Sasan Gir-Jaggery

We are located in Khambha-Gir, which is part of the Sutrapada taluka in Junagadh. Our mail comes through the post office in Tobra, which is a bit of a distance away. Being in the Gir region, things move at a slower pace and we are more focused on the land and the seasons. We make jaggery using what we have around here. It's a small-scale operation, very local and traditional. Most of the work is done outdoors or under basic sheds. We follow the old ways of boiling the sugarcane juice in large iron pans. It takes a lot of patience to get the thickness just right. The weather around here really dictates when we can work and when we can't. If it's too humid, the jaggery simply won't set properly in the molds. We spend a lot of time just tending to the fires and making sure they don't go out. The smoke is just part of our daily life here. Everyone in the village knows where we are and what we do. We don't have a website or any kind of marketing team. If someone wants jaggery, they just come to the site in Khambha-Gir. We store the finished blocks in a small room to keep them dry and clean. It’s a family-style environment here. The workers are all neighbors and friends. We share a lot of tea while we wait for the juice to boil down. It’s simple work but it keeps us busy most of the year when the cane is ready.