After gobar gas, gobar fertiliser and gau kashth, it is now the turn of gobar diyas.
Local resident Sushil Yadav is using cow dung to make earthen lamps for Diwali. They come in two sizes - of 2-inch and 4-inch diameters priced at Rs 4 and Rs 8 a piece.
Besides diyas, he also makes idols of Ganesh, Laxmi and Govardhan and other decorative items including toran for Diwali. The idol is priced at Rs 500 a piece. He has named his manufacturing unit, Kashi Deep Gau Utpadan Kendra.
Yadav, who runs a grocery store in Ahirpura, Barkhedi, said he decided to use cow dung to make diyas as Hindus consider it sacred.
Yadav, who has studied up to class 12, says he got the idea while watching a video on YouTube. “My shop was closed and I spent a lot of time on mobile phone,” he said. He contacted a company, which provided him two-day training through video-conferencing on payment of Rs 2,100.
Explaining the process, he said cow dung is first dried and then powdered in a mixer. Subsequently, sawdust is added to powder, which acts as an adhesive. The mixture is then kneaded like flour and poured into moulds. After drying diyas, they are painted to make them attractive. The entire process takes two days to complete.
He says that the cow dung diyas are better than earthen ones because they are unbreakable. He says that though dry cow dung is inflammable, diyas are not. He said sales are low but they will pick up. He devotes five hours daily to this work. Five of his family members also help him. During day, he runs his kirana shop. He plans to set up a separate shop for gobar diyas, decorative items and also advertise the product through WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram.
