By Sandeep Pouranik
Morena, Jun 19 (IANS): The corona pandemic has impacted the life of the common man. In Madhya Pradesh's Morena district, women have launched 'Didi cafe' with the aim of turning the corona adversity into an opportunity and are hopeful that the initiative will usher in a new life for them.
The women of Nooravad village in Morena formed the Maa Sheetla Public Interest Women Board for earning their livelihood. Earlier, these women used to make cotton lamp-wicks. Now they have started 'Didi cafe' in the premises of the zilla panchayat office.
Group president Draupadi Badham told IANS, "During the corona pandemic, our group started the 'Didi cafe' under the rural livelihood mission at the district panchayat office but we did not earn as much as expected. The women of the group used to earn Rs 100 per day on an average by making lamp-wicks but the cafe did not earn them that much because there were fewer employees coming to the district panchayat office."
Badham says the monthly rent of the place where the café is located is Rs 5,000. At present, the average sales are only about Rs 500-600 per day.
Rekha Batham, a member of the group, says 12 women are associated with the cafe but only two or three come regularly.
The dishes are not prepared but are kept raw. For example, potatoes are boiled but the risk of spoilage is there when no customer visits the cafe. In such a case, the group members take it home and use it.
According to official information, the women of the group made 1,50,000 masks at the time of the coronavirus outbreak. By selling them, they earned Rs 90,000.
Zilla panchayat chief executive officer Tarun Bhatnagar gave permission to run ‘Didi cafe' in the office premises after seeing the contribution by the Maa Sheetla self-help group. Draupadi Badham launched the ‘Didi cafe', purchasing raw materials with a loan of Rs 15,000.
The women in the self-help group hope that after the corona infection subsides their earnings will increase as life returns to normal. The families of these women also had to take loans from moneylenders many a time but they look forward to a better future through income generated from the cafe.