SAMBALPUR: In a bid to promote eco-friendly traditional lamps this Diwali, 35-year-old Kailash Mahakur of Charpali village in Dhankauda block has come up with cow dung diyas. He has also engaged 15 people in making and marketing the diyas who were struggling to sustain during the pandemic.
Kailash’s initiative has been drawing the attention of people for adopting cow dung instead of earthen soil or clay to make diyas. Having a dairy farm of his own, Kailash wanted to make use of cow dung in a sustainable manner. He has been rearing eight cows in his shed.
A few months back, the entrepreneur came across a video in social media showing the process of making cow dung diyas and decided to give it a try. The raw material for making cow dung diyas include cow dung powder and a premix powder which acts as binding agent. It comprises tamarind seed and cluster bean seed powder besides ‘multani mitti’.
While he himself made the cow dung powder with the help of a flour mill machine, he found the source for premix powder on the internet and ordered 40 kg of it online for Rs100 per kg. He also ordered a few moulds for making the diyas, each for Rs 600 and started the venture around a month back.
As Kailash knew many people in his village whose livelihoods were hit due to the pandemic, he decided to engage them in making the diyas.
After mixing both the raw materials in proper proportion, Kailash gives the mixture and the moulds to the people who make the diyas and the latter return the finished earthen lamps to him after drying them.
He has also engaged two persons for colouring and packing the diyas. This apart, his friend and few others in his village are helping him in marketing the product.
At present, Kailash has engaged 13 people in diya making. “Each of them earns around Rs 200 by working for 5 to 6 hours daily. On an average more than 5,000 diyas are made everyday. I sell these diyas at a nominal Rs 30 for 30 pieces. Usually diyas made of clay are hard to dispose of. However, the cow dung diyas burn into ashes once they run out of oil,” says Kailash.
On how he thought of using cow dung, Kailash says, “Majority of the cattle farmers rear hybrid jersey cattle for the purpose of getting milk. However, they are unaware of the utilities they can derive from indigenous breeds of cow. Cow dung and urine of the indigenous breed can be used in various ways which I have been experimenting for the last several years,” he said.
Kailash also manufactures cow-based products after getting trained from different places including the Go-Vigyan Anusandhan Kendra in Nagpur. Some of his products which are widely sold here are pesticides and insecticides made of cow dung and urine besides an organic toothpaste made of burnt cow dung.
While he is currently supplying diyas to Sambalpur, Bargarh, Jharsuguda and Deogarh district, he is also getting enquiry orders from other places. After Diwali, he is planning to supply his diyas to various temples in the region.