The ice-cream woman of Tripura: Running a chill rural enterprise

Supti Debnath *

The idea for the business came from the meetings of the self-help group that I am a part of. | Picture courtesy: Anupam Sharma

This article was originally published on India Development Review and can be viewed here

I am from Kawaban village in Jirania block of West Tripura district. I live with my husband and our daughter, and along with my father, we run an ice-cream business from our house. We sell popsicles, a version of Cornetto, and ice-cream bars, catering to customers both within our village and far into the town.

In 2023, at the time that our ice-cream enterprise, Tripti, was started, my husband was working as a mason and receiving a daily wage of INR 650, while my father was employed at an ice-cream factory nearby. Although both of them were earning, the income wasn't enough to keep up with the increasing needs of the family, including my daughter's education.

The idea for the business came from the meetings of the self-help group (SHG) that I am a part of. The SHG members often discussed ways of improving income by turning to entrepreneurship. Since my father knew how to make ice cream, and since ice creams can be made at home, I thought, "Why not give it a try?"

It made practical sense because my father could join his daughter's business instead of working at someone else's factory. For my husband too it would be long-term work, which he could continue into his old age when he's no longer able to do the physically taxing task of masonry.

To begin, we bought a packet of ice, moulds for ice creams and popsicles, a fridge, and two handcarts using the loan of INR 8 lakh that we had taken from the SHG, microfinance institutions, and other sources. There was a town fair that year where we sold our first batch of ice creams for a total of INR 3,500. Slowly, the business became profitable, so much so that my husband was able to quit his daily job and join me full time.

Today, we have four carts, each generating INR 4,500 in daily sales. I successfully repaid the SHG loan within one and a half years, but there's so much more to achieve.

I want to grow my business. However, we still operate from our house, which has its limitations. The noise from the machines disturbs our neighbours at night, so I can't work late. If I set up a proper factory at a bigger space near the road, I can increase production and meet the growing demand.

Another challenge is that ice-cream sales drop significantly in winter, so I have plans to diversify. With the leftover ice, I want to start making ice sheets for fish vendors. If I can sell each sheet for INR 100, it would be enough to sustain us during the off season.

Despite the challenges, I find joy in this work, especially because my family is involved. My daughter, though only six years old, helps us with the packaging. She garnishes our ice creams with raisins and nuts, but never eats any. She says, "Save and sell them to people."


As told to Anupam Sharma, IDR Northeast Media Fellow 2024-25.