Village Profile and Directed Research

FIELD STAY (TD 609)
On
Nail Village, Almora, Uttrakhand

Submitted in partial fulfilment of requirements of the degree of Master of Technology in
Technology and Development
By
Nisha Sathish Aakansha Chavhan
(183350009) (183350018)
Under the guidance of
Prof. Amit Arora
July, 2019
Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas (CTARA) Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Report Approval for M. Tech. TD 609 Field Work
This is to certify that the report entitled ‘Nail Village Profile & Directed Research’ submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the
degree of Master of Technology in Technology and Development of the IIT Bombay, Mumbai 400 076 is a record of bonafide work carried out
by Nisha Sathish (183350009) and Aakansha Chavhan (183350018) under our supervision and guidance.
26th July, 2019
Prof. Amit Arora Prof. Satish Agnihotri

(Professor, CTARA) (Head, CTARA)
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We have utmost gratitude for the people of Nail, who have shaped this entire study into a fruitful one. Special thanks to Shantidevi
(Grassroot worker of Sanjeevani NGO) for helping us a lot for survey in the village, considering we were her responsibility, taking care
during field stay.
We thank Prof. Amit Arora for his encouraging words during times of need and for providing timely guidance. We thank Mr. Mahesh
ghugtyal Sir, Mr.Neeraj Sir and Miss Dabelina ma’am of Sanjeevani NGO and SBI gramseva who gave us guidance, support, assistance
during field stay. We thank the entire team of Sanjeevani for their support. We thank Mr. Govind singh, who always gave us his valuable
time whenever we required and helped to get information about the village. We thank Mr. Rajesingh, Mr.Balamsingh, Mr.Chandansingh.
We also thank our little friends of nail, who was there with us during a survey and helped to get more information.
We thank Mr. Manoj, Mr.Hemraj, and Mr.Girish, Mr. jeevansingh who supported and helped a lot in our directed research. We thank
our friends who were in the contact in two months of field stay. Without these people’s support, this field stay would not have been
possible. Lastly, Thank you God for this wonderful experience and it became a memorable event filled with joy, curiosity, and love for
us.
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DECLARATION
We declare that this written submission represents our ideas in our own words and where others' ideas or words have been included, we
have adequately cited and referenced the original sources. We also declare that we have adhered to all principles of academic honesty
and integrity and have not misrepresented or fabricated or falsified any idea/data/fact/source in my submission. We understand that any
violation of the above will be cause for disciplinary action by the Institute and can also evoke penal action from the sources, which have
thus not been properly cited, or from whom proper permission has not been taken when needed.
_________ _________
(Signature) (Signature)
Nisha B. satish Akanksha N. chavan
183350009 183350018
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ABSTRACT
Experience is the teacher of all things. The 9 week field stay in a village is an experiential learning process giving us an insight of the
ground reality. The study comprises of two main components i.e. village research and directed research.
The village Nail in Syaldey block, Almora district, Uttarakhand was chosen for this study, was suggested by the supporting NGO as this
village represents the typical rural setting to be studied. The objective of the village research is to understand the village ecosystem,
study and analyze the data gathered through primary and secondary data collection methods. The tools and techniques used for data
collection mainly include household surveys, Participatory rural appraisal activities, focused group discussions and interviews. The
sectorial analysis in the village research includes study of context relevant sectors like water resources and water supply, sanitation,
roads and transport, energy, infrastructure and assets and governance. The study regarding implementation of Government schemes
related to these sectors has been done. Interacting with Government officials, experienced people from the NGO helped gain a better
understanding of the situation. Apart from these techniques, informal interactions with the villagers also helped breaking the ice and
gaining insights on various factors which control village dynamics and how these factors impact the development of the village.
The directed research 1 component focuses on the study of Bio coal formation from pine needles. This study mainly includes the
torrefaction process of pine needle, finding out potential market for bio coal and sensitivity analysis. The directed research 2 component
focuses on the study of chilli value chain and examine the feasibility of various possible interventions. This study mainly includes in
depth interviews with farmers about their chilli cultivation practices. The data collected through the interviews was analyzed to study
the feasibility of different intervention in the post production process.
