Mrs. Jegasothy Lalithapathmini is a widow. She supports her mother, father and sister who were all displaced during the conflict. One year ago, she was given a small diesel-driven mill which had two hoppers, one for chilli grinding and the other for flour grinding. While the equipment was provided by FAO, under Norwegian Aid, Mrs Lalithapathmini took the initiative to construct a shed to install the machines.

She grinds rice, black gram, green gram and chilli, then weighs and sells them at Rs 60/kg for chilli and Rs 20/kg for rice and pulses. Her initial nett income was Rs 10 000 to 12 000 per month.The supply of electricity to the same village and nearby towns has prompted bigger mills to start operations, and as a result her net income was reduced to Rs 6 000 a month.

However, using her competitive edge in being able to grind chilli with a smaller machine, Mrs Lalithapathmini continues to sell ground chilli to her neighbourhood buyers.

She has aspirations to increase her income by marketing her chilli powder to town shops, provided the right price is paid for it.