Balaghat Villages Preserve Ancient Jaggery Tradition: Bullocks Power Kolhus for Pure Desi Gur

• In Balaghat's Kirnapur tehsil, a dozen villages still use traditional bullock-driven kolhus to extract sugarcane juice for jaggery, defying modern machinery.
• Farmers in Murkuda and other villages own their kolhus, continuing a generations-old practice of making pure, chemical-free desi jaggery.
• The process involves bullocks circling the kolhu to crush sugarcane, followed by boiling the juice for 4-5 hours to produce up to 40 kg of jaggery per batch.
• This traditional jaggery is sold in local markets and even in Gondia, Maharashtra, and parts of Chhattisgarh, fetching prices from 60 to 80 rupees per kilogram.
• The entire family participates in jaggery production, providing employment and sustaining livelihoods, with calls for a sugar mill to further benefit farmers.

Why It Matters: Balaghat villages uphold a unique, traditional bullock-powered jaggery-making process, sustaining heritage and livelihoods.