Lijjat Papad The Story, a case studyThe story of Lijjat Papad is full of entrepreneurial vase only Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad, popularly known as Lijjat, is an Indian women's organization manufacturing various products. The organization's registered office is situated in Mumbai and it has 67 branches and 35 divisions all over India. Started in 1959 with a capital of INR 80, Lijjat today has an annual turnover of around Rs. 315 crore (Rs. 3.15 billion), with Rs. 12 crore in exports and has around 42,000 employees. Lijjat is primarily a cottage industry, urban by its origin that has spread to the rural areas. It is considered as one of the most remarkable entrepreneurial initiative by women that are identified with women empowerment in India.Lijjat was the brain child of seven semi-literate Gujarati housewives from Bombay (now Mumbai). The women lived in Lohana Niwas, a group of five buildings in Girgaum. They wanted to start a venture to create a sustainable livelihood using the only skill they had i.e. cooking. The seven women were Jaswantiben Jamnadas Popat, Parvatiben Ramdas Thodani, Ujamben Narandas Kundalia, Banuben. N. Tanna, Laguben Amritlar Gokani, Jayaben V. Vithalani, and one more lady whose name is not known.

The women borrowed Rs 80 from Chaganlal Karamsi Parekh, a member of the Servants of India Society and a social worker. They took over a loss-making papad making venture by one Laxmidasbhai and bought the necessary ingredients and the basic infrastructure required to manufacture papads. On March 15, 1959, they gathered on the terrace of their building and started with the production of 4 packets of Papads. They started selling the papads to a known merchant in Bhuleshwar. From the beginning, the women had decided that they would not approach anyone for donations or help, even if the organization incurred losses.

