Field visit to Pen & Khopoli

5th – 6th October 2013

Bharati (133354001),

Mayank(09405009),

Indrayani(133350004)

Gautam(134350001)

TD 605, CTARA, IIT Bombay

Field visit to Pen & Khopoli

Faculty Members: Prof. Milind Sohoni Prof. Puru Kulkarni Prof. Ganesh Ramakrishnan

TAs: Abhiram Sahastrabuddhe Vishal Singh Pankhuri Agrawal

First Day

Poha making factory:

Poha factory visit was on 5th October in Pen, Narangi. We saw it in batches. We started with the

main area where paddy (raw material) was kept.

Joshi Poha Factory:

Joshi Poha factory was established in 1948, the factory produces flattened rice (poha)

flakes which are an ingredient of a major snack, in Maharashtra. The raw material used

for this is paddy and is procured within the Taluka at the rate of Rs. 14/kg. If local

people get their own paddy to make poha then the cost if Rs. 5/-. Many varieties of paddy

are used like Ratna, Jaya, Suvarna, Karjat, Sahyadri. Capacity of the poha factory is 20

quintals.

Figure 1: Economic determinant for Poha factory

As can be seen from figure 1, the raw material (paddy) is taken from rural area and the

finished product is also consumed within the rural area. Surplus finished product is also

sent to outside environment.

The various steps followed in making of poha are as follows:

Flow chart:

Figure 2: Flow chart of Poha making

• Paddy is cleaned and impurities are removed then it is soaked in hot water for 3

hours. If the paddy is straight from plant i.e. moist, one doesn’t need to soak it in

water.

• After drying i t in shade overnight, paddy i s pu t i t in the hopper and goes

i t in roaster (with sand) in an oven with big rotating s teel drum (a t 210

degree Cels ius) to remove moisture. Roaster driving motor was of 5 HP.

Figure 3: Roaster in action

• Roasted paddy comes out and some fraction of it gets popped

• These flakes are then passed through sieves to remove unwanted material (husk)

• Husk obtained from sieve machine is treated as a fuel (put in hopper) for this oven. The

fly ash is used as an additive in brick making.

• These filtered flakes are passed through a roller to flatten them. Starch helps

in gett ing i t flat tened. The degree of flatness is adjusted by varying pressure

applied by hand.

• Flakes thus obtained are of fairly even size but some would be whole, some broken

in the process which are also separated.

• The residue or bran, locally called as bhoosa, is collected and is used as poultry or

cattle feed. The flattened rice flake is sold at the rate of Rs. 32-35 per kg. The major

markets where the flakes are sent are the ones in Pune or Vashi.

Economic Analysis:

C/L Ratio

Sno Item Units Unit Price

(in INR) Item Total

(in INR)

1 Blower Motor 2HP 1 11000 11000

2 Roaster Motor 5HP 1 19000 19000

3 Crusher Motor 5HP 1 19000 19000

4 Roaster assembly with

Blower 1 150000 150000

5 Crusher 3 10000 30000

6 Sieve Assembly with Motor 1 10000 10000

7 Water Tank 10000 Litres 1 10000 10000

8 Land 50 feet X 100 Feet 1 1200000 1200000

Total Capital - Land Owned 1449000

Total Capital - Land Leased 249000

Labour

1 Crusher operators 3

2 Roaster Operator 3

3 Sieve Operator 2

4 Helpers/Feeders 3

5 In charge 1

Total Labour 12

C/L for Land Owned 120750

C/L for Land Leased 20750

The capital required to create one job for the poha mill that we visited is estimated to be

about Rs.20750. Although the enterprise itself is not capital intensive, a major factor that

distorts the calculation is the cost of land. When the initial capital investment includes cost of

land (in current prices), the capital required to create one job is Rs.1,20,750. The process in a

poha mill is labour intensive; the distortion of initial capital investment due to land price

makes it look capital intensive.

