CHENNAI: Employment, or rather unemployment, is always a hot topic. And especially in the unfavourable economy of today, it would be easy to admit defeat. However, working against odds and challenging circumstances is the story of D’lite Masala, operating out of Kovalam.
The enterprise which also comprises Thinnai Cafe was set up by The Banyan, along with the Vaazhndhu Kaattuvom Project (TNRTP) as a cooperative, and is run by peer leader Nandhini.
A client of The Banyan, Nandhini was brought to the institution from a hospital in Kerala. “Nandhini is an educated person who was referred to us and had been waiting for treatment. For various reasons, she decided to not go back to her family but she didn’t want to be dependent on others. She felt that she could earn something and lead her own life. Even when she was a little unwell, she kept on saying that she needed employment,” says Harini S, an occupational therapist at The Banyan.
Teamwork makes the dream work
But while Nandhini was not interested in their vocational training (VT) units, she found her skills of articulation and her education being put to good use under a social cooperative. “We thought of having social cooperatives because many of them (the clients) had lost their employment and finding new employment was a difficult concept,” Harini adds.
The social cooperative brought together people with different skills to create podis under the name D’lite Masala. So where Annamary’s (who runs the Thinnai Cafe) passions lay in cooking, Nandhini fared better with articulation and selling. And the former helped to make an infrequent activity of masala making into a continuous activity by selling breakfast, lunch and snack items.
With the Vaazhndhu Kaattuvom Project, the members of the cooperative twelve, including clients and caregivers were trained to create their products with much trial and error. The name was also picked out by the members of the cooperative among several options. “We offer five products idli podi, paruppu podi, karuvepillai podi, poondu podi, sesame seed lentil podi.
We are doing well with monthly sales of about Rs 40,000. We make our spices fresh and also have an FSSAI certificate,” informs Nandhini, to which admin and HR manager Anitha Venkatesan adds, “We provide everything homemade and fresh. We don’t stock before orders. We create the powders when we get the orders and use no chemicals. Even our bag is not plastic but a paper cover to keep them user-friendly.” Now, the cooperative is looking for new avenues to explore.
They recently submitted a proposal to the collector for a mobile van to expand their reach but were instead recommended to acquire an electric vehicle. The team awaits the same. “With a vehicle, we can go to Kovalam beach and Mahabalipuram beach. The local community can explore (our items) and our client interaction will improve,” Nandhini and Anitha mention.
Greener pastures
Work, in any form, is a vital component of recovery, mentions Harini. And work does not only entail that which earns money; even women working as homemakers can contribute to an activity that gives them satisfaction and helps in personal recovery, she adds. “The choice of work is something we always consider…we give them some sort of work they are interested in so that they are engaged in some activity because it is very therapeutic for them.
While work keeps them engaged so that they are away from the dreadful things going through their minds, it also is a way of making them go back to their memories. Many of the people we are working with are homeless, so they can’t recognise their address or remember what happened in their family or how they landed on the streets.
When they engage in a particular activity, they remember some of those aspects that they were doing in their house. So many times food or even coffee that they make has brought in a lot of good memories,” Harini says. Speaking on establishing her entrepreneurial endeavour, Nandhini says, “It gives me happiness. This is a respectful movement in life. Everyone here earns an income and is also very happy.
When we (clients) seek out employment, whether we will work or not is a question they ask instead of at least giving us a chance and trust in us. They say there are many government sector jobs for the disabled but I’m not sure how much movement there is. If there were more job opportunities and more people lent a hand, it would be nice.”