Chaganlal Karamsi Parekh, popularly known as Chaganbapa, became their guide. Initially, the women were making two different qualities of papads, in order to sell the inferior one at a cheaper rate. Chaganbapa advised them to make a standard papad and asked them never to compromise on quality. He emphasized to them the importance of running it as a business enterprise and maintaining proper accounts. Lijjat expanded as a cooperative system. Initially, even younger girls could join, but later eighteen was fixed as the minimum age of entry. Within three months there were about 25 women making papads. Soon the women bought some equipment for the business, like utensils, cupboards, stoves, etc. In the first year, the organization's annual sales were Rs. 6196. The broken papads were distributed among neighbors.During the first year, the women had to stop production for four months during the rainy season as the rains would prevent the drying of the papads. The next year, they solved the problem by buying a cot and a stove. The papads were kept on the cot and the stove below the cot so that the process of drying could take place in spite of the rains.The group got considerable publicity through word of mouth and articles in vernacular newspapers. This publicity helped it increase its membership. By the second year of its formation, 100 to 150 women had joined the group, and by the end of the third year it had more than 300 members. By this time, the terrace of seven founders could no longer accommodate the members and the ingredients, so the kneaded flour was distributed among the members who would take it to their homes and make papads. The papads were brought back for weighing and packaging.Financial and YOY growthAn attempt to start a branch in Malad suburb of Mumbai, in 1961, was unsuccessful. In 1962, the name Lijjat (Gujarati for "tasty") was chosen by the group for its products. The name was suggested by Dhirajben Ruparel, was chosen in a contest held for the purpose, with prize money of Rs. 5. The organization was named Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad. In many Indo-Aryan languages, Mahila means women, Griha means home, Udyog means industry. By 1962-63, its annual sales of papads touched Rs. 1.82 lakh.In July 1966, Lijjat registered itself as a society under the Societies Registration Act 1860. In the same month, on Chaganbapa's recommendation, U N Deodhar, the chiarman of KVIC personally inspected the Lijjat. KVIC or Khadi Development and Village Industries Commission is a statutory body set up by the Government of India for development of rural industries. In September 1966, KVIC formally recognized Lijjat as a unit belonging to the "processing of cereals and pulses industry group" under the Khadi and Village Industries Act. It was also recognized as a "village industry". In 1966, KVIC granted it a working capital of Rs. 8 lakhs (0.8 million) and was allowed certain tax exemptions.An attempt to start a branch in Sangli town, in 1966, was unsuccessful. The first branch outside Maharashtra was established at Valod, Gujarat in 1968. After tasting tremendous success with their papads, Lijjat began producing other products like khakhra (1974), masala (1976), vadi, wheat atta, and bakery products (1979). In 1970s, Lijjat set up flour mills(1975), printing division (1977) and polypropylene packing division (1978). The group also initiated some unsuccessful ventures such as cottage leather (1979), matches (1979), and agarbattis (incense sticks). In July 1979, the general secretary of a trade union tried to interfere in Lijjat's affairs, making certain demands on behalf of a few member-sisters. L. C. Joshi, Labour Advocate of Bombay and a well-known industrial relations expert, was called for consultations. In his observations on "Who owns Lijjat?", he clarified that member-sisters were competent to take a decision for their own and it was not open for an outside agency to interfere with the internal working of Lijjat.In 1985, the Lijjat branch at Jabalpur was taken over by one Shantilal Shah as his own unit, which he ran with the help of a Sanchalika (branch head), who was wife of his employee. Lijjat went through tremendous pressures and court stay orders to retrieve the situation.In 1987, Lijjat purchased new premises at Kamal Apartments in Bandra, a suburb of Mumbai. The registered office shifted to the Bandra with effect from July 1988. In 1988, Lijjat entered the soap market with Sasa detergent and soap.. Sasa had annual sales of Rs 500 million, accounting for 17 percent of Lijjat's total turnover in 1998. In March 1996, the 50th branch of Lijjat was inaugrated in Mumbai. In 1980s, Lijjat also started taking part in several trade fairs and exhibitions, which improve its sales and made the brand name "Lijjat" well-known among the people. The advertising was undertaken through the vernacular newspapers, television and radio. The institution sponsored programs and gave away gifts for the winners of specific shows in the television. The money for advertisements was spent by the Polypropylene Division, which recovered the same by adding it to the price of the bags that it supplied to all the branches and divisions throughout India. In the 1980s and 1990s, Lijjat started attracted attention of foreign visitors and officials. The Vice-President of Uganda, Dr. Speciosa Wandira-Kasibwe, visited Lijjat's central office in January 1996, since she wanted to start a similar institution in Uganda. Lijjat started exporting its products with the help of merchant