The Kudumbasree mission is gearing up to open 20 branded cafe outlets utilising a bio-waste-based cooking system to promote alternative energy sources and drive down the cost of operation.
As many as 10 of the Cafe Kudumbasree units will be opened in urban centres in the pilot phase this year.
The project, scheduled to take off in December, had been held up by the delay in making land available for the units. “We have cleared the initial hurdles. The land for the units has been identified and the equipment procured,” an official said. The cafe units, operated by women entrepreneurs, will double up as catering training institutes under a project supported by the Centre.
The official said the steam cooking system would result in substantial savings on the cost front. A report by the Adebha Institute for Food Research and Hospitality Management, the official training agency for Kudumbasree, the patented system named Rapid Steamer could bring down the cooking cost to less than 50 paise per meal.
The system is in operation at the Kudumbasree Cafe on the premises of the Mental Hospital, Thrissur. The Government Vocational Higher Secondary School, Vattiyurkavu, also uses the Rapid Steamer to prepare the midday meal for 316 children at a cost of 43 paise per meal.
The Kudumbasree Mission has placed an order Rs.1.02 crore for 20 units of the steamer developed by a Thiruvananthapuram-based company.
System needs less than Rs.100 worth fuel for 8 hours
Kudumbasree places order for 20 units worth Rs.1.02 crore
