Bake it like Sumati
Divya Semwal
Tribune News service
Housewife Sumati Negi has turned into a master baker. It was the zeal to do something constructive that turned her into a successful entrepreneur. It was eight years ago after her children started college that Sumati began to feel bored in the confines of her home.
She came in contact with the Himalayan Environment Studies and Conservation Organization that encouraged her to learn bakery. She was taught some basics and sent to the Central Food Technology Reaserach Institute in Mysore to learn the latest techniques in bakery.
Initially, Sumati tried her hands at biscuits and cookies. “I was given an oven and i tried making biscuits and cookies at home. I took my products to a few shops and people started taking interest in these,” she said.
In 2005, she expanded business by saving money and starting her own bakery from home. “I expanded my bakery and started making rusk, patties, sweet buns, cream rolls and a variety of biscuits,” said Sumati Negi.
She specialises in making biscuits from traditional grains like the mandwa, chaulai, soyabean, and jangora . “Mostly people know about biscuits prepared from wheat flour, but I wanted them to know of the Uttarakhand specialty and by using traditional nutritious grains, I was able to popularise these products,” said Sumati.
In 2007, as part of the Alps-Himalayas exchange programme, she visited the Angden valley in Switzerland, home to world-class bakery products and cakes. Taught by master bakers of Switzerland, she returned to add more value to her products. Her nut and plum cakes are liked the most.
“I’m getting many orders for mandwa biscuits that are nutritious besides order for cakes, she Sumati.
Her products are being sold in several confectionary shops, schools and colleges. She is a regular at fairs and exhibitions held in and around Dehradun throughout the year.
Starting with a loan of Rs 80,000, Sumati bought equipment for bakery three years ago and has repaid her loan. “I have now applied for loan worth Rs 10 lakh to buy the latest equipment for my bakery,” she said.
Not content with being a mere housewife, Sumati has become a role model for other women. “When I started, I was a little hesitant but I always wanted to work and earn money. Fortunately, I have been lucky in having a family which supported me through thick and thin.
“My husband manages the accounts in the bakery. I supervise the workers,” said Sumati Negi. Her Negis’ Bakery is steadily getting popular in the valley.
