Sanket Jain

Dipanjali Singh

Editor

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When Narayan Gaikwad looks at the handful of castor plants
growing in his field, he recalls his Kolhapuri chappals – last used more than 20 years ago. “We used to oil Kolhapuri chappals [slippers] with castor oil. It helped increase its life,” says
the 77-year-old farmer, illustrating the close connect between the oil and the
footwear famous from the region. 



Castor oil has predominantly been extracted in Kolhapur district
to grease Kolhapuri chappals. This footwear, made of buffalo or cow hide, was greased to retain its softness and shape, and the preferred oil for this was from
castor plants.



Despite not being native to Kolhapur, castor (Ricinus communis) was a popular crop in
this region. This thick-stemmed plant with green leaves can be grown
all year round. India is the highest castor-producing country globally, with an
estimated production of <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/library/resource/agricultural-statistics-at-a-glance-2021/">16.51 lakh tonnes</a> of castor seed
in 2020-21. Major castor-producing states in India are Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh,
Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Rajasthan.



“Majhe vadil 96 varsh
jagle [My father lived for 96 years] – and
he planted erandi (castor) every year,” says Narayan who
continued the tradition and has planted castor in his 3.25 acre farm year after
year. He believes his
family has been growing castor for over 150 years. “We
have preserved these indigenous erandi bean-shaped
seeds. They go back at least a century,” adds Narayan, pointing to the seeds he
has wrapped safely in newspaper. “Fakt
baiko ani mi shevkin [Only my wife and I are its caretakers now].” Narayan and his wife Kusum, 66, also manually
extract oil from the castor beans they grow. Despite the proliferation of oil
mills around, they continue with the laborious manual process. “Back in the day, we used to extract oil once every
three months,” says Narayan.

“When I was a child, almost every household would grow castor
and extract the oil. But everyone here has stopped growing castor and started
cultivating sugarcane,” says Kusum, who was taught the tricks of castor oil
production by her mother-in-law. 



Till the year 2000, the Gaikwad family grew more than a hundred
castor plants on their land. This number has now decreased to
just 15 plants, and they are among the handful of farmers in Kolhapur
district’s Jambhali village still growing it. But with the decline in castor bean
production in Kolhapur, “now we can hardly extract the oil once every four
years,” she adds.



The decline in the demand of Kolhapuri chappals in recent years severely impacted castor oil production in
the region. “Kolhapuri chappals are
expensive and cost at least Rs. 2,000 now”, Narayan explains. They also weigh
almost two kilograms, and have lost their popularity among farmers.
Rubber slippers, much cheaper and lighter, are now preferred. And then, “my
sons started cultivating sugarcane on a large scale,” says Narayan, explaining
the shift away from castor on his land.



When Narayan was 10, he was first taught how to extract castor
oil. “Sweep everything and collect them,” he recalls his mother saying as she
pointed to over five kilograms of castor beans lying in their farm. The castor
plant yields beans within 3-4 months of planting, and the collected beans are
dried in the sun for three days.



The process of extracting oil from the dried beans is a
laborious one. “We smash the dried beans by treading on them with slippers.
This removes the thorny tarfal (hull)
and separates the seeds,” Narayan explains. The seeds are then baked on a chuli, a traditional stove made usually
of mud. 



Once baked, the dried
castor seeds are ready to be crushed for extraction.

Narayan would help his mother Kasabai crush castor manually on
Wednesdays. “We would work in our farm from Sunday to Tuesday and sell the
produce [like vegetables and cereal crops] from Thursday to Saturday in the
weekly markets nearby,” he recalls. “Wednesdays were the only free day.” 



Even today – more than six decades later – the Gaikwads crush
only on Wednesdays. This
October morning at Kusum’s neighbour and relative, Vandana Magdum’s house, the
two work the ukhal-musal to manually
crush the seeds. 



Ukhal – a mortar carved out of black stones
– is fitted into the floor of the hall and is 6-8 inches deep. Kusum sits on
the floor and helps lift the tall musal
made of sagwan wood, while Vandana
stands and crushes the castor seeds forcefully with it. 

“There were no mixer grinders
earlier,” says Kusum, explaining the age-old popularity of the tool. 

Thirty minutes into the
process, Kusum shows drops of castor oil forming. “Aata yacha rabda tayar hoto (A rubber-like thing will soon form),”
she explains, pointing towards the dark mix smearing her thumb. 

After two hours of pounding, Kusum collects the
mix from the ukhal in a utensil and
adds boiling water to it. At least five litres of boiling water is required for two kilograms of
crushed castor seeds, she explains. On a chuli
(stove) outdoors, the mix is further boiled. As Kusum struggles to keep her
eyes open amidst the rising smoke, “We are used to this now,” she says coughing.

As the mix begins to simmer, Kusum pulls a thread from my shirt and adds it in. “Kon bahercha aala tar tyacha chinduk gheun takaycha, nahi tar te tel
gheun jaate [If an outsider comes to your house during this process, we
pull off a thread from their cloth. Otherwise, they steal the oil],” she
explains. “It’s a superstition,&quot; Narayan is quick to add, &quot;In the old
days, it was believed that any outsider would steal the oil. That is why they
put this thread.”

