‘Swapnochura’: How Neimra Marma’s dream climbed to its peak against all odds
Her goal is to open restaurants in Dhaka, Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar
The year the light went out was the year Neimra Marma lost everything that anchored her.
Her mother passed away suddenly – so abruptly that it shook the rhythm of her life. The following year, she sat for her Higher Secondary Certificate examinations, but grief shadowed her efforts, and she failed.
For the next three years, her studies were on hold, and she spent her days searching for a way forward.
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Yet even in those uncertain years, one thought remained constant: she wanted to build something of her own. Skilled in cooking and unafraid of hard work, Neimra began imagining a life she could create with her own hands.
It was 2015. One evening, after dinner at a friend's house, an idea sparked.
On the walk home, three friends suggested she open a restaurant.
They believed in her culinary talent and proposed that each should invest Tk1 lakh. The sum terrified her.
Though her family was comfortable – they owned two kani of paddy land, and her siblings had stable jobs – she refused to seek their help. If she was to start, it would be with money she earned herself.
Thus began the first chapter of what would eventually become Swapnachura – "Dream Peak".
Borrowed groom for Tk10,000 loan
Neimra grew up in Rajyamoni Para, Khagrachhari Sadar, the youngest of 7 siblings.
Her eldest brother lived in Kamalchari, working as a plantation farmer. During a stay there, Neimra set up a small farm of local chickens under her sister-in-law's supervision.
However, the chickens often wandered onto the main road and suffered injuries.
She decided to sell them, earning Tk8,000, of which she gave Tk3,000 to her sister-in-law and kept Tk5,000.
But Tk5,000 was far from enough to start a business. Determined, she learned from an aunt that a local NGO was providing small loans to aspiring entrepreneurs.
She joined the community group, hopeful – only to discover that recipients had to be married.
Neimra was not married and had no intention of marrying before achieving independence. She asked a close friend to pose as her husband, and to her relief he agreed.
With this arrangement, she secured a Tk10,000 loan. Her aunt borrowed Tk3,000 from it, promising to return it, but Neimra never received it back. Combining the remaining Tk7,000 with her savings, she had Tk12,000.
Despite her father's objections, Neimra found a small room near Khagrachhari Women's College. Previously a tea stall and tuition room, it was now vacant.
She rented it for Tk600 a month, furnishing it with just four chairs and a single table.
'Look, there goes the hawker girl'
Neimra began her restaurant with fuchka, chotpoti and noodles, opening in the late afternoon and carrying cooked food from home.
Each day, people watched her walk with a lai – a bamboo basket – balanced on her head. Some mocked her: "Look, there goes the hawker girl".
Fuchka shells were unavailable locally, so she sourced them from Dhaka, though half often arrived broken.
On her first day, she earned Tk800 after spending Tk300 on ingredients. In the following days, her earnings ranged between Tk500 and Tk600.
Neimra used to return home around 9pm, where her father waited on the balcony.
"How much did you make today, my girl?" he would ask.
On good days, he beamed with pride; on rainy days, when she returned empty-handed, she felt ashamed.
Gradually, her fuchka gained popularity, and she hired her first assistant for Tk100 a day.
Naming the dream: Swapnachura
Six months later, Neimra took a loan of Tk15,000 and slightly expanded her restaurant.
After two years, her fortunes began to change.
Daily income rose to Tk1,500-2,000. She hired two female assistants, opened the restaurant in the mornings, and added snacks like potato and chicken chops to appeal to college students.
Soon, she introduced pasta, juices and coffee, and began taking catering orders. She built a small kitchen beside the restaurant, enabling her to cook on-site.
When a neighbouring tea stall closed, she gained additional space, planting fruit and flowering trees, believing flowers could "soften even the harshest tempers".
The restaurant also needed a name. Initially considering a hill community name, she finally chose "Swapnachura".
However, challenges persisted.
A tourist guide once ordered food for 100 people and disappeared, costing Tk15,000.
Then, during Probarona Purnima, a group falsely accused her of skimping on chicken in pasta and went live on Facebook.
Yet the controversy brought unexpected attention.
Curious customers came to test the claim – and Swapnachura passed with flying colours.
The Tk15,000 reality
By 2022, Swapnachura had grown remarkably.
Seating capacity increased from 25 to 100, with a reception area styled like a traditional machang house and a modern dining room featuring a ceiling of hanging bamboo-and-cane plates encircling warm bamboo lights.
Wooden tables and chairs, contemporary crockery, and a sleek handwashing basin enhanced the ambience.
Neimra's team of 12, mostly part-time college students, began shifts wearing Swapnachura T-shirts.
Around 70% of customers were Bangalee. She later introduced a full lunch menu, including rice, mashed items, fish, meat, and hill delicacies such as laxu, machh paturi, and bamboo chicken. Now, her customers include a mixture of all ethnicities.
Swapnachura also hosted two weddings, with Neimra personally cooking all rice dishes while her assistants handled snacks.
On Fridays and Saturdays, daily earnings reached Tk15,000-20,000; on other days Tk10,000-12,000.
Open from 8am to 10pm, Neimra returns home near midnight after completing accounts.
"The secret," she says, "is hard work, good food, and an all-women team."
Her proudest moment: seeing the hill behind her restaurant become Swapnachura Residential Area.
But Neimra does not intend to stop here.
Her dream is to open one restaurant each in Dhaka, Chattogram and Cox's Bazar.
