Roti machine inventor seeks patronage

Roti, made of atta, is an essential item in the daily menu of poor, middle and even affluent families in Bangladesh. It becomes headache for a housewife when the domestic help does not turn up in the morning, and she finds herself in a difficult situation when children wait for roti with 'Bhaji' before going out for school. A short while later 'Shaheb' or the family head appears restive before starting for office. He also needs roti. If there are guests in the house, the problem turns acute.
In Bangladesh, roti occupies the second position in the list of main food items after rice. Medical experts say that due to increase in the number of diabetic patients, consumption of atta-made roti has gone up. The process of making roti manually is cumbersome as well as time-consuming which every household faces daily. This has led Humayun Kabir, an obscure young man from Magura district, to invent some sort of mechanical device to prepare roti quickly and smoothly.
A graduate in Arts from the city's Shaikh Burhanuddin College, science and technology was a subject of his main attraction. Back in 1985, when he was a student of Meherpur Zilla School, Kabir tried in vain to produce roti mechanically instead of the conventional method of doing it manually. In 2011, Kabir, a self-trained IT professional, was successful in developing a device made of two wooden planks, a lever and a sheet of plastic. It can be folded. He has named the device 'Laaibah Roti Maker' after his only daughter. A ball of dough, the size of a ping pong ball, is placed between the wooden planks and the lever is pressed. Within two seconds a round-shaped roti, just like a full moon, is produced. Then it is baked in oven, ready for consumption. Various kinds of roti including normal roti, cheese roti, egg 'parata', Indian butter roti, vegetable roti, 'luchi' and 'fuchka' can be produced by the Laaibah Roti Maker.
Kabir has set up a small factory at his village home in Bunagati under Shalikha Upazila in Magura district. His factory can produce around three dozens of Laaibah Roti Makers each month. He maintains a little more than a dozen workers. At present, three types of roti makers are produced in the factory. The customers who come to know about the roti makers contact Kabir for detailed information and place orders if they feel necessary.
Humayun Kabir says the expapriate Bangladeshis, who come to know about the roti maker, place orders for the device. Already, he has sent the device to the UK, the USA, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, India, Singapore and Bhutan. The demand for the roti maker is growing.
But a man of small means, Kabir cannot meet the rising requirement of his Laaibah Roti Maker.
"I need patronage. This is not only a useful tool for families and shops, but has potential to generate employment if large-scale production can be maintained", he says. Anyone wishing to contact Humayun Kabir for details can do so over cell phones: 01740861911, 01731494501.
E-mail: [email protected]