Sathe Rice mill:

After visiting the Poha factory, we headed towards Sathe rice mill situated further ahead.

The rice mill was established in 1910. It is a major industry in Pen since large number of

paddy fields exists. The mill employed a round 10 workers, out of which 2-3 handled the

milling jobs and the remaining handled the packing and transportation. As per the input from

some employees, they receive a daily input of about nearly 80 quintals. The f i n a l o u t p u t

i s s o l d a t R s . 1 5 0 p e r q u i n t a l . Being a medium scale set-up, a minimum of

30kg input is required for an individual operation cycle.

Figure 4: Economic determinant for Rice Milling

As we can see in figure 4, the raw material (paddy) is taken from rural area and the finished

product is also consumed within the rural area. Surplus finished product is also sent to outside

environment.

The various steps followed in making of Rice Mill are as follows:

Flow chart:

Figure 5: Flow chart of rice mill

First the paddy is de-stoned and put through a conical structure below the ground

level from where the paddy is lifted using lifts.

Paddy is then put through de-husker (two rubber wheels) where the husk is removed.

The husk is removed through various zigzag sieves.

First level of polishing is done and bran is removed.

Final whitening (second level) of polishing is done.

Economic Analysis:

C/L Ratio

Sno Item Units Unit Price Item Total

1 Motor 30 hp 1 95000 95000

2 Whole Machinery consisting Of Dehusking, Polishing 1 1500000 1500000

3 Variable Pulley mechanism For different RPM 1 50000 50000

4 Land 100feet X 100 feet 1 2400000 2400000



1 Feeders 2

2 Collectors 2

3 Operators 3

4 Supervisor 1

Total Labour 8



Compared to a poha mill, the rice mill needs higher initial capital investment as the complete

process is mechanized. The capital needed to create one job in the rice mill that we visited works

out to about Rs.205625. This is ten times the amount of capital investment required to create a

job in the poha mill. The machinery used in the rice mill was imported which contributed to high

initial capital investment.

Tabla and Mridangam workshop:

After visiting rice mill, we went to see tabla and mridangam workshop. We saw two

workshops. Tabla and mridangam are two of the most popular m u s i c a l instruments

used in the Hindustani and Classical music respectively. O n e o f t h e workshops that

we visited was a 3rd.

generation of the family. The first facility had two employees and

the second one had 5 people for day to day operation.

Figure 6: Economic determinant for Tabla making

As we can see from figure 6, the raw material comes from external environment and the

finished product also goes to external market/environment.

The membrane for drum is made from goat skin and is bought from markets in Gujarat and

Sholapur (Dilip Narayankar). The wood required for the drum is obtained from Gujarat and

Delhi. The ink required for ‘Sur’ or Shyahi or the Black made up of carbon. Sur has to

be rubbed by black stone for 8 hrs. It is bought from Surat in Gujarat. The body metal

for the Duggi (of Tabla) is bought from Mumbai.

Cost of Goat Skin = Rs150- 200 per piece

Cost of Ink = Rs 250/kg

Cost of body metal = Rs 650/kg

The finished instrument is then sold in Mumbai and Pune. The workers were telling that

the business was growing and there was an increased demand these days.

Ganpati idol making factory:

After visiting. Tabla and Mridangam workshop, we went to see Ganpatai idol

making in a nearby workshop. Ganapati idols were being made using plaster of

paris (POP). They also mentioned that some idols are made using “ shaadu

maati”, clay. Typically 5000-6000 idols are made for the season. Maximum of 5-

6 feet idols are made. They had about 10-15 workers.

Figure 7: Economic determinant for Ganpati making factory

As we can see from figure 7, the raw material comes from external environment and the

finished product also goes to external market/environment. Some finished products are also

consumed locally.