Kusum stirs the concoction of
water and crushed castor seeds with a daav
(a large wooden spoon). After two hours, the oil separates and begins to float
to the top.

“We never sold the oil and
always gave it for free,” says Narayan, recalling how people from villages
neighbouring Jambhali would come to his family for castor oil. “For the past
four years, no one has come to take the oil,” Kusum says as she filters the oil
out with a sodhna (strainer).

To this day, the Gaikwads
have never considered selling castor oil for a profit. 

The yields from producing
castor are anyway negligible. “The vyaparis
(traders) from Jaysingpur town nearby buy castor beans for as low as Rs. 20-25
per kilogram,” says Kusum. In industries, castor oil is used in coatings,
lubricants, waxes and paints. It’s even used in soaps and cosmetics. 

“Now people don’t have the time to extract oil
manually. When required, they buy readymade castor oil directly from the
market,” says Kusum.

Even in these times, the
Gaikwads are keen to preserve castor’s time-tested benefits. “Dokyavar erandi thevlyavar, doka shaant
rahte [If you keep a castor leaf on your head, it helps you remain calm],”
says Narayan. “Consuming a drop of erandi
oil before breakfast kills all the jantu
[bacteria] in the stomach.” 

“A castor plant is a farmer’s
umbrella,” he adds, pointing towards the tapering ends of its glossy leaves which
help repel water. This is especially useful during the long rainy season
between April and September. “Crushed castor seeds are also great organic
fertilisers,” Narayan says. 

Despite its many traditional
uses, castor plants are fast disappearing from Kolhapur’s farms. 

The growing demand of sugarcane crops in
Kolhapur has worsened erandi’s waning
popularity. Data from the Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra,
show that sugarcane was cultivated on <a href="https://gazetteers.maharashtra.gov.in/cultural.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/KOLHAPUR/agri_sugarcane.html">48,361 acres</a> of land in Kolhapur during 1955-56. Land under
sugarcane cultivation crossed <a href="https://krishi.maharashtra.gov.in/Site/Upload/GR/THIRD%20ADVANCE%20ESTIMATES%202022-23%20DISTRICTWISE%20CROPWISE.pdf">4.3 lakh acres</a> in 2022-23.

“Even my children have not
even learned how to grow and extract castor oil,” Narayan says. “They don’t
have the time.” His sons, Maruti, 49, and Bhagat Singh, 47, are farmers and
grow several crops, including sugarcane. His daughter, Minatai, 48, is a
homemaker.

When asked about the
difficulties in extracting castor oil manually, Narayan replies, “There’s no
problem. It’s a good exercise for us.”

“I love preserving plants, so
I plant castor every year,” he states with conviction. The Gaikwads make no
monetary profit from the labour they put into growing castor. Yet, they intend
to carry their tradition forward. 

In the midst of 10-foot-tall sugarcane, Narayan
and Kusum have held on to their castor plants. This story is part of a series on rural artisans by Sanket Jain, and is supported by the Mrinalini Mukherjee Foundation.

The last drops of castor oil in Jambhali

جامبھلی میں ارنڈی کے تیل کی آخری بوندیں

ஜம்பாலியில் விளக்கெண்ணெயின் கடைசி துளிகள்

ਆਪਣੇ ਵਜੂਦ ਦੀ ਲੜਾਈ ਲੜਦੇ, ਅਰੰਡੀ ਤੇਲ ਦੇ ਅਖ਼ੀਰਲੇ ਕੁਝ ਕਤਰੇ

ଜାମ୍ଭଳିରେ ଜଡ଼ା ତେଲର ଶେଷ ବିନ୍ଦୁ

ജംഭാലിയിലെ ആവണക്കിന്റെ അവസാനതുള്ളി

ಜಾಂಭಾಳಿ ಹರಳೆಣ್ಣೆಯ ಕೊನೆಯ ಹನಿ

जांभली में अरंडी के तेल की आख़िरी बूंदें

જાંભલીમાં સૂકાઈ રહેલું એરંડિયાનું છેલ્લું ટીપું

कुसियार के समंदर मं बूंद भर अंडी के खेती

रेड़ी तेल के अंतिम बूंद जोगावे वाला एगो दंपत्ति

জাম্ভালি গাঁয়ে রেড়ির তেলের নিভে আসা কারবার

জাম্ভালিৰ শেষটোপাল এৰাগুটিৰ তেল

जांभळीच्या शतायुषी एरंडीची गोष्ट

Jambhali

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ہمارے بارے میں جانیں

پاری میں آپ کا خیرمقدم ہے

گے۔ اگر آپ کو ہمارا کام پسند ہے، تو آپ ہمارے رضاکار بن کر ہمارا تعاون کر سکتے ہیں یا ہماری مالی مدد کر سکتے ہیں، تاکہ ہم اپنا کام جاری رکھ سکیں۔

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The last drops of castor oil in Jambhali

Narayan and Kusum Gaikwad’s castor farm stands apart amidst a sea of sugarcane fields in Kolhapur district. For six decades now, they have been cultivating castor and also manually extracting oil from its seeds – a practice that has few takers today

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