Chhattisgarh’s Natural paint gaining popularity across the country

Bhupesh Baghel

The Natural paint made by the women of Chhattisgarh using cow dung is giving a competition to paint manufactured by multinational companies. The women of the villages are breaking the monopoly of multinational companies in paint manufacturing. The state government has given instructions to paint the government buildings using this natural paint keeping in view its high quality. SOR has also been issued by the Public Works Department in this regard.

The work of making natural paint from cow dung has been started in Jarway Gauthan of capital Raipur, Litiya village of Durg district, and Saradhunawagoan of Kanker. Usually, multinational companies were involved in paint manufacturing, but now rural women of Chhattisgarh are also making their mark in this field. Natural paint made from cow dung is exactly like the paint prepared by multinational companies. Its quality is high level and is antibacterial and antifungal.

By preparing paint and vermicompost from cow dung, women are realising Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of a self-sufficient village. This is also boosting employment at the local level in villages. Along with distemper and emulsion paint, putty is also being manufactured in Jarway Gauthan. It is being sold at C-Mart in the capital Raipur. A plan is being chalked out to make it available on various online platforms for sale at the earliest. Apart from being 30 to 40 per cent cheaper than the paint of a multinational company, this paint is also environmentally friendly. The cost of this cow dung paint is 30 to 40 per cent less than the premium quality paint available in the market. The cost of emulsion paint is Rs 225 per liter. It is being prepared in packages of 1,2,4 and 10 liters and is available in about 4,000 colors.

NTH Certified

This paint has also been certified by the National Test House of the Government of India. Besides, it has different types of properties, it is antibacterial, antifungal, eco-friendly, and non-toxic. This is also certified by the Scientific Institute. Heavy material has not been used in this natural paint and it is a natural thermal insulator, which means it has the ability to reduce the temperature by four to five degrees in hot summers.

The paint is being manufactured by the Govardhan area-level women self-help group associated with Jarway Gauthan in Raipur in collaboration with Lakshmi Organic Institute. At present, the unit established in this Gauthan has the capacity to make 2,000 liters of emulsion paint per day. Which is being increased up to 5,000 liters in the future as per the demand. Putty and distemper are also being manufactured here. The paint has been used in painting the Zone No. 8 building of the Raipur Municipal Corporation building. Meanwhile, the rural women of village Litiya of Durg district are manufacturing distemper in the village itself. The manufacturing capacity of the distemper unit is up to 1,000 liters per day. They have also started selling it. Paint is being manufactured from cow dung by the Sagar Women’s Cluster Group in Gauthan of Saradhunanwagaon village of Charama development block of Kanker district. So far, 1400 liters of paint have been manufactured in this Gauthan and 373 liters of paint have also been sold, through which the women of the self-help group have earned an income of Rs 75, 525.

Process of making cow dung paint

According to the information given by the experts, this method is done with two days-old cow dung. First, the cow dung is put in a mixing tank and an equal amount of water is added to it. Following this, the agitator in the mixing tank is run until the cow dung takes the form of a paste. This paste is further sent to the TDR machine through a pump, where it is ground into a fine powder and further sent to the bleaching tank. Here it is heated up to 100 degrees and hydrogen peroxide and caustic soda are added to it, which changes the color of cow dung and removes all its impurities.

The said slurry obtained from cow dung is used as a base in the next step of making paint, after that, it is mixed with other ingredients like pigments, extenders, binders, and fillers in high-speed disperser machines at different rpm for 3 to 4 hours. The final product is obtained after the completion of this step. It becomes available for sale in the market after proper packaging.

It is worth mentioning that according to the direction of Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel, units for manufacturing natural paint and putty from cow dung are being set up rapidly in 75 Gauthans of the state. On completion of these units, 50 liters of natural paint will be produced daily and 37 lakhs liters in a year.

"Exciting news! Elets eGov is now on WhatsApp Channels 🚀 Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest insights!" Click here!
Be a part of Elets Collaborative Initiatives. Join Us for Upcoming Events and explore business opportunities. Like us on Facebook , connect with us on LinkedIn and follow us on Twitter , Instagram.