The Green Lamp Project: The Financial Challenge
Project Note: This post is an occasional series on the idea of redefining the manure of holy for illuminating eco-friendly lamp. Our each post will examine the challenge from a different perspective, including design, technology, implementation planning and more. Through this post, we look at the financial challenges of the cow dung diya manufacturing unit..
“If a problem cannot be solved, enlarge it.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
Cracking the challenge of air pollution is the world’s biggest problem of the next quarter-century, because the ecology of air pollution and the ecology of healthy living s are linked. We cannot have a healthy global economy without healthy living, and we cannot have healthy living without tackling air pollution.
Therefore, innovative solutions are necessary to mitigate air pollution. One such solution is the use of cow-dung lamps, which offer a sustainable alternative to traditional earthen lamps. The regular earthen lamps are made using furnaces in order to harden the clay which causes air pollution whereas cow-dung lamps do not produce any carbon emissions during manufacturing. So, tons of harmful emissions can be prevented from the pottery furnace resulting in a reduction in carbon footprint.
Here’s where the Green Lamp Project, properly envisioned, could be a breakthrough: it can be made into explicitly a waste management, technology innovation, decentralized-production model where we are actively involved in its creation. By leveraging cow-dung lamps and decentralized production, the Green Lamp Project can:
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change
- Promote waste management and recycling practices
- Foster community engagement and social cohesion
- Support local economic development and entrepreneurship
The potential impact of the Green Lamp Project is substantial, and its innovative approach can serve as a model for sustainable development initiatives globally.
The Cow Dung Diya Making Unit
Before taking the form of the pious ‘Diya’, cow dung procured from local sources has to go through multiple processes. Cow dung goes through iterative drying, is finely powdered, and mixed with other organic products in a specific mixture. The mixture thus obtained is then taken in batches to create molds for both small-scale and large-scale production. The output from the previous step is then dried for several hours, cleaned, and finally, the diyas are ready. After these series of processes, the cow dung diyas are packed and shipped across to bless buyers and their families.
Each Diya Making Unit can be a change point where innovation brings the technology, technology supports the productivity, efforts to work in harmony with earning opportunities. Indeed, this melding is inherent in the project and used to introduce the unit.
If we can seize this opportunity, let’s say for Rs. 1 lakh annual income achievable over the period of 1 year with an average of 25 working days per month, then we have a killer app that can be used alongside improved financial security and innovative opportunity as a solution package for rural masses.
This will require converging strategies from multiple directions, including policy and advocacy.
No- surprise, we at the Green Lamp Project working in the vision.
The Green Lamp Project embodies the spirit of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” (Self-Reliant India) by leveraging local resources, empowering rural communities, and promoting sustainable practices. By utilizing cow dung manure, the project reduces waste, creates employment opportunities, and fosters innovation, ultimately contributing to a self-sufficient and eco-friendly India.