The diyas and other decorative products prepared from cow dung are getting popular this Deepawali season in Dehradun as a part of eco-friendly celebration of the festival.
Last year, some women self-help groups (SHGs) prepared products prepared from cow dung that mainly included Diyas, incense sticks and idols of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Laxmi but they did not get expected response from customers. However this year, SHGs are getting great responses from the local customers. The founder of Himwant Foundation Society, Sangeeta Thapliyal said that locals are quite excited to buy the diyas prepared from cow dung.
She said, “Since last year, awareness about concept of cow dung diyas has increased among locals. We started preparing such diyas and other decorative items from cow dung as an experiment and people liked it.
Unlike earthen diyas, the cow dung diyas can be crushed easily and used as manure for plant after use. We have also prepared diyas filled with wax for those who prefer to light candles on Deepawali to avoid oil stains on floors from diyas.”
She added that her organisation prepares these diyas with cow dung of Badri cows without using harmful chemicals. Tripti Thapa from Swadesh Kutumb Swayam Sahayta Samuh also said that demand for such diyas has certainly increased this year but it is still below her expectation.
She said, “Not many are aware of cow dung diyas as these are not well promoted among crowd. The demand for such diyas is certainly more than last time and I hope it will keep getting better.” Though demand for diyas prepared from cow dung has increased considerably than last year for SHGs involved in production, such diyas are not easily available in market.