Lijjat Papad - Woman & Entrepreneurship

In March 1959, seven semi-literate women from Gujarat came together to supplement their family incomes and create a sustainable source of employment with the skill they knew - cooking. The seven women were Jaswantiben Jamnadas Popat, Parvatiben Ramdas Thodani, Ujamben Narandas Kundalia, Banuben. N. Tanna, Laguben Amritlar Gokani, Jayaben V. Vithalani, and one more lady whose name is not known. They started out on the terrace of a large, old, residential building called Lohana Niwas in Girgaum, a thickly populated area in south Mumbai. This is where the seven housewives, bored and confined to their homes, saw an opportunity to set up an organization 44 years ago.

This debt had to be returned within a stipulated period of time. The women commenced business by selling papads to a merchant known to them. Gradually, they bought a cupboard to store raw materials and utensils on the terrace. In the first year, they had to stop production during the rainy season as the rains would prevent the drying of papads. To solve this problem, by the next rainy season, they bought a cot and a stove. The papads would be kept on the cot and the stove below so that the process of drying could take place in spite of the rains. Within three months, there were about 25 women making papads, and within six months, they were able to reward themselves with half a gram of gold each with the profit they had made.