Economic Analysis:

C/L Ratio


1 Paint Sprayer 1 3000 3000

2 1hp air compressor 1 15000 15000

3 Racks 10 5000 50000

4 Land 50feet X 30 feet 1 600000 600000



Labour

1 Moulder 1

2 Painters 6

Total Labour 7

C/L for Land Owned 95428.571

C/L for Land Leased 9714.2857

Ganesh idol making enterprise which is a similar case to that of wooden toy making requires

an initial capital investment of Rs.10000. Ganesh idol making is a labour intensive process

which has traditionally been a source of employment for rural people in India.

For a country like India which has surplus labour available, capital intensive industries would

not be conducive to inclusive growth. Capital intensive industries generate much less number

of jobs for the same amount of initial capital invested when compared to a labour intensive

industry. In a labour intensive setup, people can be trained and skills can be developed in an

informal way which will help people to find employment. In the case of capital intensive

industries, one needs specialized training which itself would incur a substantial expenditure

and which cannot be done in an informal way as it requires training using machines.

Therefore, a policy which promotes labour intensive small scale enterprises which can also

train and enhance people’s skills can go a long way in providing people employment in a

labour surplus nation like India. This would a paradigm where human development is the

priority rather than a capitalist paradigm where profit is the sole motivation

Ganesh idol making enterprise which is a similar case to that of wooden toy making requires

an initial capital investment of Rs.95428. Ganesh idol making is a labour intensive process

which has traditionally been a source of employment for rural people in India.

Toy Making Unit:

The toy making unit was a very interesting visit. The production was confined to a single

room of 400 square feet. The owner was a very old person who told us that due to the new

generation's interest in video games these wooden toys are very low in demand.

As making wooden toys involved wood turning mechanism to shape the wood pieces, all the

toys made form it had circular shape. The interesting part was the painting. Coloured lac was

used for colouring the turning wood. Once the colouring is done certain leaves which had oily

texture were rubbed on the wood. The oil in leaves used to give a varnish kind of smoothness

and shine to the surface of wooden toy. As everything was done when the wooden toy was

rotating at high speed the quality of finished product was nice.

The assembly for wood turning was very simple. There was a 2hp motor which, through the

pulleys, rotated the wood piece. Workplace involved only a single person and was very

primitive. There seems to be no arrangement for safety as motor was installed very near to

the storage area. That coupled with the primitive electrical connection to motor and lots of

wood around posed a real danger of fire.

C/L Ratio


1 Motor 5 hp 1 19000 19000

2 Pully mechanism 1 3000 3000

3 Wood Turner 1 5000 5000

4 Land 20feet X 20 feet 1 100000 100000



Labour

1 Operator 1

Total Labour 1



In the case of a wooden toy making rural enterprise, the capital investment to create one job

was about Rs.27,000 without including the cost of land. Industries similar to toy making

which are traditional small enterprises are under threat from escalating land prices where

including land prices in the initial capital investment would render it unviable. The initial

capital investment which includes the price of land is about Rs.1,27,000.

RCC Pipe Making Factory:

RCC Pipe making unit was not functional at the time of visit though we were able to see the

machinery and moulds used in making the RCC pipes. The most interesting machinery was

the use of a Truck's Gearbox used with an electric motor to get a variable speed drive. It was

a pure innovation as it served the purpose of different RPM outputs without the use of a

costly motor.

Figure 8 : RCC Pipe making from development point of view

RCC pipes, as the name suggest, make use of iron mesh embedded in concrete for strength.

Once the moulds are placed together sandwiching the mesh the concrete is pumped. The

interesting part is that the final mould is rotated at high speed to let concrete spread evenly.

This rotation is done at different RPM at different times and the duration is different for

different size of pipes.

Once the Rotation is done the mould is left to set for some time. This is done to let concrete

set. Once the concrete is set enough to be rolled, the moulds are opened and the piped is

rolled towards the curing tank. The pipes remain in the curing tank for few days depending

on the their demand and the size of pipe. After few days of curing the pipes are ready to be

transported.