importers in the United Kingdom, the United States, the Middle East, Singapore, the Netherlands Thailand, and other countries. Its annual exports accounted for more than US$2.4 million in 2001. As its popularity grow, Lijjat started facing the problem of fake Lijjat papads being introduced in the market. In June 2001, three persons were arrested in this connection, in Bihar. Lijjat's website explains the identification features of original Lijjat papads.Lijjat recevied the "Best Village Industries Institution" award from KVIC for the period 1998-99 to 2000-01. In 2002, the "Businesswoman of the Year" award was given to "The Women Behind Lijjat Papad" at The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence. At the awards ceremony, the President of Lijjat urged the State Governments of Maharashtra and Punjab to reconsider their decision of withdrawing the tax exemption on Lijjat's Sasa Detergent.In 2002, Lijjat had a turnover of Rs 3 billion and exports worth Rs.100 million. It employed 42,000 people in 62 divisions all over the country. The 62nd branch became operational at Jammu and Kashmir in 2002, enrolling over 150 members.In 2003, Lijjat received the "Best Village Industry Institution". It also received the PHDCCI Brand Equity Award 2005.Lijjat believes in the philosophy of sarvodaya and collective ownership. It accepts all its working members as the owners and an equal partaker in both profit and loss. The members are co-owners and fondly referred to as "sisters". All the decisions are based on consensus and any member-sister has the right to veto a decision. Men can only be salaried employees (accountants, drivers or security guards), and not the members of the organization (i.e. they are not the owners).The running of the organization is entrusted to a managing committee of twenty-one members, including the President, the Vice-President, two secretaries, and two treasures. Sanchalikas are in-charge of various branches and dvisions. The office bearers of the managing committee and the sanchalikas are chosen from among the member-sisters on the basis of consensus every three years. Each branch has a committee eleven member-sisters, agaiin chosen by consensus.The central office at Mumbai previously co-ordinated the activities of various branches. But, as the organization grew, the authority was decentralized in terms of work and sharing of profits at the branch level. However, the sanchalikas still need the managing committee's approval before they undertake any new project or activity.All the branches follow the same set of instructions and have similar accounting system. To co-ordinate varioius branches in a region or state, there are branch co-ordination committees and area meetings of various branches in a state. The annual general meeting is attended by member-sisters representing branches and divisions all over India.Currently, Lijjat has branches in seventeen Indian states -- Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.Account books are easily accessible to all the member-sisters, ensuring transparency. Lijjat follows its own financial accountability principle. There is no credit method for running operations in the organization. Every payment is done on a daily basis, except for the outside supply of raw material. Profits and losses are shared equally among the members of a given branch. In the initial days of Lijjat, the profits of the first six months were shared equally among all sisters in the form of gold. This sharing practice is still in effect, but now the decision whether to share the profits in gold or in cash is made at the branch level. The cost of national-level advertising is borne by all branches and divisions, depending on their individual production abilities.Because of Lijjat's main motive of generating self-employment for women, no machinery is used at the production level, and everything is done manually. However, computers are now being used in some of the Mumbai branches for accounts and administration.The quality of papads can vary due to quality of water used in various parts of India. To avoid any inconsistencies, the final products are tested in the Lijjat's laboratory in Mumbai. In the monthly meetings, the quality issue and modifications are tested. The central office purchases and distributes all ingredients to maintain the quality of the final product. For example, the urad dal is imported from Myanmar, asafetida is imported from Iran, and black pepper comes from Kerala. The committee often makes surprise visits to various branches to assure that production conditions are hygienic. When a new branch of Lijjat opens, a neighboring Lijjat branch helps it by guiding and training new members.On successive failures of a branch to abide by the organization's philosophy of consistent quality and production of papads, the central committee reduces the daily wages of its members by 1 rupee. The member-sisters are also rewarded for extra effort. For instance, in 2002, the member-sisters at the Rajkot branch received Rs 4,000 each as bonus, while the member sisters at Mumbai and Thane branches received a 5-gram gold coin as an incentive[10]. Several issues of Lijjat Patrika enumerate the names of the names/numbers of the member-sisters, who were rewarded with the cash or gold, for their extra efforts.The Product Range:Lijjat's manufactures several products, of which the papad is the most famous: Papad (Five flavors: lasan, moong, mirch, Punjabi and urad) Khakhra Appalam Masala Vadi Gehu Atta (Wheat flour) Bakery products