Throughout the 9 week stay we had a first-hand experience of this uniqueness in terms of culture, tradition, environment and humanity.
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Contents
Chapter-1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................... 23
1.1 Motivation ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 23
1.2 Objectives of the study .................................................................................................................................................................... 23
1.3 Organization of Report .................................................................................................................................................................... 24
1.4 Rationale for selecting GP: Nail...................................................................................................................................................... 25
Chapter-2 Methodology for village research: ........................................................................................................................................... 28
2.1 Data collection................................................................................................................................................................................. 28
2.2 Source of data .................................................................................................................................................................................. 28
2.2.1 Primary data ............................................................................................................................................................................. 28
2.2.2 Secondary data ......................................................................................................................................................................... 28
2.3 Sample design ................................................................................................................................................................................. 29
2.4 Data Analysis .................................................................................................................................................................................. 29
2.5 Limitations of data collection .......................................................................................................................................................... 30
2.6 Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) .............................................................................................................................................. 30
2.6.1 Resource Map .......................................................................................................................................................................... 30
2.6.2 Social Resource Map ............................................................................................................................................................... 31
2.6.3 Natural resource Map ............................................................................................................................................................... 32
2.6.4 Transect walk ........................................................................................................................................................................... 33
2.6.5 Venn diagram ........................................................................................................................................................................... 34
2.6.6 Seasonality ............................................................................................................................................................................... 35
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2.6.7 Problem Ranking ..................................................................................................................................................................... 37
2.6.8 Daily activity clock .................................................................................................................................................................. 42
2.6.9 Timeline ................................................................................................................................................................................... 44
2.6.10 Household surveys ................................................................................................................................................................. 45
2.6.11 Village Survey ....................................................................................................................................................................... 45
2.7 Secondary Data Collection .............................................................................................................................................................. 46
2.8 Summary ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 48
Chapter-3 VILLAGE PROFILE ............................................................................................................................................................... 49
3.1 Study area: ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 49
3.2 Physiography ................................................................................................................................................................................... 49
3.3 Climate ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 50
3.4 Natural resources ............................................................................................................................................................................. 50
3.5 Water resources ............................................................................................................................................................................... 51
3.6 Village profile summary.................................................................................................................................................................. 52
Chapter-4 DEMOGRAPHICS .................................................................................................................................................................. 53
4.1 Secondary Data Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................ 53
4.2 Census Data Summary .................................................................................................................................................................... 56
4.2.1 Population Profile Analysis ..................................................................................................................................................... 57
4.2.2 Literacy Profile Analysis ......................................................................................................................................................... 57
4.2.3 Working population profile analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 57
4.2.4 Sex Ratio Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................... 58
4.2.5 Cast Profile Analysis................................................................................................................................................................ 59
4.3 Data Collected from SBI Gram Seva base line survey ................................................................................................................... 60
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4.3.1 Households Profile ................................................................................................................................................................... 60
4.3.2 Population Profile .................................................................................................................................................................... 61
Chapter-5 ENERGY ................................................................................................................................................................................. 63
5.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 63
5.2 Energy Consumption ....................................................................................................................................................................... 64
5.2.1 Cooking .................................................................................................................................................................................... 65
5.2.2 Transportation .......................................................................................................................................................................... 66
5.2.3 Other Institutions ..................................................................................................................................................................... 66
5.2.4 Electricity Consumption .......................................................................................................................................................... 66
5.2.5 Energy flow diagram................................................................................................................................................................ 68
5.3 Household Survey in Summary....................................................................................................................................................... 68
5.4 Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) Scheme ......................................................................................................................... 68
5.4.1 Application Procedure ............................................................................................................................................................. 69
5.4.2 Eligibility criteria ..................................................................................................................................................................... 69
5.4.3 Survey Observation:................................................................................................................................................................. 69
