Back home in Gopalapenta in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, Singuru Rajesh was intrigued by this particular ancestral plate made of tamarind and paper. It had survived being smashed down and other such unfortunate events. So, the Assistant Professor, who teaches in the Mechanical Engineering department of Raghu Engineering College, Visakhapatnam, strived to replicate it. And what better raw material to use than agro-waste — the same waste that is infamous for being burnt and causing air pollution? "'Why blame the farmers for it?' is the question the father of Green Revolution MS Swaminathan has posed many times. And as I hail from a farmer's family, I thought long and hard about putting agro-waste to better use," says the 28-year-old. Hence, the professor and eight of his students came together to make cutlery, egg trays and such products from agro-waste. The research was started last year in November when we were yet to learn about the 'new normal', and has seen fruition recently.
Paddy stubble, corn husk and even the leaves and stems of banana — these were sourced from the farmers back in his own village. And this proved to be the toughest task. "The farmers were just not ready to part with it. We had to literally demonstrate to prove that the ground on which stubble is burnt can be sowed on, but the growth might not be that swift. Only after this, were the farmers convinced," says the professor who won the Bharat Nirman award in 2019. After this, the stubble went through simple steps of chopping, steaming, grinding and moulding into the desired shape. Since this experiment was conducted around Ganesh Chaturthi this year, they made Ganesh idols and then graduated to making cutlery and even insulation boards! We hear that the team wishes to make more products, starting with straws.
Further encouraged by MS Swaminathan himself, who Rajesh shared the idea with over email, the professor has big plans ahead. "We want to start a farmers' cooperative society for agro waste, just like Amul did for milk. This way, even between the sowing season, they can learn this skill and make products of their own and earn," says the professor who pursued his Master's in Mechanical Engineering from Vignan's Foundation for Science, Technology & Research, Guntur. These products are all-natural and durable until they come in contact with water. They hope to experiment further to negate this variable as well. "Imagine if this pulp can replace the plastic used by 3D printers?" he asks excitedly and adds, "Which is why commercialisation of this product is extremely important."
The professor doesn't forget to remind us that this has been a team effort and on his team are girls deft enough with their hands to mould the pulp and boys who come from families of farmers.
The process as it is:
- Chop the stubble into tiny pieces
- Steam it after adding natural solvents
- After steaming, remove the additional water
- Grind the pulp and mould products
- Heat the product in the oven and dry it again in the sun
