'Kalaburagi Rotti', new flavour of Karnataka

A cooperative society's initiative in encouraging women's self-help groups to make millet rottis has led to transformation of village economy in Kalaburagi district

- RAMKRISHNA BADSESHI @Kalaburagi

KITCHENS can transform lives.

A humble initiative that was started one-and-half year ago to make rottis in Kalaburagi district under the district administration's guidance has remade hundreds of women into confident entrepreneurs--it has given them a backbone.

'Kalaburagi Rotti,' made of jowar, the king of millets, is now the preferred choice among the health conscious.

These rottis, made and sold by Kalaburagi Rotti Utpadakara Sahakara Sangha (Kalaburagi Rotti Producers Cooperative Society), has now caught the culinary imagination of the state. Every day the society sells up to 3,000 rottis and enticing chutneys to go with them.

These healthy rottis range from soft, kadak, sajji, dhapati and sengada holigi varieties. They are simply a click away. It is available on online platforms such as Amazon. One can also place orders at www.kalaburagirotti.com, an easy to navigate and user-friendly website.

It was Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner Fouzia Taranum who acted as the catalyst in the kitchen to set up the society.

Kalaburagi district has 90% rain-fed area under cultivation and jowar and bajra are the staple food. The society buys rotti from 150 Women Self Help Groups based in rural as well as urban areas of the district. Each of these women SHGs have at least six members. The SHGs prepare rotti and sell them to the Cooperative Society.