Chapter-6 Sanitation ................................................................................................................................................................................. 71
6.1 Availability of toilets ....................................................................................................................................................................... 71
6.1.1 Swachh Bharat Mission ........................................................................................................................................................... 71
6.1.2 Insentive under scheme ............................................................................................................................................................ 71
6.1.3 Selection of eligible household ................................................................................................................................................ 71
6.1.4 Pre-Requisites for filling up IHHL Application ...................................................................................................................... 72
6.2 Tap toilet availability ...................................................................................................................................................................... 72
6.3 Solid waste management ................................................................................................................................................................. 73
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6.4 Drainage system .............................................................................................................................................................................. 73
Chapter-7 Roads and Transport ................................................................................................................................................................ 75
7.1 Roads ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 75
7.2 Transport ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 76
Chapter-8 Infrastructure and Assets.......................................................................................................................................................... 77
Chapter-9 Governance .............................................................................................................................................................................. 80
9.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 80
9.2 GP body ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 80
Chapter-10 WATER RESOURCE AND WATER SUPPLY ................................................................................................................... 85
Chapter-11 OUR EXPERIENCES ........................................................................................................................................................... 87
11.1 Akanksha N. Chavan ..................................................................................................................................................................... 87
11.2 Nisha Sathish ................................................................................................................................................................................. 88
Chapter-12 DR-1: Tapping value-chain of Chilies ................................................................................................................................... 90
12.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................... 90
12.2 Objectives ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 91
12.3 Methodology ................................................................................................................................................................................. 92
12.4 Sampling........................................................................................................................................................................................ 92
12.5 Chilli Activity Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................. 92
12.5.1 Pre-production phase ............................................................................................................................................................. 92
12.5.2 Production phase .................................................................................................................................................................... 93
12.5.3 Post production phase ............................................................................................................................................................ 94
12.6 SWOT Analysis............................................................................................................................................................................. 97
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12.6.1 SWOT Analysis of Pre-production stage ............................................................................................................................... 97
12.6.2 SWOT analysis of Farming (Production) .............................................................................................................................. 98
12.6.3 SWOT analysis of Post Production........................................................................................................................................ 99
12.7 Market Analysis .......................................................................................................................................................................... 101
12.8 Supply Chain Management ......................................................................................................................................................... 103
12.9 Production Cost of Dry yellow Chilli ......................................................................................................................................... 103
12.9.1 Production Cost (Rs/kg) ....................................................................................................................................................... 103
12.9.2 Production cost (Rs/acre) ..................................................................................................................................................... 106
12.10 Value Analysis .......................................................................................................................................................................... 108
12.11 Technological Interventions ...................................................................................................................................................... 111
12.11.1 Dryer: ................................................................................................................................................................................. 111
12.12 Sensitivity Analysis: .................................................................................................................................................................. 122
Chapter-13 Directed Research: Bio coal formation from pine needles .................................................................................................. 125
13.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................. 125
13.2 Rationale of DR ........................................................................................................................................................................... 126
13.3 Possible solution for livelihood crisis ......................................................................................................................................... 127
13.4 Condition of fuel usage in the Nail village ................................................................................................................................. 128
13.5 Health issues in the women by using chulha............................................................................................................................... 129
13.6 Torrefaction process .................................................................................................................................................................... 130
13.6.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................................... 130
13.6.2 Operations in the torrefaction process ................................................................................................................................. 131
13.7 Checking for the feasibility of DR .............................................................................................................................................. 132
13.7.1 Daily activity clock of women ............................................................................................................................................. 132
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13.7.2 Checking for the response about pine needle collection ...................................................................................................... 132
13.7.3 Road transport map of the uttarakhand ................................................................................................................................ 132
13.7.4 Industrial map of Uttarakhand ............................................................................................................................................. 134
13.7.5 Market Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................... 135
13.7.6 Forest department................................................................................................................................................................. 141
13.8 Basic information about DR........................................................................................................................................................ 148
13.8.1 Objectives ............................................................................................................................................................................ 148
13.8.2 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................................................ 148
