Meet some inspiring women from Tamil Nadu’s self help groups who are cooking up a storm

Discover the inspiring journey of self-help groups from Nilgiris to Chennai, showcasing indigenous dishes at a food festival.

The journey from Kunda Kotagiri in the Nilgiris to the capital city of Chennai takes a good 10 hours. This 560-kilometre trip was full of nervous excitement for a group of three women, part of a 12-member self help group (SHG), Kudikal Amman, who came all the way to cook their indigenous fare of ragi kali, sama rice and spicy avarakkai (broad beans) curry at the food festival conducted by the Tamil Nadu government between December 20 and 24. The event at Marina Beach showcased dishes and packaged food items made by over 150 women part of 65 self-help groups from across the state.

While most left their stall with bellies full, women like those from these SHGs, left the venue with confidence and hope. A future now awaits them.

“We have never gone outside our hometown. It gets pitch dark by 7pm. We are usually discouraged to go out except for work. The idea of coming to Chennai and cooking seemed like a whole new ball game,” said A Saraswathi, one of the members from Kotagiri. Stirring a pot of mushy ragi kali, she added that this SHG has been active for 10 years now. They first began by weaving wire baskets and sweaters, occasionally selling it at a stall in Mettupalayam.However, they wanted to do more. So they decided to set up a small stall near Avalanche lake in Ooty during the tourist season to serve ragi kali, avarakkai curry and sama rice at a meagre ₹50. Throwing the traditional dupatta of the Kota tribe over her shoulder, A Abhinaya proudly said, “We didn’t think we would come this far to Chennai from our small hill town and serve people our food. It is healthy and nutritious but we did not expect that customers would line up, wanting to eat what we like.”

Within 45 minutes of opening, Afsana Parveen and her team from Arcot, have managed to sell every morsel of their biryani. An announcement goes out, requesting customers to come back in an hour .

“I have only cooked for my family. Only in the last year did we start making biriyani as part of Fauziya SHG,” she says speaking of the heaping plate priced at ₹150. Their five-year-old SHG based in Arcot has also been selling packaged chicken 65 masala, vathal and other snack items.  “Seeing the winding lines makes my heart so full,” she adds.

Among the most endearing parts of the fiestival is 72-year-old M Thangam’s hibiscus juice and rose milk stall. She is the sole representative of her SHG in Chennai today. Noting the queue packed to the brim, Thangam speaks as she serves. “I don’t miss even a single chance to take our products around Tamil Nadu to showcase at exhibitions,” says this native of Kanyakumari. Thangam and her 20-member SHG made pickles and nannari juice when they began. Their district collector noticed them and asked Thangam to train other SHGs in nearby districts too. Thangam says that SHGs are essential. “The forum has helped us make something of ourselves, be it through loans or small business. Independence is everything,” she says.

Fauziya SHG can be reached at 8015541071 while Thangam’s SHG can be contacted at 9487710091.