Goods made from cow dung by these people are in high demand both in online marketing and local stores (Image: Shutterstock; Representative Photo)
Hunar Haat provides a platform to showcase the skills of these local people and they manage to make a living by selling their products
Cow dung, which was considered waste before, is no longer just waste and its products are now becoming popular in the market. Today, women and men leave no stone unturned when it comes to setting up their own businesses through Hunar Haat (a market that sells local produce) across the country. Hunar Haat provides a platform to showcase the skills of these local people and they manage to make a living by selling their products.
Similarly, hundreds of women and men associated with Govardhan Go Seva Kendra Trust in Arrah, Bihar, with their skills and determination are also leading by example by making decorative items from cow dung. Everything is made under this trust, from home decor to everyday products, which are in high demand.
Because of this startup, the locals now earn a lot of money. In fact, women associated with Govardhan Go Seva Kendra make mobile stands, clocks, chandeliers, pen stands, name tags, key chains and children’s toys as well as many other attractive things from cow dung. Not only in the online market, these cow dung artworks are also sold in the offline stores.
When the women involved in this project were contacted, they said that they used to waste time doing household chores, but now they have an income. This financial independence has helped them manage their homes much better compared to before.
How do they make beautiful works of art from cow dung?
When asked how they prepare these things with cow dung, they said that cow dung used to be dumped into sewers in large quantities, but now it is used to make attractive home accessories. These women first knead the cow dung into flour and dry it, then press it through a machine to make it into a hard material. Finally, they shape it using a mold and paint it, then create decorative items that enhance the beauty of the home.
Among these decorative things, there are many such things that are also worth using on a daily basis. A woman who leads this organization said, “Cow dung is something very sacred in Hinduism. Considering the importance of cow dung in social life, our organization decided to use it in daily products. Later on we tried to employ many people and we succeeded quite well. In this project, the participation of women and men is equal.”
Goods prepared by these people from cow dung are in great demand both in online marketing and local stores. Even these craftsmen cannot meet the demand of the market and efforts are being made in that direction. About 500 decorative products are prepared from cow dung in one day. These products have different price ranges in the market.
The president of the organization said that people used to not buy cow dung for ₹1 but now they sell the same cow dung for ₹50 per kg in the market. Through this work, the monthly income of the decorative craftsmen has increased many times over.