SUKMA: Keralapal, around 22 km from Sukma district headquarters in south Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, is witnessing a change from its troubled past, with a women-run café emerging as a source of livelihood for local residents.
For decades, Keralapal was affected by Maoist violence. A district collector was abducted in 2012, while IED blasts on jungle bridges and remote hillsides affected development in the area.
Today, the Keralapal Panchayat Café, run by women members of the Jeevan Sandesh Self-Help Group (SHG), has become a community space. The café was set up with Rs 15 lakh through the convergence of funds from the District Mineral Fund (DMF) Foundation, National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and Swachh Bharat Mission.
The café serves items including samosas, moong badas, ginger tea, aloo gunda, idlis and besan pakodas. It earns between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000 a day.
“Keralapal is just the beginning of a larger aspiration. The rural women stepped forward as the poised, capable faces of a thriving new enterprise. Seven more Panchayat Cafés are rising across former red bastions like Jagargunda, Polampalli, and Errabor—scheduled to open in next couple of months. With over 8,300 women in the district already elevated to ‘Lakhpati Didis’, the initiative proves that development is rarely just about asphalt roads and concrete posts,” said Amit Kumar, Sukma collector.
The SHG women received preliminary training and prepare different food items while also taking orders at the café.
“The income generated feeds into households once hollowed out by instability, granting the women financial autonomy, bargaining power, and an unshakeable sense of dignity," Kajal Uike and Lalita Sinha told the Express.
Seven more Panchayat Cafés are expected to open in Jagargunda, Polampalli and Errabor in the next couple of months.
