In the popular children’s fable, the three little pigs were saved from the wolf who, although it huffed and puffed with all its might, couldn’t blow their house down. It was made of bricks. Yes, bricks are tough, and it is equally tough work making them. Naturally occurring clay is first dug up and mixed with water for the right consistency. This is moulded into the shape using a frame and dried in the sun. Later the moulds are baked in a kiln to turn into the red bricks used in construction. It is backbreaking manual labour, with a working couple earning on average Rs 400 for every 1,000 bricks they make. And yes, there is a great deal of huffing and puffing involved.
J. Meganathan of Pinayur village in Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu, hopes to make a difference by helping mechanise brick manufacture. A two-hour bumpy drive outside Chennai takes you to Pinayur village. This is brick kiln country. Meganathan lives here with his four siblings and parents. His family has been in the brick-making business since 1980. A history graduate from Chengelpet Arts College, Meganathan initially worked as a machine operation assistant at a company producing water packets. Slowly he learnt to handle the manufacturing and, later, the servicing of these machines.
Using this experience he produced his first innovation: a pickle packet making machine which, however, did not succeed due to a combination of factors — stiff competition from other players in the market, and lack of funds and technical knowledge. However, the insights he gained from this experience proved crucial when he embarked on his second innovation: a brick-making machine.
Starting in 2003, with material salvaged from scrapyards and other parts that he bought, he has built three prototypes so far, each an improvement on the previous one. Such is his passion for his dream product, that he has spent Rs 75,000 of his own on it. He works as a cable line operator to support himself, while devoting most of his time and energy to his innovation. The family also owns some agricultural land on which it grows sugarcane, groundnut, and rice.
The current version of his brick-maker is attached to a tractor and runs on its power. The desired quantity of wet clay is placed on a loading tray; using pneumatic power a predetermined amount is lowered into a rectangular grid, which shapes the bricks. The tractor is then moved forward and the process repeated for the next row of bricks; the moulded bricks are then sun-dried and baked.
Grassroots innovators like Meganathan face challenges at every step of converting an idea to a prototype and finally the refined product. Not being an engineer, he did not know how to design the machine to accurate dimensions. The grade of clay to be used was also a challenge. And as he explains: “If I didn’t have to worry about money, I would have had so much more freedom to think and come up with newer designs.”
He has been supported in his efforts by The Lemelson Recognition & Mentoring Programme (L-RAMP), a project jointly run by Rural Innovations Network and the Indian Institute of Technology - Madras, with funding provided by The Lemelson Foundation, a private philanthropy based in the US. The project aims to identify innovations that have the potential to transform the lives of the poor, and to support such innovations to become scaleable enterprises, with benefits going back to the innovator.
Besides funds, Meganathan also received mentoring from technical experts to take his idea forward. He is also being supported to transfer his technology to a manufacturer, so that the machine may be produced in large enough numbers to create the social impact that he desires. Asked why he had taken on so many risks and struggles to work on his dream project, he replied that he derived a great deal of satisfaction from analysing a real-world problem and attempting to come up with a practical solution. “Only when you like what you are doing, can you get good results,” he says.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2008/07/11/stories/2008071150090300.htm
Paper industry- Innovation new mantra
One of the oldest enterprises in the country, the Indian paper and newsprint industry, which currently employ around 1.3-million people, is up against a variety of problems. These include a massive and regular increase in the price of wood pulp in the international market, escalating cost of petroleum products, which in turns ha pushed up the energy and transportation costs as well as dependence on obsolete technologies and outdated machineries and an all-round increase in labour wages. Though there are over 500 paper and newsprint production units in India, not even 10 per cent of theses are big or dynamic enough to turn out quality paper products at a competitive price. Though the highly segmented Indian paper industry uses a wide variety of technologies and feedstocks, the bulk of the production is concentrated in the hands of few large players. For instance, over 60 per cent of the newsprint production in India is concentrated with a few state-owned units like Hindustan Newsprint Ltd (HNL) and Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Ltd (TNPL). As pointed out by the Development Council for Pulp Paper and Allied Industries, "Inadequate supply and high cost of raw materials, sub-optimal and obsolete technologies and accelerating energy costs are the main issues facing the industry".
The biggest stumbling block for production units keen on attaining self sufficiency in wood pulp is the prevailing environmental laws, which prevent the industrial plantations of private sector on degraded land stretches. Against this backdrop, the Indian paper and newsprint industry has already urged the Government to amend the laws with a view to permit them to make use of the degraded land for raising plantations of fast-growing trees. But, the Government is yet to respond. As such many of the leading paper mills in the country have taken to social forestry schemes under which small and marginal farmers are provided saplings and know-how for raising plantations of fast growing trees with an assurance of a buy back at a remunerative price.
