Jonna rotte, a thriving biz in Hyderabad’s gallis

Several women with no business school certificate or training are making a success with 'roti entrepreneurship' through their small road side bandis across the city

Hyderabad: A new wave of women led entrepreneurship is sweeping the city.

Several women with no business school certificate or training are making a success with ‘roti entrepreneurship‘ through their small road side bandis across the city.

Hard work is their key mantra and these women roti entrepreneurs endlessly prepare dough, make rotis and roast them hot for their customers every evening. From major thoroughfares to interiors of residential colonies, the business is booming and with minimal investment and constant demand, these roti entrepreneurs are earning their livelihood, one roti at a time.

What most of these stalls sell is ‘jowar ki roti’ or as it is better known as ‘jonna rotte’.

These rotis are made with sorghum flour and are completely oil-free and cooked by sprinkling some water and spreading it over the roti.

Srilata, a jowar roti stall owner at Ameerpet is one of many women who are taking care of their domestic responsibilities and daily household chores in the day and making rotis in the evening to earn for their family’s subsistence. Says she, “I work at two houses in the day and put up a stall in the evening between 6 pm to 11 pm. I sell around 100 rotis per day at Rs 15 each and Rs 20 with curry.”

These healthy rotis are quite a task to make and need a lot of experience, while these women are all pros at making wafer-thin, soft rotis as jonna rotte should be. Some women like Kavita who owns a bandi in Banjara Hills, say they earn enough money to take on financial responsibility at home, on par with their husbands. “I put up this stall around 15 years ago and it felt like a good idea to start this business as it is something we have been making since my childhood,” she says.

The growing awareness around eating healthy and maintaining a balanced diet, in addition to skipping junk food, could also be attributed to the success of these businesses run by roti entrepreneurs.

“I used to sell leafy veggies earlier but didn’t earn much with that. When I observed many women selling these rotis, I too started selling them too and my earnings are better than earlier, ” said Laskhmi, another roti entrepreneur at Padmarao Nagar.