MISCELLANEOUS OCCUPATIONS

AGARBATTI-MANUFACTURE AND DEALING IN HAIR OILS ETC.

AGARBATTI AND SANDAL WOOD STICKS are used to burn as incense while worshipping and on festivals and ceremonial occasions. There were 12 Agarbatti establishments in the city. Of these, three were surveyed in the sample. Agarbatti-manufacturing was the principal occupation in them, which provided employment throughout the year. The capital in the two establishments in the sample was raised by proprietors from their own resources. The third had incurred debt to raise it. He had borrowed about Rs. 2,000 for starting the establishment.

Two establishments in the sample were situated in rented premises. The rent of one was Rs. 10 and of the other Rs. 40. The third establishment was housed in the owned premises of the proprietor.

The total cost of production per month of the three establishments varied from Rs. 130 to Rs. 850. Raw materials such as scent, charcoal powder, sandal wood powder, bamboo, gum, wrapping paper, which were mostly purchased from local market as well as from Bombay, accounted for more than 60 to 70 per cent. of the total cost. Rent of the premises, transport and postage accounted for the rest. One of the establishments manufactured 2,556 bundles of agarbatti and earned about Rs. 150 net income per month. The bigger shop in the sample produced 10,100 agarbatti bundles and earned about Rs. 600 net income per month. The two establishments had two male and 10 female paid employees. Males were paid Rs. 50 and females Rs. 25 per month.

The process of manufacturing agarbatti consisted of making a dough out of a mixture of charcoal powder, scent, gum, and sandal powder in suitable proportions and fasting the mixture around long thin sticks of bamboo of roughly 9" in length.

Products were directly sold to wholesale dealers. Business was more or less brisk throughout the year but sales were more from August to October than in the remaining period of the year and on the whole it was reported to be profitable.

TOP