When farmers are suffering losses and labourers are without work due to drought, a group of potters are laughing all the way to the bank.
The 40 members of the Bidar potters industrial cooperative society are happy that the drought has pushed up the demand for earthen pots and pitchers.
“Our demand list has increased by at least 30 per cent,” says Dattatreya Balashetty Kumbar, president of the society who has noticed the pattern in the last two years.
The society is set up in the old home of the Kumbars. It works on the principle that potters are given work places in the house and they share profits with the society. The potters buy mud from local farmers at Rs. 2,000 per tractor. Mud from tank beds and snake pits is preferred. One tractor provides the raw material they need for 8-10 days. Around 10 artisans and 20 labourers work on this clay for a week to produce a variety of materials including pots, lamps, cups and plates. While small plates used to cover tumblers sell for Rs. 4, the roti-making tandur fetches around Rs. 1,000. “Our profit margin in small items is around 20 per cent, it is reduced to 10 -12 per cent in larger items,” Dasappa, an artisan, said.
Each potter was earning around Rs. 11,000 per month earlier. Now they are making around Rs. 15,000, he said. He hopes the income would increase further this summer.
Making pots is a laborious, time-consuming process. It starts with the potter identifying the ideal mud. He wanders around fields and tank bunds, and chooses the mud that has the least amount of small stones or organic matter. Once the mud reaches the society, they clean it by picking out small stones and removing impurities. They then trample and knead it by hand repeatedly to get it into shape. It is kept moist by wrapping it in Shavali grass. that grows on tank bunds, and wet cloth. Cylindrical mounds of clay are placed on the potter’s wheel and the wheel is turned by hand. Once it gains speed, the clay is moulded into materials of various shapes.
Kumbar’s forefathers hailed from Naubad, a village outside Bidar that has now become part of the growing city. He set up the society to help fellow potters 20 years ago. “Our ancestors have been doing this for centuries, but our children don’t want to do it any more,” he said.
‘Fridge’ and filter
Dattatreya’s father Balashetty was famous for the clay refrigerator and water filter that he made by hand. The refrigerator was a set of two cauldrons that fitted into each other. Vegetables were put inside the smaller pot and water was poured between the two pots. Evaporation caused cooling and the small pores on the lid supplied oxygen to the vegetables. “We can keep vegetables and fruits fresh for over a week,” says Mr. Dattatreya. A set of jars kept oneabove another, with the upper jar fitted with a modern ceramic candle, serves as the filter. The demand for refrigerators has declined, but water filters continue to sell. Steel filters cost around Rs. 700, but mud filters cost around Rs. 400, he said.
