One can barely guess that a piping hot cafe next to the Eco Space Island in New Town is brewing inside a discarded ship container.
But look closely and you notice that the brightly painted exterior is made of — not cement but — metal. The kitchen is compact, rectangular-shaped and that its “windows” are but cut out of the metal walls.

Cafe@Ecospace is located inside a recycled ship container. Rather, the kitchen is inside the container and chairs have been laid out outside for customers to sit on.

The project is an initiative by New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA). “This stretch of road from Eco Space to Elita Garden Vista or Avenida complex had become unsafe with even a case of snatching having taken place a couple of years ago,” explained Debashis Sen, chairman, NKDA. “Thereafter a police camp has come up nearby, streetlights have been added and as a strategy we have decided to set up roadside cafes that will attract customers and make the place less deserted.”

Debashis Sen interacts with members of the women’s self-help group Rabindra Swanirbhar Gosthi at the opening Sourced by the Telegraph

To run the cafe, the authorities narrowed in on a women’s self-help group called Rabindra Swanirbhar Gosthi. “These women have been successfully running a food joint called Jagarani for three years opposite Eco Space and shall now run this cafe as well,” said Sen.

The women are excited about the venture. “We shall serve soups, sandwiches, rolls, chowmein, momos and more,” smiled Mahasinara Begum from behind her mask.

“At Jagarini, we would cook for 250 people a day but due to the pandemic very few people are coming now. Nonetheless we are supplying food to a safe house in New Town and doing home delivery. We realise that customers at the cafe will be scanty to start with but we are hopeful in the long run,” said Sabina Bibi, a resident of Rajarhat.

Their sandwiches are priced upwards of Rs 30, chowmein Rs 25 and lassi Rs 30.

As for the container, Sen said they went with the idea as they advocate recycling. “Since the metallic roof would get terribly hot in summer we built a shed atop and have added solar panels there. The women are also cooking with electric means instead of LPG,” he said.

The ladies are quite satisfied with their 20ftx8ft container kitchen, induction cooker and microwave. “This is more eco-friendly and is easier to clean than when using gas cylinders,” said Manoshi Maity, another member of the self-help group.

saltlake@abpmail.com