MADURAI: On sultry afternoons in the outskirts of Madurai, it becomes hard to walk past the dingy factories huffing and puffing smoke with one’s hopes unscathed. The bleak picture blends into one’s conscience and forms over it a soot crust. Against this hostile setting, a rainbow-like factory dishing out chocolate and heartfelt care may sound like a fairy-tale fantasy.
Well, some wishful thinking in the right minds can work wonders. There is indeed a Care Factory (CF) in Madurai, and the chocolate cakes, yummy doughnuts, cookies, brownies and savouries are being served fresh from the oven. They are made by people with mental disabilities after a year of training in baking , tailoring and animal husbandry.
According to directors Dr M Selvi, R Selvikumari, R Selvakumari and COO Vimala, the ‘factory’ was launched in 2018 by MS Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation (MSCTRF) to create employment opportunities for persons with mental disabilities and their family members. “The venture has succeeded with flying colours and has found its own niche in the market.
Profit is not our driving force, but contributing opportunities for people of unsound mind to advance in lives,” they say. Pointing out that not all people with mental illness can recover completely as the prolonged distress takes a toll on their cognitive ability, they say most employers refrain from reinstating them. “Unable to find work, they might also become a liability for their families.
This is where the Care Factory steps in. We help them earn a decent living and support their families in whatever ways they can. In other words, we restore their dignity,” they add. Forty nine-year-old Geetha* was forced to leave home after her husband did not accept her mental disability. Soldiering on, she joined the CF and completed a tailoring course.
Geetha now has recovered from a bout of depression and works in the CF crafts unit, creating cloth files, folders, jute bags, and other home products. “I have been associated with the MSCTRF for the last 15 years. Lots of people now take interest in our products. It helps to know that we are contributing to society, in whatever way we can,” she says.
Temple City hotel chain is one of the biggest customers for CF. The baked food and the jute products are featured at the hotels. “The Care Factory drive forward the benevolent cause by ensuring that their products are first class. We are very happy to endorse this trust, which understands and helps persons with mental disabilities earn a dignified living,” says SJ Abiram Vikash, director of the hotel chain.
One among every five persons employed in the Care Factory has had a history of mental illness. Visiting the CF outlet at KK Nagar in Madurai, one would realise the workers’ commitment to their duties. The brownies and chocolate cakes here have no secret ingredient, just some secret superstars behind them. A little child walks into the CF outlet and orders a couple of cookies. She is blissful as the goodies arrive. The Care Factory thrives in their care.
*(name changed)