Vinoba Bhave's birth place Gagode :

We ended our first day field visit by paying a short visit to village Dagode, which is birth

place of Maharshi Vinoba Bhave. We also visited Vinobaji's ancestral house where he had

spent the initial years of his life. We were informed about the ' Bhoodaan & Gramdaan

Movement' which emphasizes on community ownership. Brief introduction about the

biography of Vinoba Bhave enlightened us towards the simple ways of life & the philosophy

of community ownership.

Second Day

Interaction with Rural Communes :

Rural Communes was established in 1976 and since then it has actively worked for the cause

of tribals and landless peoples. The main thrust of Rural Communes is training and capacity

building. It is also involved in natural resource management issues related with water, soil

and forests. For example, watershed development work done by Rural Communes at

Shedoshi village has changed the face of village completely. Due to availability of water for

most of the year people are now cultivating a range of vegetables and other crops which have

helped them economically.

Other fields in which Rural Communes is active are sustainable energy sources, Food

security through sustained agriculture, Appropriate Rural Technology development and

creating awareness among people for home garden for medicinal plants.

Parle Biscuit Factory:

Figure 9 : : Parle Factory from development point of view

Figure 10 : Parle Biscuit Making Process

Figure 11: Parle Candy Making Process

We visited Parle factory on 6th Oct morning. As it was a large scale factory the scene was

totally different from the factories we visited on 5th October.

We were first taken to an auditorium where were given clear and strict instructions that we

are not allowed to use mobile and cameras. We were shown a 15 minute animation movie

which pretty much showed the complete process of biscuit and candy making.

We were then taken to a candy making area where the famous "Kachha Mango Bite" candies.

The process seemed fairly simple as follows -

Liquid glucose and sugar are heated to melt till 140 degrees.

Water and steam are then used to make glucose and sugar mixture uniform and the

whole mix is then filter pressed.

Whole mix is cooked and then while blending the flavours are mixed.

The mixture is properly kneaded to get a uniform mix.

The kneaded mixture is then sent to tablet making machine where candies take their

shape.

The candies are then sorted and wrapped for packing.

After candy making, we visited the biscuit making facility where Parle-G and Coffee

biscuits were made in parallel conveyor belts.

Raw material like Flour, sugar, edible oil and milk are mixed and kneaded.

The kneaded mix is then moulded to get uncooked biscuits.

Biscuits are then baked in an oven over conveyor belt followed by cooling.

The biscuits are then wrapped and packed.

Visit to Shedoshi Village:

Collaboration of Indo- German Scheme, NABARD & Rural Communes undertook the

project of watershed development in the village of Shedoshi. The project started in 1984 &

ended in September 1999. The hilly region was divided into 11 micro watersheds so that

each one can be considered individually for development project. The total cost of the project

is about Rs. 166,00,000. Villagers have collected Rs.1,31,000 as maintenance fund via

voluntary labour (Shramadan). Tribal people sacrifice their livelihood of the day in order to

contribute towards the project in the form of voluntary labour. Landless people also

contribute for the project even though they are not directly benefitted from the project. So

302 landless families have also actively participated in the Shramadan process.

Before the implementation of the Watershed project Yashodatai Waman Wagh had taken

initiative to address some problems of the village like drinking water, employment &

livelihood, migration, debt, etc. People were migrating for jobs & ignoring their health. First

intervention was in the form of formation of Women's Group. Women group started to grow

vegetables because of increased water availability for cultivation as a result of watershed

project. Plantation of Cashew nuts, Mango trees was done with the initiative of RC to

encourage horticulture.

Watershed project covered the area from hill top to valley through various interventions like

earthen dam, concrete dams, check dams, contour trenches, etc. Under the project a storage

tank was constructed on the hill top which served as a source of irrigation during the rabbi

season for the second crop. On the slope of the hill several contour trenches were dig in order

to conserve the soil & water flowing.

After completion of project villagers have been applying for various government schemes.

