Modified kiln a boon for bangle makers in Rajasthan 

Modified kiln a boon for bangle makers in Rajasthan 

Context

Technology has come to the aid of workers engaged in manufacturing of green bangles in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan

Freed them from toxic fumes causing respiratory diseases

The installation of a modified bangle kiln in Unch village, near Nadbai, has rescued them from toxic fumes which were earlier a major cause for respiratory diseases among them.

Kachera Clan

Labourers belonging to the Kachera clan have been manufacturing and selling green-coloured glass bangles for several decades in eastern Rajasthan, as women wear them as an important symbol on auspicious occasions and during rituals.

Traditional Kilns

• These workers have traditionally been fabricating kilns of mud and clay and using tudi, made of vestiges of mustard crop, as fuel for heating these furnaces. The oval-shaped kilns produce smoke and fumes in huge quantity as well as high flames caused by melting of glass.
• Poisonous elements emitted by the conventional kilns, on the other hand, directly enter into the bodies of labourers and cause diseases like asthma and tuberculosis, besides reducing their average age to less than 45 years.

RuTAG

Bharatpur-based Lupin Foundation has taken an initiative for modernisation of conventional kilns with the assistance of the Rural Technology Action Group (RuTAG) at Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi.

Modified Kiln

The modified kiln does not allow emission of fumes and toxic gases and its firebricks protect workers despite the kiln’s temperature touching as high as 1,400 degree Celsius