Amaravati Amma Vanta empowering women through traditional food ventures

For 21-year-old Adineni Mahalakshmi of Mandadam village, financial independence once seemed unimaginable. A Class VII dropout and homemaker, Mahalakshmi never thought she could contribute meaningfully to her family income.

However, today she stands as a successful micro-entrepreneur, selling millet malt under Amaravati Amma Vanta, a community food brand initiative launched by the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA).

In an effort to support the family income, Mahalakshmi began preparing and selling millet malt near the CRDA office. The healthy drink quickly gained popularity among employees and visitors, steadily building a loyal customer base. “I find it difficult to believe that I have become self-sufficient in terms of money,” said an upbeat 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 millet malt every day and the venture generates around ₹60,000 a month, leaving her with a net profit of nearly ₹30,000 after expenses.

Meanwhile, Mulkuri Sydamma from Undavalli village, is another inspiring beneficiary of the initiative. She prepares and sells a range of healthy traditional snacks including korra mithai, jonna sunnunda, jonna chekka pakodi, navaratna laddu, protein laddu and protein bars. Happy with the growing income, Sydamma’s husband, a farmer, is also keen to join her venture to help scale up the enterprise.

Both Mahalakshmi and Sydamma were among the women drawn from villages in Amaravati region and trained by CRDA in collaboration with partner organisations as part of its livelihood promotion initiatives. “Initially, training programmes were launched in millet-based food processing and value addition for communities in the Amaravati capital region. Under the initiative, 161 members were trained, leading to the emergence of 26 millet-based home food micro-enterprises,” informed Group Director (Social Development), CRDA Col. 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 the cultural identity of Amaravati capital region. “The initiative supports women self help groups (SHGs), local producer groups and micro-entrepreneurs through training, branding, packaging, quality standardisation and market access for traditional foods such as snacks, pickles, sweets and millet-based products,” he said.

Encouraged by the success of the millet initiative, CRDA is now exploring expansion into dairy-based foods, culinary powders and other value-added traditional products. It is also exploring partnerships with corporate institutions such as HESA Global, which stands at the forefront of rural e-commerce, to connect these community enterprises with organised retail outlets and wider markets, further strengthening 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 the rich culinary heritage of Andhra Pradesh and creating a distinct identity for locally produced foods associated with Amaravati. “By combining economic empowerment with regional promotion, the initiative contributes to APCRDA’s vision of developing Amaravati as a vibrant, inclusive, and people-centric capital city,” he said.