Mom Opens Snack Business After Husband Leaves for Dubai

When her husband left for Dubai a year ago, Shakuntala Devi faced a choice: wait for money to arrive from overseas, or create her own income at home. She chose to build something she could control.

Devi opened a small namkeen production unit in Kaushambi, making traditional Indian snacks like pulla, churri, and katori. The work is hands-on and fast paced: she kneads dough, feeds it through machines, fries batches in hot oil, mixes masala by hand, and packs everything the same day.

Starting wasn't easy. Devi scraped together resources from different places and applied for support through the CM YUVA Yojana, a youth entrepreneurship program. She received a loan of ₹2,21,000 and added ₹4,00,000 from home to buy equipment worth about ₹6 lakh total.

The early months tested her patience. She invested ₹30,000 in raw materials for trial runs and spent weeks learning how machines worked and how to keep production steady. The rhythm took time to find, but she kept adjusting until batches came out right.

Now the unit runs on a reliable routine. Devi is currently the sole earner in her household, and she hopes to eventually hire others for regular work. Sales come through local distribution and repeat customers who know her products.

Sunny's Take

What makes Devi's story special isn't the scale of her business, but the determination behind it. She saw a gap between her family's needs and her circumstances, and instead of feeling stuck, she learned new skills and built something from scratch. Her production room represents more than fried snacks and sealed packets. It's proof that when life changes suddenly, we can change with it.

Every day, Devi controls what she can: the quality of her snacks, the speed of her production, and the steadiness of income flowing back home. That kind of agency matters, especially when everything else feels uncertain.

For now, progress looks like packets going out the door and bills getting paid on time. The work is repetitive, the margins are tight, and the oil prices fluctuate. But Devi measures success differently: she's building security one batch at a time, proving that small steps forward still count as moving.