13.8.3 Sampling .............................................................................................................................................................................. 148
13.8.4 Properties of the pine needles .............................................................................................................................................. 149
13.8.5 Techno economic analysis ................................................................................................................................................... 149
13.8.6 Household Analysis ............................................................................................................................................................. 150
13.8.7 Critique ................................................................................................................................................................................ 152
13.8.8 Interviews of the people for checking acceptability of bio coal in households ................................................................... 153
13.8.9 Hotel Analysis (For eateries) .............................................................................................................................................. 153
13.8.10 For big hotels ..................................................................................................................................................................... 157
13.8.11 Bakery analysis .................................................................................................................................................................. 159
13.9 SWOT analysis ............................................................................................................................................................................ 162
13.9.1 Strengths .............................................................................................................................................................................. 162
13.9.2 Weaknesses .......................................................................................................................................................................... 164
13.9.3 Opportunities........................................................................................................................................................................ 164
13.9.4 Threats.................................................................................................................................................................................. 165
13.10 Experimental setup and analysis ............................................................................................................................................... 168
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13.10.1 Case 1 ................................................................................................................................................................................. 173
13.10.2 Case 2 ................................................................................................................................................................................. 175
13.11 Village potential of having bio coal plant (Integrated model for 4 villages) ............................................................................ 177
13.11.1 Case 1 ................................................................................................................................................................................. 179
13.11.2 Case 2 ................................................................................................................................................................................. 181
13.12 Business plan diagram ............................................................................................................................................................... 184
13.13 Future Scope and Challenges in the projects- ........................................................................................................................... 187
13.13.1 Future scope ....................................................................................................................................................................... 187
13.13.2 Ropeway system ................................................................................................................................................................ 187
13.13.3 Need of devices that can be used to reduce women’s drudgery ........................................................................................ 187
Chapter-14 Integrated Model: ................................................................................................................................................................. 188
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List of Figures
Figure 2.1Representation of GP Nail ........................................................................................................................................................ 29

Figure 2.2 Social Resource Map ............................................................................................................................................................... 31
Figure 2.3 Natural Resource Map ............................................................................................................................................................. 32
Figure 2.4 Ttransect Walk......................................................................................................................................................................... 33
Figure 2.5 Venn Diagram ......................................................................................................................................................................... 35
Figure 2.6 Seasonality............................................................................................................................................................................... 36
Figure 2.7 Problem ranking of NaIL......................................................................................................................................................... 38
Figure 3.1 District map of Almora ............................................................................................................................................................ 49
Figure 4.1 Population profile analysis ...................................................................................................................................................... 57
Figure 4.2 Literacy rate analysis ............................................................................................................................................................... 57
Figure 4.3 Caste profile analysis ............................................................................................................................................................... 59
Figure 4.4 Household profile analysis ...................................................................................................................................................... 60
Figure 4.5 Population profile .................................................................................................................................................................... 61
Figure 4.6 Village wise sex ratio .............................................................................................................................................................. 62
Figure 5.1 Percentage households for various household amenities used ................................................................................................ 65
Figure 5.2 Fuel usage pattern .................................................................................................................................................................... 66
Figure 5.3 Energy flow diagram ............................................................................................................................................................... 68
Figure 5.4 Ujjwala yojana beneficiaries ................................................................................................................................................... 70
Figure 6.1 Division of toilets on the basis of availability of toilet ........................................................................................................... 73
Figure 7.1 Nail village boundaries ............................................................................................................................................................ 76
Figure 8.1 Types of houses in nail village ................................................................................................................................................ 77
Figure 9.1 Village governance hierarchy .................................................................................................................................................. 82
Figure 9.2 Block governance hierarchy .................................................................................................................................................... 83
Figure 9.3 District governance hierarchy.................................................................................................................................................. 83
Figure 9.4 District governance hierarchy.................................................................................................................................................. 83
Figure 9.5 State governance hierarchy...................................................................................................................................................... 83
Figure 9.6 Panchayat governance hierarchy ............................................................................................................................................. 84
Figure 10.1 Mapping of tap connections in the Nail village..................................................................................................................... 86
Figure 12.1 Color % of Chilli in Uttrakhand ............................................................................................................................................ 90
