Thread by @thebetterindia

(1/13) Momee Pegu from Majuli, a picturesque island in Assam, saw a mobile phone for the first time in 2010.

The daughter of a farmer, Momee had no exposure to the world outside her island till she moved to Jorhat for a Masters in Social Work.

(2/13) “It was like entering the magical world of Narnia. All I saw was a plethora of opportunities to create my own identity while making a difference in society,” says Momee, who now runs a vibrant cafe in Majuli thronged by tourists from around the world.

(3/13) Called ‘99 Street Cafe’, it specialises in local cuisines - from the mouthwatering thukpa to authentic fish delicacies that leave the diners craving for more.

(4/13) Momee believes that it is her love for the island, combined with her entrepreneurial skills that clock her monthly revenues of up to Rs 60,000. She gets to promote her culture and also generate livelihoods for the local women who work at the cafe.

(5/13) Though she launched the cafe in 2018, it picked up only after she underwent a 6-month incubation programme called ‘Economic Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs and Start-ups by Women’ @Her_and_Now by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

(6/13) The programme is being run on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and in partnership with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India. It has been implemented locally by Dhriiti.

(7/13) The programme helped her garner more customers and set up business expansion plans without making a dent in her pocket.

(8/13) “I started the cafe with my savings as I didn’t know how to approach investors. Now, with some unique tricks up my sleeve, I have an expansion plan ready that I will implement soon.

(9/13) The experts at the incubation programme also helped me refine the menu by focussing on local cuisines,” Momee says.

The learnings from these experts came in handy during the lockdown too.

(10/13) The pandemic and subsequent lockdown had brought her cafe and the livelihoods of the locals to a standstill.

So, she collaborated with the farmers to turn their produce into processed food items!

(11/13) She now sells strawberry jams, garlic pickles, pork pickles, etc., via online social media platforms.

(12/13) “The experience of running a cafe gave me the confidence to help others. There is a steady cashflow now and I believe even a pandemic as severe as this cannot keep us from being self-sufficient, financially independent, and truly Atmanirbhar,” Momee adds.

(13/13) To know more about the ‘Her&Now’ Project, click here: bit.ly/35EMSYW