In a small workshop in Hiware village, on the outskirts of Pune, Kajal Hadawale packs another batch of instant poha into branded pouches.
A few years ago, the surplus produce from her family’s farm —peanuts and vegetables that couldn’t make it to market in time—would rot.
Today, with the help of a dehydrator machine, the same surplus is the raw material for a small but growing food business that supplies instant poha and upma.
In Khopoli, Jyoti Yogesh Kelatkar runs a cutlery shop with a tailoring counter tucked into one corner.
Safiya Sayyed, 21, stitches sarees and blouses while quietly building a collective of young fashion designers.
