The Rourkela Cold Room initiative is not merely an infrastructure intervention, it is a women-led economic transformation model. With the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies and UNDP, we have reduced food waste, strengthened urban food resilience, and created dignified livelihoods. This initiative reflects our commitment to building a climate-smart and inclusive city,” said Rourkela additional district magistrate and RMC commissioner Deenah Dastageer.