BENGALURU: Bengaluru-based All India Agarbathi Manufacturers Association, a facilitator for more than 600 brands of manufacturers in the country, is looking to set up a research and development laboratory for aromatherapy in Karnataka. Association president Arjun Ranga told TNIE that the lab will be setup in the state capital and will study the impact of smell on people’s health.
It is also working on plans to set up plantations to indigenously manufacture jaxx powder – one of the main ingredients in incense sticks – which is extracted from the bark of the lithya plant, a shrub of around 10 feet height. Talks are also on with forest departments of various states to rope in farmers to cultivate lithya, which can be grown as a border crop for fields or along the river banks to prevent soil erosion. The shrubs can also be used as firewood after debarking, Arjun added.
Arjun said the association is collaborating with three agricultural universities and the work of identifying farmers has already started in Assam. Talks are on with forest departments in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. At least, 50% of incense sticks manufacturers are based in Karnataka and 90% of the 5 lakh workers in the labour-intensive industry are women, said Arjun.
The agarbathi industry was resilient even during the pandemic. Manufacturers saw that the demand for incense sticks at the household level remained consistent even during the lockdown, even though temples are yet to recover normal footfall. Traditional fragrances such as the Samrani became popular among consumers after social media popularised its uses during the pandemic, he said.
The state forest department is looking at plantations clusters in North Karnataka, Shivamogga and the Bhadra reserve, where small farmers with even 1.3 cents of land can cultivate and an agreement is being worked out so that the crop can be sold to industries. Entrepreneurs are stepping up to setup processing centres. Some estimates peg the industry’s retail value at Rs 7,000 crore and roughly Rs 900 crore in exports.