Ippapuvvu laddus, a delicacy made from the iron-rich Ippa (Mahua) flower, part of the traditional tribal diet, is now available all year-round, thanks to the Bheem Bhai Tribal Women’s Cooperative Society, Utnoor, Adilabad district. The society is planning to expand its production and sell it across Telangana State.
According to the official sources, the society is also looking for franchises to sell its product. It has already set up dedicated sales outlets at Indira Mahila Shakti Bazar, Shilparamam, Hyderabad, and Balapur, where tribal women themselves manage sales. Weekly, about 15 kg are sold at Shilparamam and 25 kg at Balapur. The cooperative also sets up a stall at the ITDA campus every Monday during ‘Praja Darbar’ — grievance redressal programme.
Speaking to The Hindu, project manager of NGO — Centre for Collective Development (CCD) — Kumra Vittal Rao, who is behind the idea of making Ippapuvvu Laddus and helping the Bheem Bhai Tribal Women’s Cooperative Society, said that the society is planning to increase its production and is also looking for a franchise model to sell the products.
The Mahua flower can be stored for two years if it is stored at room temperature at 80% moisture content, he said elaborating on how they ensure the availability of the seasonal flower, which is collected from the forests by the tribals. “We can prepare the laddus throughout the year by storing the Mahua flowers, whose shelf life is about 2 years,” he said.
Tribal women collecting the Ippa Puvvu. (file photo)
Recalling the efforts to promote Ippapuvvu laddu, Mr. Vittal Rao said that an Ippapuvvu Laddu making unit was set up in September 2018 in Utnoor with an investment of ₹14 lakh. Telangana State Scheduled Tribes Cooperative Finance Corporation Limited (TRICOR) contributed a 60% subsidy, while 30% came through bank loans and 10% from the women’s own contributions.
Nutritional guidelines
The laddus are prepared as per the nutritional guidelines set by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), combining Ippapuvvu with peanuts, sesame seeds, jaggery, cashews, raisins, and sunflower oil to ensure rich taste and high nutritional value. All ingredients are locally sourced from wholesale markets, strengthening the rural economy.
During March every year, around 150 quintals of Ippapuvvu are collected from tribal families across the undivided Adilabad region, particularly from Kumuram Bheem-Asifabad district. Nearly 100 families benefit from this seasonal collection, supported by the storage facility developed by Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Utnoor.
Under the Girijana Poshan Mitra Scheme, the laddus are supplied to 77 tribal residential schools in the Utnoor ITDA region — about 2,300 kilograms per month — at ₹320 per kg. Additionally, 900 kilograms are sold monthly in the open market at ₹360 per kilo.
Ippapuvvu (Mahua) flower.
The cooperative society has an annual turnover of ₹1.27 crore, benefiting scores of tribal families. During her visit to Utnoor, Minister for Panchayat Raj, Rural Development, and Women & Child Welfare Danasari Anasuya (Seethakka), appreciated the women for their dedication and entrepreneurial spirit. Their success was even acknowledged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Mann Ki Baat address, as a shining example of women-led economic transformation in tribal areas.
CEO of Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) and earlier District Collector of Adilabad Divya Devarajan, has played a significant role in promoting Ippapuvvu laddu production. During her tenure, she initiated this project with tribal women, empowering them to create a valuable product from the Mahua flower.
She said that the Mahua tree is considered sacred by the Tribal (Adivasi) community, who value its nutritious flowers and versatile seeds. “The flowers of Mahua are a rich source of nutrition and are used to make oil, which is used for cooking, skin and hair care, and lighting lamps. Traditionally, Adivasis consume Mahua flowers, but they’re becoming scarce. To address this, an initiative was launched to create a profitable enterprise using Mahua flowers,” she said, adding that Baghubai and her team of Adivasi women, with the help of Adivasi leader Vittal Rao, started making Mahua laddus. They’re now training other Koya women in Mulugu district to process this abundant Mahua flower, aiming to benefit thousands of tribals economically and nutritionally.
Published – November 09, 2025 09:01 pm IST