Chapati SASA Detergent Powder SASA Detergent Cake (Tikia) SASA Nilam Detergent Powder SASA Liquid DetergentLijjat has several divisions and manufacturing units[27]: Flour Division (Vashi) Masala Division and Quality Control Laboratory (Cotton Green) Printing Division (Cotton Green) Advertising Division, Bandra Khakhra Division, (Buhari, Valod district) Chapati Divisions at Wadala, Borivali, Mulund and Kandivali Polypropylene set-up (Kashi-Mira Road) Vadi factory (Valod) Bakery Division (Valod) Detergent Powder and Cakes manufacturing unit (Dahisar) and office (Borivali)Lijjat Patrika, the in-house magazine, is published and circulated for a nominal rate to those interested in the activities of Lijjat. It is published in many languages, including English, Gujarati, Marathi and Hindi. It has emerged as a strong mode of communication for information related to significant events and initiatives at Lijjat, in addition to presenting articles on women.Member sisters across all branches of Lijjat recite an all-religion prayer before beginning their daily activities. The sisters are free to choose their activities and each activity is given equal importance.Leaving the organization is voluntary. No member sister can be asked to leave unless or until she goes against the organizational principles. There is no fixed retirement age at Lijjat. Once, when the president Jyoti Naik was questioned about this anamoly, she said that there was no need to make provision for a retirement age, as the emphasis obviously was on earning one's bread through daily work, all through one's life.Because of Lijjat's main motive of generating self-employment for women, no machinery is used at the production level, and everything is done manually. However, computers are now being used in some of the Mumbai branches for accounts and administration.The growth of the Lijjat is often seen in the larger canvas of women and their empowerment. The organization has undertaken various efforts to promote literacy and computer education for member-sisters and their families. A literacy campaign for sisters began through literacy classes at Girgaum on June 18, 1999. Later, the managing committee decided to start such classes in all its branches. From 1980 onwards, Lijjat started giving Chhaganbapa Smruti Scholarships to the daughters of the member-sisters.The member-sisters used their organization as a medium to promote their and their families' welfare. In the Valod centre they set up an educational and hobby centre for the rural women. Orientation courses in typing, cooking, sewing, knitting and toy making as well as other courses like child welfare, first aid and hygiene were taught. The first ever pucca (tarred) road in Valod to be built and inaugurated in 1979 was with the help of the Lijjat, Valod branch.In 1979, Lijjat teamed up with UNICEF to organize a seminar in Mumbai on "Child Care and Mother Welfare", as part of the International Year of the Child celebrations. In October 1984, Bhadraben Bhatt represented Lijjat at the UNESCO sponsored international workshop on "The role of women in the assimilation and spread of technological innovation" held at NITIE, Powai. Alkaben Kalia represented Lijjat at the national level meeting on women convened by the National Commission on Self Employed Women.At behest of Mother Teresa, the member-sisters also took part in some activities of Asha Dhan, an institution to care for destitute women.Lijjat member-sisters also tried to start a co-operative bank, but the effort was not very successful.On several occasions, the Lijjat member-sisters have undertaken social service activities such as distributing nutritious food for poor children, donating money for conducting community marriage, instituting prize-money for spread of primary education, undertaking blood donation drive, organizing health camps, plantation drives and even making donations to Government bodies. In 1999, the Mumbai City felicitated Smt.Rukminiben B.Pawar, Lijjat President, as an outstanding woman in the field of social work.Lijjat undertook the rehabilitation of Chincholi (Jogan), the earthquake affected village in the Latur district of Maharashtra. The institution provided the finance and supervised the work of construction of fifty-eight houses for the people of the village. Member-sisters donated money from their daily vanai (wage). After the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, all the branches of Lijjat gave a total donation of more than Rs 4.8 million, including Rs 1 million from the central office. Lijjat built forty houses for the rehabilitation of the people of Bhujpur (Bhachau) in Kutch District.The success of Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad (now onwards Lijjat) lies, among other things, in its ability to offer self-employment opportunities to women at all its 61 branches. Any woman looking for work can approach any of Lijjats branches and join the 40,000 plus strong team of Lijjats sister-members without any fuss, and earn Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 every month for her roughly six hours of work everyday from home. That such a system did not collapse under the weight of its growing number of workers but, on the contrary, gathered strength from them and became a shining example of a business based on the sound but apparently impractical Gandhian concept of Sarvodaya and trusteeship is the biggest surprise element in Lijjats success story. The company has grown into a corporate with an annual turnover of Rs 300 crore for many years.

