Kission Jaggery Plant

It’s a bit noisy here at the plant on Reddiyar Street. Most mornings, we start before the sun is really up because that’s when the first loads of sugarcane arrive from the local fields around Anna Valli. We set up the crushers and get the fires going under the big pans. It’s hot work, honestly. The steam fills up the shed and you can smell the sweet juice cooking from quite a distance down the road. We are just a small group of people working here, mostly local folks who know how to handle the heavy iron ladles without making a mess. Some days are longer than others, especially when the harvest is in full swing and the farmers are lining up outside No:1. We don’t have fancy machines for everything, so a lot of it is done by hand, stirring the thick syrup until it’s just right to pour into the moulds. It gets sticky, and by the end of the shift, everyone is tired and covered in dust or bits of cane fiber. We just keep things moving, making sure the blocks set properly before we stack them up for the trucks. It isn't a clean, quiet office job, but it’s what we do here in our corner of the village. We’ve been at this spot for a while now, and the neighbors are used to the smoke and the sound of the engines running all day long.