India is all set to manufacture its first eco-friendly and non-toxic paint made from cow dung. The paint will be manufactured by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).
And to make it a pan-India initiative, KVIC plans to set up paint factories in villages across the country. The commission aims to establish 500 manufacturing units within the next six months with the help of prospective entrepreneurs in various villages across the country.
Termed as “Khadi Prakritik Paint” and described by KVIC as ‘India’s first cow dung paint’, the paint will possess antifungal and antibacterial properties.
KVIC announced that the paint will be cost-effective as well as odourless adding that it has been certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards. It was launched by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and MSME, Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi, last month.
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“Khadi Prakritik Paint is available in two forms—distemper paint and plastic emulsion paint. Production of Khadi Prakritik Paint is aligned with the prime minister’s vision of increasing farmers’ income,” an official statement said on January 11. Stating that the paint is priced at only Rs. 120 per litre for the distemper, and Rs. 225 per litre for the emulsion, Gadkari had said that the price is less than half of what is charged by big paint companies.
The paint will be free from heavy metals like lead, mercury, chromium, arsenic, cadmium, etc. It is expected to boost local manufacturing and create sustainable local employment through technology transfer, the commission said.
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“This technology will increase the consumption of cow dung as a raw material for eco-friendly products and will generate additional revenue to farmers and gaushalas. This is estimated to generate additional income of Rs 30,000 (approximately) per annum per animal to farmers/gaushalas,” the statement added.
On February 12, Khadi India announced on Twitter that within just one month of its launch, total of 5000 liters of the Khadi Prakritik Paint has been sold and 275 prospective entrepreneurs have registered with Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute (KNHPI) for training in making cow dung paint.