How does it work? - The ProcessAfter a woman has signed the pledge form, which serves as her formal entry and introduction to the formal working environment, she is considered as a sister-member. The branch office normally operates from 6.00 to 10.30 am during which time some sisters prepare the dough, while others receive ready papads from those who had taken the dough home the previous day. Payment, called vanai charge, is made straight away, before fresh dough is given for the days work. Accounts are never kept pending even for a day nor is any credit given to a dealer no matter how big or important he is.

Success in their hands: Lijjat has fired the imagination of women and rural folk

Every branch is headed by a sanchalika (branch head) who is chosen from among the sister-members by consensus. Similarly, allotment of different works like dough-making, distribution of dough, weighing and collection of papad, packaging, etc. are all decided by the sister-members by consensus. The wage pattern is such that the same amount of work fetches almost the same wages. In any case, it is the collective responsibility of the sister-members to manage all branch activities efficiently and profitably. Apart from production, the branch is also responsible for marketing its products in the area allotted to it. The wide network of dealers and the goodwill that Lijjat products enjoy with customers make the marketing relatively easy. To maintain the high quality and standard of Lijjat products and uniformity in taste for the same product from different branches, the central office supplies the raw material mung and urad flour -- to all its branches. This remains the only involvement of the central office in the entire production and marketing exercise of the branch office.The Lijjat system did not collapse under the weight of its growing number of workers but, on the contrary, gathered strength from them. It's story is one of teamwork and profit-sharing.

Vanai charges (rolling) differ from branch to branch, between Rs 14 and Rs 18 per kilogram depending on the profit of the branch. Each sister-member is expected, as also bound by the pledge, to roll out at least three kilograms of papad everyday. A new member, after about 15 days of on-the-job training, starts achieving this target in about five to six hours and goes on to roll out one kilogram per hour after some months. Helping hands at home shoot up production and accompanying monetary returns. If there is any loss, sister-members, as the owners of Lijjat enterprise, absorb this by taking less vanai charges. Similarly, profits are distributed among the sister-members as extra vanai charges at the discretion of the branch concerned. How is Lijjat placed in the market?

As a business enterprise, the declining sales figure for three consecutive years Rs 298 crore (1999-2000), Rs 288 crore (2000-2001) and Rs 281 crore (2001-2002) is a matter of concern for Lijjat management. Some of its home turf in Maharashtra and Gujarat has been captured by a growing competitive local market. But Lijjat has also expanded to the North Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and, with the latest branch in Jammu, to the Kashmir market as well.

Though each branch is responsible for the marketing of its products in the areas allotted to it, the new centralised marketing offices now procure surplus production from different branches and market it at an all-India level. This coupled with a healthy upward trend in the export of Lijjat papad positions Lijjat as the strongest brand in the papad industry. The other big brands in the papad market are Bikaner, MDH and Saktibhog, but none seem to be able to make any dent in Lijjats share of the industry as their core business is not papad.

Lijjat markets its products through a wide network of dealers and distributors all across the country, and has never chosen to sell or push its products directly through the vast network of its offices and sister-members even during the initial years. Rather, over the years, Lijjat has developed cordial and mutually beneficial relationships with its dealers. Sisters claim they believe in doing the business wisely and on sound business ethics. Dealers are given a set commission of seven per cent and retailers earnings are fixed between Rs 2.25 and Rs 26 on the investment of Rs 14 for 200 grams and Rs 150 for 2.5 kilogram packs respectively.There are 24 dealers for Ranchi branch in cities like Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Patna, Gaya. During the month of November 2002, around 40,000 packs of 250 gram pack of papad were sold and the total income crossed Rs 0.65 million. According to the accountant at Lijjats Ranchi branch, who wishes to remain unnamed (as that would shift the attention from sister-members to employees and thus violate Lijjats principles and traditions), from 2003 Lijjat is aiming at a sales target of a million rupees every month.

Thanks to sound advertising, Lijjat has already become a household name as a symbol of womens strength and resurgence, and its recipe combining udad, moong, pepper and hing has conquered the papad-eaters palate.

