Kadambelil Oil & Flour Mil

The machines at Kadambelil Oil & Flour Mil make quite a bit of noise throughout the day. You can hear them from the street if you’re walking past 12, Kothamangalam. We spend a lot of time cleaning up dust and oil spills. It’s part of the job, I suppose. Ernakulam gets hot in the summer, and the mill gets even hotter with all the equipment running. We try to keep the windows open, but sometimes there’s no breeze at all. People from the neighborhood bring their grain over, and we just get to work. It’s a messy business, but it’s what we know. My father started things here, and now we’re just keeping it going. The equipment is old, but it still works if you know how to talk to it. Sometimes the bags get heavy, especially toward the end of a long shift. We don’t have a big team, just a few of us who’ve been doing this for years. You’ll usually find someone out front sweeping or moving sacks around. We aren't big on fancy office stuff. Most of our business is done right there on the floor. If the power goes out, we just take a break and sit outside. It’s a simple way to make a living. We’re right here in Kothamangalam if anyone needs their flour ground or some oil pressed. Just look for the big door at number 12.