Basaveshvar Jaggery Unit

Running the Basaveshvar Jaggery Unit out here in Naganoor means our lives are tied to the seasons and the crops. We are located at Plot No-21 in the Belgum district, and it’s a fairly rural setup. When the harvest starts, things get incredibly busy around here. You can hear the crushers going from a distance. We spend a lot of our time making sure the juice is boiling correctly in those large open pans. It gets very smoky and the sweet smell stays in your clothes for days. We aren't some massive factory with thousands of employees; it’s a smaller unit where everyone knows their job. Some of us focus on the firing, while others handle the molding of the blocks. It’s physical work that leaves you tired by the time evening rolls around. We’ve had this unit for a while, and the local farmers bring their cane directly to us. Sometimes the power goes out, or the weather turns wet, and we have to adjust how we work. It’s not always perfect, and the blocks don't always look identical, but that's the reality of making jaggery by hand in a place like this. We just keep the fires going and make sure the jaggery is cooled down and packed properly for transport. It’s a simple, honest way to make a living in this part of the country, just focusing on one batch of cane at a time until the season ends.