A women-led microenterprise in Kerala’s Wayanad district has successfully managed to beat setbacks from Covid and be an inspiration to a lot of other women trying their hands at entrepreneurship.

Seven women of Panavalli in Thirunelli panchayat got together to launch their small enterprise Bhoomika by leveraging the Rebuild Kerala Initiative launched by the Kerala government in 2020 to help people in the flood-affected areas get back on their feet.

Bhoomika makes jams, squash, chips, rose cookies and other regional snacks for local consumption under the brand Tasty Dots. With funds and active support from Keystone Foundation, Tasty Dots was able to stay afloat during Covid times and scale up their activities recently after the second wave of Covid. A revolving fund of Rs 50,000 from Keystone Foundation was provided for their operations. Prior to this, machinery and the infrastructure (building including lease amount – approx 1.5 lakhs) were used to expand their production. 

While they began their journey by making products at their own houses, a three-day training by Krishi Vigyan helped them find ways to work more efficiently by utilising their time well. Earlier, they were working out of a milk production unit which they had to vacate due to certain reasons. Keystone came forward to help them set up a new unit, says a member Kamalakshi. She says that all the food items made at Bhoomika are fresh and devoid of any chemicals or preservatives. “Our products are very popular locally,” Kamalakshi says. 

Bhoomika had stopped functioning for about six months last year during Covid. Things changed for the better after the second wave when their sales picked up and all seven members were able to get wages from the enterprise. 

Initially, the products were not of marketable quality and their production capacity was also low, says Keystone staff Ramachandran. “Now production quality and scale have both improved and all the members are getting wages, too,” he says. 

Bhoomika is now striving for an FSSI certification as well as a packing license which will help them get into the big market. Keystone is helping them spruce up infrastructure to apply for the certification.

Members of Bhoomika say that they need help and guidance in marketing their products. Since they are buying raw materials and distributing their products on foot now, a vehicle and driving licenses for the members are on their wishlist, too.