AT THE AGRI-HORTI SHOW ‘Phapar’ and ‘kodo’ breads and cakes for the health conscious TSHERING EDEN

GANGTOK, 19 Jan: With people becoming increasingly conscious about healthy eating, local produce like ‘phapar’ [buckwheat] or ‘kodo’ [millet] make for wise choices. Health food in the cities and abroad come at steep prices nonetheless they have a lot of takers. Considering this, we here in Sikkim are fortunate to have such healthy food growing locally and available in local markets at reasonable rates.
An interesting initiative showcased in this year’s State Agri-Horti Show at Saramsa was the use of ‘phapar’ and ‘kodo’ by a Rongli-based Self Help Group [SHG], Deep Jyoti Bakery or DJ Bakery. On sale were bread, biscuits, cakes and buns made of ‘phapar’ and ‘kodo’ by the local bakery.
Buckwheat can help prevent gallstones, control blood sugar along with other cardiovascular benefits. ‘Kodo’ or millet is a good source of Vitamin B and is a high fibre food that can aid weight loss.
Kharka Maya [Hannah], one of the 7 members of the SHG, informed that the SHG was established in 2008 with the support of State Rural Development Agency and promoted by Agricultural Technology Management Agency [ATMA].
“We are all mostly housewives and initially there were 10 members. Since some could not give enough time due to their personal responsibilities we are now 7 members in the SHG”, she said. Starting out with a small loan to set up a factory, the SHG now has its own outlet in Rongli bazaar and earns between Rs 60,000 to Rs 70,000 per month.
“We get orders for birthday cakes and also for official functions”, she informed, adding that this is the first time they have tried baking with ‘phapar’ and ‘kodo’. The experiment has paid off since the products were a hit with visitors at the show.
As with most such initiatives, marketing is a major hurdle. Although the SHG is doing well in Rongli, their market is limited to the area. Transporting the products to other areas is also a problem, informs Kharka Maya. With proper marketing, such products could do extremely well in local as well as markets outside the state.