Not long back, bamboo was the most-favoured raw material of the paper mills. But with its prices shooting up as a result of rapid depletion of bamboo forests, the mills do not find bamboo as a cost-effective feedstock. Not surprisingly then, many of the paper production units are now using bagasse, rice and wheat straw instead. Though an estimated 55-million tonnes of bagasse is available, only eight per cent is currently put to use for paper production.
Given the above, many paper and newsprint production units are working towards becoming self-sufficient in wood pulp and other feedstock's, used in paper manufacturing. For instance, Ballarpur Industries Ltd (BILT) has now drawn up a 20-million Euro plan for the modernization and augmentation of the facilities at Sabha Forest Industries (SFI) of Malaysia, acquired earlier. The SFI facilities are expected to start operations by 2009-end and renovations would include putting in place a new wood handling line, rebuilding the cooking plant and fibre line and upgradation of white liquor plant.
South India-based Seshasayee Paper and Board Ltd, is now close to commissioning its new pulp production mill designed for boosting the pulp production. Once the expanded pulp mill capacity is in place, the company will initiate work on boosting its paper manufacturing capacity with an additional investment of Rs 3,000-million. The modernization programme will see its in-house pulp production going up to 440-tonnes a day from 240-tonnes a day.
As of now, both the companies operate a 150-tonne day wood pulp mill and 90-tonne a day bagasse pulp mill. The new pulp production facility of the company will make for elemental chlorine-free production process. Clearly, the modernized pulp production unit will strengthen the position of the company by making available the required quantity of high-quality pulp in-house. On another plane, this would free the company from its dependence on imported wood pulp, the prices of which have been on an upward swing for over a year now.
To stay competitive both in the domestic and global markets, the Tamil Nadu government-owned enterprise TNPL has unveiled an ambitious action plan to invest Rs.10,000-million for expanding its production capacity to 4,00,000-tonnes a year from the present 2,45,000-tonnes. TNPL known for its range of products including printing and writing paper and copiers and newsprint, is also mulling to put up a cement production unit that would make use of waste lime sludge generated from its paper-making operations and fly ash generated in its power boilers.
Of course, realization of the two plans is subject to the State Government approval and TNPL is yet to work out the strategy for raising funds for capacity expansion at its paper mill. But then the proposed cement plant would help TNPL boost its bottom-line by a substantial extent. For increasing prices and occasional scarcity of cement, in the backdrop of booming construction in the country, will help TNPL make a "fat profit" from the cement production unit. Perhaps it is the first Indian paper and newsprint production unit to have hit upon this idea. It has also completed its Rs.6,000-million pulp mill expansion programme with the setting up of a state-of-the-art pulp production facility designed for elemental chlorine-free production process.
On the other hand, Paper Boards and Specialty Papers Division (PSPD) of the FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) giant ITC has gone in for an innovative range of products with an eye on emerging as the largest outfit in the paper production sector. "Our specialization in producing value-added paper boards has made us realise the huge potential for creating gifts and toys for 200 million children, from the new borns to 15 years of age," is ITC's aim. Its Bhadrachalam facility is now producing 4,00,00 tonnes of paper boards and fine paper a year.
The disposable paper cups by ITC are now fast catching up in the market. Currently, ITC is active in supplying disposable paper cups to hotels, restaurants, soft drinks outlets and beverage companies such as Coca Cola India Inc, PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt Ltd and Nestle India Ltd. As pointed out by the firm, "given the rapid changes in lifestyle, we feel that the time is right to enter the consumer segment to popularize at home consumption."
ITC's market analysis shows that the market for disposable paper cups is worth about Rs.10,000-million a year. The company is trying to create a new category of space with Spectra brand of paper cups. According to an analyst, paper cups may not generate huge revenues but it is a logical progression for ITC's paper business. As it is, ITC has already made public its plan to invest Rs 25,000-million by 2009 to make more innovative paper products and also to boost its production capacity to 2,00,000 tonnes.
The PSPD has a unique business and revenue generation model. It started operations in 1979 in Bhadrachalam primarily because it was a forest area and provided access to raw materials. However, by early 80s strict regulation on the use of forest resources was introduced and this forced PSPD to look for alternative sources of raw materials. Thus it forayed into the farm forestry programme by tying up with small and marginal farmers to raise plantations of fast growing trees.
