Amaravati Amma Vanta empowers women through traditional food businesses

Customers view the refreshments stacked in the stalls of newly minted businesswomen in the CRDA office premises. | Photo credit: ARRANGEMENT

For 21-year-old Adineni Mahalakshmi from Mandadam village, financial independence once seemed unimaginable. Mahalakshmi, who dropped out of Class VII and worked as a domestic worker, never imagined that she could contribute meaningfully to her family’s income.

Today, however, she is a successful micro-entrepreneur selling millet under Amaravati Amma Vanta, a community food branding initiative launched by the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA).

In an effort to supplement the family income, Mahalakshmi started preparing and selling millet malt at the CRDA office premises. The healthy drink quickly gained popularity among employees and visitors alike, and is steadily building a loyal customer base. “It is hard for me to believe that I have become self-sufficient in terms of money,” said an optimistic Mahalakshmi. Encouraged by the positive response, she expanded the business by involving her sister Bhavani and mother-in-law Padma. Together, they now sell nearly 160 glasses of single malt every day, and the business generates around ₹60,000 a month, making a net profit of nearly ₹30,000 after expenses.

Meanwhile, another inspirational beneficiary of the initiative is Mulkuri Sydamma of Undavalli village. It prepares and sells a range of healthy traditional snacks including korra mithai, jonna sunnunda, jonna chekka pakodi, navaratna laddu, protein laddu and protein bars. Sydamma’s farmer husband, pleased with the growing income, also wants to join her business to help expand the business.

Both Mahalakshmi and Sydamma were among the women from villages in the Amaravati region trained by CRDA in collaboration with partner organizations as part of its livelihood initiatives. “Initially, millet-based food processing and value addition training programs were launched for communities in the capital region of Amaravati. The initiative trained 161 members, resulting in the establishment of 26 millet-based micro-enterprises,” Group Director (Social Development), CRDA Col informed. V. Ramulu.

Speaking to The Hindu on Sunday, Mr. Ramulu said the initiative has helped create sustainable self-employment opportunities, with each entrepreneur now earning an average monthly income of around ₹ 12,000.

He said Amaravati Amma Vanta is a community-based food brand platform that seeks to promote women-led entrepreneurship, local livelihoods and cultural identity of the Amaravati capital region. “The initiative supports women’s self-help groups (SHGs), local producer groups and micro-entrepreneurs through training, branding, packaging, quality standardization and market access for traditional foods such as snacks, pickled vegetables, sweets and millet-based products,” he said.

Encouraged by the success of the millet initiative, CRDA is now exploring expansion into dairy foods, culinary powders and other traditional value-added products. It is also exploring partnerships with corporate institutions such as HESA Global, which is at the forefront of rural e-commerce, to connect these community businesses with organized retail outlets and wider markets, further enhancing the vision of an inclusive and people-centric Amaravati.

Mr. Ramulu explained that Amaravati Amma Vanta also serves as a cultural branding initiative by showcasing Andhra Pradesh’s rich culinary heritage and creating a distinct identity for locally produced food associated with Amaravati. “By combining economic empowerment with regional promotion, this initiative contributes to APCRDA’s vision of developing Amaravati as a vibrant, inclusive and people-centric capital,” he said.

Published – 17 May 2026 20:06 IST