She's a passionate architect who could’ve made big bucks in her profession. But she decided to walk the hatke path and turned into an entrepreneur, one with a cause. Meet 27-year-old Shruthi Ravi who has started a one-of-a-kind food adda called The Teal Door Café in Indiranagar.
What makes Shruthi’s venture distinctive is that she has hired and trained women from alcohol abuse backgrounds to work at the café. “My Dad has been doing eco-friendly construction for a long time. Thanks to him, I got into eco and sustainable architecture. Everything in my café has been made using eco-friendly and recycled materials," reveals Shruthi.
Prior to starting her café, Shruthi spent two years in the gorgeous town of Auroville doing bamboo workshops, mudhouses, learning pottery etc. “That is when I met 32 women from a village who were making beautiful products out of newspaper. During my 25th birthday, I brought them to Bengaluru where they stayed in my house. Their products were being sold by a well-known store, but unfortunately, they weren't getting the price they deserved.”
That's when the generous TISB alumnus made a promise to these ladies to put up their products on display and sell them for a better price. “I wanted to create a boutique for them and I thought the best way to attract people would be through food. I wanted to empower local women in my cafe and through various sources, I found ladies who came from alcohol abuse backgrounds. There were also some orphans and a girl whose dad had to stop working after he met with an accident. We trained them, taught them English and made them experts at knowing the menu. If you meet them now, some of them can speak really good English,” smiles Shruthi, who has a strict “no alcohol” rule in her café.
Since she was empowering local women, Shruthi decided to bring in the local flavour to the menu. From bondas and bhajjis to masala chai and coffee, the café dishes up a range of scrumptious dishes. There’s also a space dedicated to displaying the artistic products made by the women from Auroville.
Sharing with us some of the reactions from her customers, she says, “A lot of people who come here are youngsters who look like they just want to chill and don’t want to do anything cause-related. But surprisingly, I’ve had some youngsters come up to me and ask if they could volunteer. Someone even said they know a woman from an underprivileged background and asked me if he could bring her to my café. I just hope this venture will open up more opportunities to women like these.”