Farmers who earlier used to earn Rs.10,000 per hectare from paddy now earn Rs.25,000 per hectare by planting trees. Around 77,000 hectares of land is now covered by ITC's social forestry scheme. In addition to sustaining the supply of raw material for its paper and paper boards production facility, the farm forestry scheme had helped address the critical environmental issues relating to biomass depletion, soil erosion and water scarcity, while enabling the company to sequester twice the amount of carbon emitted from its operations and contribute to the national goal of climate change mitigation.
http://www.centralchronicle.com/20080711/1107301.htm
Earthen pot offers a bounty of benefits for Kanyakumari ryots
The farmers of Kozhikodupothai in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, have a traditional knowledge base regarding bio-pest repellent formations and also plant growth promotion formulations. One such traditional formulation called Manpannai sedi thailam in Tamil (Mud pot formulation) combines the effects of both fostering nutritional growth as well as being a pest repellent.
Field experiments
Initially the formulation was experimented with in a small area owned by a rose cultivator Ms. S. Thangam, and was found to completely obviate the need for chemical fertilizers. In addition, Panchagavya was also used for her rose plants. “The mud pot formulation on my rose plants had a good effect on the size, yield and growth of flowers. In fact all the flowers had a deep colour and a longer shelf life. The flowers after plucking remained fresh for 2-3 days when kept at room temperature,” said Ms. Thangam.
Natural farming
In fact she was featured in a video at London for the Ashden Award presentations that showcased Vivekananda Kendra-Natural Resources Development Project (VK-Nardep)’s efforts at increasing food production through natural farming practices. Ms. Thangam’s adoption of this innovation encouraged other farmers to try it. Though initially reluctant to stop using chemical fertilizers, they experimented on a small scale first. The economic benefits that each farmer incurred created a cascading effect. For example, two years ago, Ms. Thangam was spending about Rs.3,500 for an acre of rose cultivation. At present her expenditure for an acre has come down to Rs. 1,300.
Decreasing expense
“Using this mud pot formulation and following organic practices has greatly decreased the expenditure I was regularly incurring when using chemical fertilizers,” she said.
Who was responsible for developing this mud pot plant nutrient?
Mr. Aravindan, social scientist, of the kendra said, “an eminent organic farmer and retired agricultural officer, S. Murugan, is responsible for developing this formulation. He had developed a local plant formulation method with a traditional technique practised in Madya Pradesh.” “Once this formulation was tested successfully in Ms. Thangam’s rose field, we decided to give training to more farmers in making this formulation, which has almost been forgotten.”
According to Mr. Aravindan, about 100 gms of Vitex, Neem and Calotropis leaves each, 50 gm of powdered pulses (any pulse), one litre of curd or thick butter milk, and 1.5 litres of water are the basic items required for making this formulation. The leaves are first ground into a fine paste. The paste is then mixed with the powdered pulses (any pulse). This mixture is then added to one litre of curd. To this is added 1.5 litres of water. The mixture is kept in a mud pot and the mouth covered with a cloth.
The mixture is stirred every day in a clockwise and anticlockwise direction. After 15-20 days the formulation is ready for use. The formulation is diluted in 20 litres of water and sprayed in one acre of crop. The spraying is done on the foliage. The timing is very important for spraying this formulation. The best time is just before dawn and after dusk.
Effective control
The spraying effectively controls several pests and serves as a growth promoter and nutrition provider for the plants. “Organic inputs have multiple advantages. Apart from reducing input costs, they also keep the environment safe from toxicity. If one compares a field where chemical fertilizers have been used to grow the crops and a field where organic inputs such as farmyard manure, vermicompost and panchagavya have been used, one can clearly see the presence of earthworms, millipedes and ants is more in an organic field,” Mr. Aravindan explained.
Useful organisms
“Our kendra conducted studies for the presence of earthworms and ants in different fields. We found that chemical inputs greatly disturbed the presence of these useful organisms and in several fields where chemical fertilizers were used these organisms were totally absent. “Once some of the farmers started switching over to organic practices, we were able to observe the presence of these organisms again in the soil,” he said. Readers can contact Mr. S. Aravindan, email. ngc_vknardep@sancharnet.in and vknardep@gmail.com, mobile: 9443748714, phone: 04652 246296 and 04652 -247126.
http://www.hindu.com/seta/2008/07/24/stories/2008072450361600.htm