For upliftment of society only watershed development is not enough it needs social &

financial interventions as well. Rural communes (RC) helped villagers with seeds, pumps for

irrigation, etc.

This has reduced the migration of the local people to other places for livelihood. These steps

were taken in order to achieve the sustainable development.

Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln:

Final visit place for the field visit was the Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln (VSBK) run by Waman

Bhau in Shedashi Khadki. VSBK is the joint venture of Centre for Technology Alternatives

for Rural Areas (CTARA), Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay & Rural Communes, an

NGO based in Narangi. This type of kilns are very rarely tried in India whereas this kiln type

is quite popular in China as well as some parts of India like Uttar Pradesh & some parts of

Maharashtra like Beed district. Main goal of the project was to help the local tribal

community. Main inhabitants of the area Katkari tribe whose traditional occupation was brick

making & as construction labours.

The VSBK method of brick making is more efficient in terms of energy consumption &

hence less polluting. Main fuel source for VSBK is cow dung which is easily available,

whereas main fuel for traditional process is coal. Brick making using VSBK is a continuous

process whereas traditionally it is a batch process which is goes for a month & 40,000 to

50,000 bricks are produced. VSBK produces around 2,400 bricks in a day, so around 72,000

to 75,000 bricks in a month. Hence in terms of production & energy efficiency it is better

than traditional brick making. It also requires less area for set up because of its vertical

structure.

Mixture for making bricks is prepared by mixing soil & fly ash, then it is moulded & dried.

Sun dried green bricks are then put in the VSBK for baking. Vertical structure of the shaft

makes it easier to operate as one just needs to put the bricks from upper opening of the shaft

in proper orientation for that elevator is used to transport the bricks there. But arrangement of

the bricks plays important role in uniform baking of the bricks. Bricks are kept in the VSBK

in units of six layers & each unit requires about 4 hours of baking. Trolley mechanism

supported by the jack screw is used in the VSBK to move the bricks vertically within the

shaft & to take the ready bricks out of the shaft. Heat distribution is also uniform in case of

VSBK as main fire is lit up in the middle of the shaft so that, bricks at the lower end which

are already baked & ready.

Many employees are Katkaris who need special training while handling the bricks to avoid

the losses due to breakage. These bricks need careful handling & Katkari workers are

provided the special training to work on VSBK.

Brick making is huge industry worth of Rs. 50,000 Crores, which is bigger than another

important industry of air conditioning & refrigeration. Hence the industry needs attention

from researchers & academic community.

Conclusion:

The two day field visit, was highly beneficial in understanding the actual beneficiaries for

technology. It a was a good combination of various types and levels of industries and the

guiding principles of each. The main thrust was empowerment and self-sustenance through

technology and participation. Following is the conclusion based on various parameters we

experienced:

Technology and Self-reliance:

The poha mill was stark in contrast to the Parle biscuit factory. The modern industrial

manufacturing is capital intensive and uses technology that is imported. Most of the

production is automated which results in decreased number of jobs. The factory runs on

imported technology from Germany. The employees at the factory could not recall any

instance when lesser automation prevailed at the facility. It was made known to us that

certain machines have been made more efficient and advanced. They make much less noise

and are more efficient compared to the machines used before them. In contrast, the poha mill

runs on completely indigenous technology. The level of technology in use is not very

sophisticated (read western and imported technology). Except the belt drive (which is

manufactured somewhere in Madhya Pradesh), all the other parts are fabricated locally.

The local people manage the poha mill completely and they are not dependent on ‘experts’ to

maintain the plant. On the other hand, the Parle factory is completely automated which

requires special training for employees who would be operating these machines.

