THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opening Kriiyaa Ifruit, her Thai live ice cream shop in Vazhuthacaud last year, was a dream come true for homemaker Shalin. She invested all her money into the project, to build something worthy for her college-going children.
“I worked in the tourism sector earlier. I started this ice cream shop to help build healthy food habits in the city. We provide sugar and milk-less ice-creams. I took a loan of around Rs 14 lakh through the Start-Up India project of the Centre,” she says.
Shalin shelled out money for the imported machinery, branded and imported raw materials and utensils — almost Rs 18 lakh. But things turned topsy turvy when Shalin was forced to close down her shop as part of lockdown last year. Her imported machinery was damaged.
“The shop was inaugurated on March 21, and soon came the first lockdown. The imported raw materials, especially powders and ingredients are perishable. During the second lockdown, things were so bad that we couldn’t even open the shop to test run the machines. One of the imported ice cream roller machines that run at 20-degree Celsius got ruined as the atmosphere inside the shop was humid. Half the eco-friendly and bio-degradable juice and ice cream cups, paper straws, have caught mould. The loss has cost me lakhs of rupees apart from the monthly shop rent of Rs 25,000,” says Shalin.
Ice creams are not ideal for home delivery, making things worse. “I run the shop only with the help of my children and it is hard for me to afford employees at this point,” she says.
Lockdown diaries
Our state has been reeling under lockdown for weeks now. The government and police department may have their reasons for closing doors on many people’s lives and livelihoods, but that doesn’t make the trouble go away. Everyday, in this space, TNIE zooms into the life of one of us, beaten down by the pandemic-induced restrictions. Want us to tell a story? Write to the editor on kochicityeditor@gmail.com