Kalpana is from a farming family, owning a small patch of land. “My husband used to work in coconut mandi in Tiptur and came home quite late. As our landholding is small, I had to find a way to bring in more income into the house” says Kalpana. She started preparing Ragi papad based on the traditional knowledge and tried to sell the papad to her acquaintances without much success. She got to know about TIDE and participated in a Ragi value addition training conducted by TIDE where she learnt about value added products such as Ragi malt and Nipattu. She also understood other important aspects like quality, compliance for food grade, packaging, and marketing. Today Kalpana manufactures different variants of papad, Ragi malt, Hurihittu, savouries like chakli and Nipattu all Ragi based. She has become a successful entrepreneur employing 3 other women. She recalls how her entrepreneurship journey with TIDE provided her knowledge, skills, and linkages. Post our intervention, Kalpana earns a profit of Rs 8,000 to 12,000 every month from sales of her products and after paying women employed by her.