Employment:

The Parle biscuit factory only employs human labour for the most mundane tasks like sorting

and packing. Employees who work at the facility arrange the packaged biscuits and

confectioneries in cardboard boxes once they are ejected from the manufacturing conveyor

chain. The plant employs up to 25 people and most of these are locals. Compared to the

initial capital investment and the number of jobs created, the poha mill clearly is more

beneficial to the local community. The biscuit factory which has had to invest a huge amount

in terms of initial capital investment doesn’t create jobs which would support the local

community. Although the factory uses local resources (water, land etc), it doesn’t contribute

enough (In terms of jobs to locals or community development) to the local community to

justify the amount of capital poured into building up the plant.

Resources:

Except milk and a few others, most of the raw material is brought to the facility from far off

places. And going by the same logic, the local economy does not have so much demand for

biscuits and confectionery from Parle’s factory. The products manufactured are sent to all

parts of India for consumption. It was clear that this factory operated on the ‘economics of

scale’ rationale where production in larger volumes with high capital investment results in

cost advantages and improved efficiency in terms of use of resources. In the poha mill, local

resources are processed locally.

Waste Recycling:

In the poha mill, the husk that is obtained after separating the rice is used as fuel for the

furnace. Thus, the waste is recycled effectively unlike the biscuit factory which uses

electricity produced predominantly from coal or nuclear energy. The externalities of the

biscuit factory are much higher in terms of effect on environment compared to the poha mill.

Another aspect of the poha mill was that the nutrients between the husk and rice is used a

fodder for cattle. The nutrient between the husk and the rice doesn’t go wasted and is used

effectively.

Alienation and Modern Workplace:

The more modern and automated the industrial facility which is followed by increased

‘professionalization’ of the workplace, human beings become resources which need to be

taken care to improve productivity. Alienation of the worker from his workplace becomes a

fact and it could be felt in the biscuit factory. Workers in the biscuit factory were working

like machines involved in excessively repetitive tasks. On the other hand, even though the

workers in poha mill also had to endure ‘repetition’, the condition perceived in poha mill was

different. Human beings were in constant conversation with other and each relied on the other

to complete their tasks. They were in constant conversation and there was an implicit feeling

of ‘recognition of the human in the other’ in the poha mill. Although the poha mill might not

pay as much as a biscuit factory and also looks decrepit and old, the work environment was

healthier from a psychological perspective.

Rural Enterprises: On the brink

Small enterprises like poha and rice mill are struggling to remain economically viable due to

a number of reasons. Multi-national companies which operate on much larger scale are able

to offer similar products at cheaper prices and have flooded the local market. In order to

sustain economically and also employ local people, small enterprises have been dependent on

subsidies from government on tax rebates and electricity.

People in the rural and semi-rural places like Pen believe that there has been a transformation

in the way people perceive life with the gradual withering away of the traditional economy.

They don’t foresee a future for small enterprises like the poha mill in pen which is gradually

being transformed from being predominantly rural to an urban place where more people turn

away from agriculture due to its diminishing scale of return. With the turn away from

agriculture, people who were self-reliant (in terms of growing their paddy and getting their

poha from poha mill) have started depending on the market for their basic needs. There is a

gradual process of people giving up their direct relationship with nature and market has

become the mediator between man and nature. The people who we spoke to were feeling that

this process is inevitable.

The changing life style was termed as one of the prime reasons for lack of market for toys

manufactured by traditional means. With kids taking to video games and television in India,

the demand for traditionally manufactured toys has gone down. The traditional toy making

enterprises feel that it is vital to ‘remember’ and memory of their ancestral craft forms an

important part of their identity. The case is quite similar with tabla makers who felt that

electronic musical equipments which can mimic any traditional instrument as the major

source of concern for them.

The ‘Ganpati’ murti making industry in India is quite substantial in that it provides

employment to a number of people. When we spoke to the people involved in producing

these ‘murthis’, they said that the advent of eco-friendly murthis in the market poses threat to

their survival. The traditional murthis are made using plaster of paris which are not eco-

friendly. There is also the threat from Chinese made ‘murthis’ which are cheaper and have

flooded the market.

Field visit to Pen & Khopoli

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