Tamil Nadu Woman Creates Jobs for 10,000 Bidi Workers

Growing up in Tamil Nadu's bidi belt, Karunya Gunavathy watched women destroy their lungs one tobacco-filled cigarette at a time just to survive. Now she's rewriting their stories.

Through her platform Kottravai, Karunya is helping women escape bidi rolling and build sustainable careers in handcrafted products. Her mission is bold: create dignified work for 10,000 women over the next five years.

The women who roll bidis, thin hand-rolled cigarettes popular across India, face constant exposure to tobacco dust and chemicals. They earn meager wages while their health deteriorates. For many, it's the only work available in their communities.

Karunya saw this cycle growing up and decided to break it. She co-founded Kottravai as a private limited company, bootstrapping the venture entirely with her own funds and her co-founder's investment.

The platform trains women in creating handcrafted products, giving them skills that protect their health while providing stable income. Instead of inhaling tobacco dust for pennies, these women now craft items they can be proud of.

The Ripple Effect

Karunya isn't stopping at handcrafts. Next year, Kottravai plans to expand into cosmetics, apparel, and bags, creating even more opportunities for women to find safe, sustainable work.

She's also establishing the Kottravai Foundation as a Section 8 company. This structure will allow her to tap into government schemes, corporate social responsibility funding, and grants while scaling her social impact even further.

Each woman who leaves bidi rolling doesn't just improve her own health and income. She becomes a model for her daughters, her neighbors, and her community. She proves there's another path forward.

Tamil Nadu's bidi belt is beginning to see a different kind of rolling: women rolling up their sleeves to build better futures.