ExportsExports alone account for Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million). Although not directly involved in exporting, but recognised professional merchant exporters (who also export other food products) place an export order.Only on receiving the full advance through a cheque the production begins. Because all exports are done from Mumbai, the supply also comes from here. Export production is of the same quality as daily production. In fact, some of the daily production for export is sent by them.Again with exporters, our responsibility ends with delivery. They are, both, expected and encouraged to check the goods on collection. After that, where and how they export is their call. At present, 30 per cent to 35 per cent of the production of Lijjat Papad is being exported, mainly to countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, the Middle East, Singapore, Hong Kong and Holland.Distributing profitsAccountants are employed in every branch and every centre to maintain daily accounts. Profit (or loss, if any) is shared among all the members of that branch.A committee of 21 is formed that decides how the profits are to be distributed. Generally, gold coins -- 5gm or 10 gm are bought, depending on the profit. Everyone gets an equal share of profit, irrespective of who does what work, irrespective of seniority or responsibility.Even abenwho has recently joined gets the same share as others who have been with us longer. Each branch calculates its profit and divides it equally among all its members.Mumbai has 12,000 members, the rest of Maharashtra has 22,000, and Gujarat has between 5,000 and 7,000 members.DecentralisationIn two words -- decentralisation works. People, at Lijjat, have never shied away from sharing power in all our activities. The Sarvodaya philosophy has always been our ideal.All sister members of the institution are the owners. As I mentioned earlier, all profit or loss is shared. Only we have the authority to decide the manner in which profit or loss should be apportioned among ourselves.The committee of 21 members manages the affairs of the institution. There are also Sanchalikas, or supervisors, for each centre to look after the daily affairs of a centre. But the work of the institution is such that each and every member can take any initiative or any decision.At the same time, each and every member has the veto power. All decisions, major or minor, are based on consensus among members. Any single member's objection can nullify a decision.Another important fact about the institution is that no male can become a member and no male employee whether working or honorary or on salary basis has voting rights.Other than following this philosophy for our institutional set up, we have try to avoid the usual 'management nightmares.' For instance, production is carried out not in one central location but in hundreds and thousands of individual homes.The branch system ensures that every activity happens within its own ambit. Testing for quality and packaging are done at every branch.Imagine if all the production from all over India were to be gathered at one central office where it would be checked for quality, packed, transported to various depots and distributors, if collection were to be centralised and if distribution ofvanaiand profits too were centralised. Wouldn't it be a logistical nightmare?Our solution is simple. Let the branch be responsible for all activities from production to packaging to collection and distribution ofvanaiand profit for its particular geographical region. In following this simple system, we don't solve management problems, but avoid them.Certain activities, however, are centralised. For one, all raw materials are purchased in Mumbai and then distributed to the 62 branches to ensure consistent quality of Lijjat Papad.Given the vastness of India, every region produces different quality of urad, rice, spices, et cetera. If procured locally, the final product would never be consistent in quality and Lijjat would have no USP (unique selling proposition) in the market.The other centralised process is the grinding of flour. We own two grinding mills, one in Vashi (Navi Mumbai) and one in Nashik (in Maharashtra). Since the raw material is purchased in Mumbai, grinding the flour at our own mills helps reduce costs.Pricing of the products is also done at the head office. Lijjat papads all over India cost Rs 16.25 a kg. This price factors in the cost of raw materials, transport, taxes, distributors commission, profit percentage and so on.

Challenges and potentialThe story of seven illiterate and poor women who borrowed Rs 80 to start a papad business, and took its turnover from Rs 6,196 in the first year to Rs 300 crore in the next four decades, involving over 40,000 women on its revolutionary march, is fanciful at any rate. But to say so would be undermining the contribution of a well thought-out Gandhian business strategy, equally well executed by his followers, late Chhaganlal Karamshi Parekh and Damodar Dattani, who worked tirelessly from behind the scene. Their vision was clear an exclusive womens organisation run and managed by them, a quality product that these women had the expertise to make, and, finally, a work environment which is not competition-driven and mechanised but based on pure labour and love for the organisation and its people.

Lijjat is today guided by separate divisions of advertising, marketing, sales promotion and exports. There is greater coordination between branch offices (different production and marketing units) and centralised marketing, advertising and exports departments. Transfer of finished products to centralised marketing offices from different branches was worth Rs 113.52 crore and ad-spend stood at Rs 2.55 crore for 2000-2001.

