Manufacture of Agarbathi Sticks in Vizag
Visit on 16th and 17th March, 2009
I am grateful to the IFS officer of Vizag and Mr. R.K. Mehta, chairman, M2 Technology, for providing this opportunity. I had visited with Mr. Suresh Suri. Most of the Bamboos are Dendrocalmus strictus (For Agarbatti sticks.), and Bambusa Bambos (hard, spiny, used for poles).
We have visited two clusters in the Ananthagiri range of forests in Vizag district, namely the cluster village Danamtota and Thegalamada, wherein the forest department has developed two clusters of 50 families each under Vana Sankshayam Samiti (VSS). We are informed that the forest department allots a particular area of forest to the local villagers who have to safeguard the forest. In lieu of this the forest department permits the local villagers to cut forest bamboo free of cost subject to they making value added products of that bamboo.Forest department normally pays Rs 2.50 for cutting the bamboo pole and Rs. 3 for bringing it from the forest to the village. This is the rate at which they get bamboo at their yard.
At the village, the forest department has financed for purchases of electrically operated cross cutting machine to cut the bamboo poles which do not have nodes in between and specially designed knifes for making strips and agarbathi sticks. Remaining portions are generally sold to paper mills. We are informed that the forest department has made arrangement for sale of agarbathi sticks with Ambika, Darbar agarbathis and ITC’s.
The economics of Agarbathi making by the clusters is as follows:
• Cost of cutting 2 poles in the forest : Rs.5
• Cost of bringing 2 poles from forest to village : Rs.6
• Cuts of two poles suitable of agarbathi making : 4 Kg
• Agarbathi sticks made out of 4 Kg of cuts : 2 Kg
• Price paid to the artisans for making 2 kg of Agarbathi sticks @ Rs.12/Kg : Rs.24
• Total cost incurred in making 2 kg Agarbathi sticks : Rs.35
• Sale price of 2 Kg agarbathi sticks @ Rs 20/kg : Rs. 40
(We have not taken the cost of electricity and other miscellaneous costs. We have also not taken into account the income out of the unutilized cuts of the pole which are sold to the paper industry. )
Video Bamboo Cutting-1
Video Bamboo Cutting-2
Video Bamboo Machine Slivering -1
Video Bamboo Machine Slivering -2
Video Bamboo Manual Slivering - 1
Video Bamboo manual Slivering - 2
Video Bamboo Agarbatti Making -1
Video Bamboo Agarbatti Making - 2
Video Bamboo Agarbatti Making - 3
Video Bamboo Agarbatti Making - 4
