Hyderabad: Spreading fragrance of innovation and success

Hyderabad / Ranga Reddy: In recent years, several innovative methods of converting waste to wealth have gained momentum, one such is about Telangana innovator Samyuktha Penta who has developed a low-cost automatic incense stick making machine that converts floral waste into incense sticks, in the process enabling economic empowerment to a group of horticulture farmers in Sriramnagar Village, Ranga Reddy district.

Speaking to Hans India, Samyuktha Penta, an innovator and the head of the Centre for Innovation and Social Transformation at KG Reddy College of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad, said, “In Sriramnagar village, cultivation plays a vital role and also almost 80 per cent of the economy depends on the sale of horticulture, especially flowers. But when I visited the village and interacted with villagers, I got to know that most of the flowers yielded go waste due to the unavailability of sufficient labour to pluck the flowers on time. Another reason is due to the low shelf-life of the flowers, as once they dry up, they can’t be sold. This wastage resulted in a significant reduction in the livelihood income of the farmers, so I wondered why cannot we come up with some solution and convert the floral waste into value-added products like incense sticks. I thought that if we do this manually we will require labour, so I had developed the incense stick-making machine.”

“Four women of Sriramnagar village formed a self-help group and agreed to work together and take responsibility. We have trained them on how to use the machine. In January this year, these women have started to procure locally sourced leftover and used flowers and convert them into fine powder while ensuring to preserve their aroma and medicinal properties. The women were able to earn Rs 5,000 per month. Under the T-SIRI grant, Telangana State Innovation Cell (TSIC) supported with Rs 1 lakh fund to make the final product of automatic incense stick making machine in collaboration with KG Reddy College of Engineering and Technology,” said Samyuktha.

Explaining about the features of the machine, she said, “This single machine has a capability to convert dry flower waste into incense sticks. It can also auto adjust the number of sticks to be produced, and once the user fixes the count of sticks, automatically the machine stops at that count. This machine can make around 980 sticks per hour.”

Speaking on the marketing prospects, she added, “At present, they are selling this product in five villages in Ranga Reddy. This is generating income for these women and farmers. We plan to take this forward to renowned temples across the State so that these women can earn more.”