But more than its much-hyped sales figure, Lijjats experiment in the realm of corporate governance stands out as one of a kind. All the centres are autonomous, profits remain with the respective branches and are normally used to augment the business after a due share is distributed as extra vanai charge to sister-members. Employees, numbering about 5,000 including the chairperson herself, are in no way superior to sister-members, and are therefore expected to behave accordingly. Besides, the phenomenal growth and expansion of Lijjat into a multi-product company has opened up new employment opportunities for the sister-members; eligible candidates are chosen and trained to work in its modern Polypropylene, Sasa detergent & cake and printing divisions.

Lijjats Ranchi branch was established in November 1997 bifurcating it from the only branch in Bihar at Muzaffarpur. It pays Rs 11,000 per month as rent for the building which houses its office and workshop. A trekker (thirteen-seater passenger vehicle) has also been purchased for the conveyance of sister-members from home to the Lijjat office and back. This branch has 165 sister-members and sold papad worth Rs 0.65 million in November 2002. Vanai charge is Rs 14 per kilogram of papad and each sister was paid Rs 250 as extra vanai charge on Dipawali this year. The Muzaffarpur branch, according to Lijjat sources, paid Rs 2,500 as extra vanai charge to its sister-members. Similarly, the Mumbai and Thane branch distributed gold coins of five grams to each of the 4,056 sister-members a couple of months ago. The branch averages around four rupees as gross profit and one rupee as net profit from per kilogram of papad.As an experiment, Lijjat has insulated its sister-members from joblessness. These women also work from their homes, where help from other family members not only adds up to the income but also makes the work more enjoyable. At the workplace they are self-respecting, hard-working and sisterly to one another. More importantly, besides the strength of womanhood, Lijjat is also an experiment in the restoration of the essence of womanhood. The Lijjat women offer an alternative to the highly competitive and stressful work environment defined and dominated by men in which a woman competes with a man more as a man than a woman, says an elderly Gandhian, TK Sumaiya, of Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal.

Appeal of the strategyCan the formula work again with another product and in another region? Says Dr Suresh Kumar Agarwal, a Ranchi-based doctor with MBBS, MS degrees, a herbal medicine practitioner, a researcher and leading supplier of medicinal plants, who has also experimented with the running of a co-operative hospital for five years, ``Ninety per cent of health problems do not require a visit to a doctor or the consumption of allopathic pills, but can be prevented, checked and treated with locally available medicinal plants in the house itself by informed family members or local vaids for no money. But the fact that there is no money to be made from it has resulted in the poor growth rate of home-grown medicine systems.

The same is true about the Lijjat experiment. It makes almost equal money for all its people and makes just enough money. No one would become a millionaire by setting up another Lijjat. If this aspect of Lijjats operations is not very good news for machine and money-driven corporates owned by tycoons, the essential message that Lijjats success conveys has definitely fired the imagination of women and rural folks. In many parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat, locally manufactured and marketed eatables are catching on. There is hardly any NGO or voluntary organization nowadays which does not try to create employment and funds, small or big, along Lijjats line.

As a business house, Lijjat itself has been trying to rewrite its own success with another product with varying degree of success. Grounded spices, khakhra, black pepper powder, detergent powder and cake, vadi, bakery products, wheat flour are on Lijjats menu but papad with a sales figure of Rs 288 crore remains at the top. Among similar ventures which came a cropper are incense sticks, leather bags, tiffin boxes and matchsticks.

But most promising among them is the chapati division with six branches in Mumbai. Here, the women come in to work at around seven in the morning and make chapatis as they are prepared in homes. Packed Lijjat chapati, four for Rs five, are available at retail shops in Mumbai. These centres also procure orders from hotels, office canteens, etc. and the clientele in Mumbai includes some big names from the hotel and catering industry. As the pace of life increases, little time is available to most people in metros like Mumbai to cook their own food. There are good prospects for women forming small groups and catering to the local demand for homemade chapatti or similar products, says Ashok Bhagat, a leading social worker engaged in tribal welfare activities in the Gumla district of Jharkhand.