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Figure 12.2 Pungency % of chilli in Uttrakhand ...................................................................................................................................... 91
Figure 12.3 Lakhouri chilli ....................................................................................................................................................................... 91
Figure 12.4 Loss % break-up .................................................................................................................................................................... 95
Figure 12.5 Chilli phase analysis .............................................................................................................................................................. 96
Figure 12.6 Supply chain analysis .......................................................................................................................................................... 102
Figure 12.7 Box-plot of Yieldper acre .................................................................................................................................................... 105
Figure 12.8 Production cost break-up ..................................................................................................................................................... 108
Figure 12.9 Value chain analysis ............................................................................................................................................................ 109
Figure 13.1 pine tree forest ..................................................................................................................................................................... 125
Figure 13.2 village activities overview ................................................................................................................................................... 127
Figure 13.3 Pattern of fuel usage in the village ...................................................................................................................................... 128
Figure 13.4 Livelihood problem ............................................................................................................................................................. 129
Figure 13.5 Various pyroliysis processes ............................................................................................................................................... 130
Figure 13.6 operations in torrefaction process ........................................................................................................................................ 131
Figure 13.7 Road connectivity of uttarakhand ........................................................................................................................................ 133
Figure 13.8 Industrial map of uttarakhand .............................................................................................................................................. 134
Figure.13.9 Forest department hierarchy ................................................................................................................................................ 142
Figure.13.10 subsidies given for MSM................................................................................................................................................... 148
Figure.13.11 Bio coal formtion unit ....................................................................................................................................................... 168
Figure.13.12 Bio coal formation process ................................................................................................................................................ 169
Figure.13.13 Bio coal from pine needles ................................................................................................................................................ 170
Figure.13.14 Bio coal burning ................................................................................................................................................................ 171
Figure.13.15 Business design framework ............................................................................................................................................... 186
Figure 14.1 Mass flow diagram of integrated model .............................................................................................................................. 195
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Table 1.1 Field stay planning on weekly basis ......................................................................................................................................... 27
Table 2.1 Seasonality Diagram ................................................................................................................................................................. 36
Table 2.2 Problem ranking of Nail ........................................................................................................................................................... 37
Table 2.3 Problem ranking of Thadidar .................................................................................................................................................... 38
Table 2.4 Problem ranking of Jairaj .......................................................................................................................................................... 40
Table 2.5 Problem ranking of men ........................................................................................................................................................... 41
Table 2.6 Daily activity clock of women without livestock ..................................................................................................................... 42
Table 2.7 Timeline of women with livestock ........................................................................................................................................... 43
Table 2.8 Timeline of nail village ............................................................................................................................................................. 44
Table 2.9 Institutes covered in secondary data collection ........................................................................................................................ 47
Table 3.1 Area under different land use.................................................................................................................................................... 51
Table 3.2 Village profile summary ........................................................................................................................................................... 52
Table 4.1 Census data reflections ............................................................................................................................................................. 53
Table 4.2 Working population analysis .................................................................................................................................................... 58
Table 4.3 Sex ratio analysis ...................................................................................................................................................................... 58
Table 4.4 Number of households 60
Table 4.5 Population profile ..................................................................................................................................................................... 61
Table 5.1 Electricity consumption of households ..................................................................................................................................... 67
Table 7.1 Road characteristics .................................................................................................................................................................. 75
Table 8.1 Public infrastructure in nail village ........................................................................................................................................... 78
Table 9.1 Nail GP body ............................................................................................................................................................................ 80
Table 10.1 Village wise number of springs .............................................................................................................................................. 85
Table 12.1 Fertiliser usage information .................................................................................................................................................... 94
Table 12.2 Yield of villages .................................................................................................................................................................... 106
Table 12.3 Change in weight of chilli at different stages ....................................................................................................................... 110
Table 12.4 Solar dryer product details .................................................................................................................................................... 112
Table 12.5 Solar dryer capacity and cost Calculation............................................................................................................................. 113
Table 12.6 Electric Dryer Specification.................................................................................................................................................. 115
Table 12.7 Final Moisture content calculation ....................................................................................................................................... 116
Table 12.8 Investment cost for electric dryer: ........................................................................................................................................ 117
Table 12.9 Investment cost for drying and processing unit with considering land investment .............................................................. 119
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Table 12.10 Investment cost for drying and processing unit without considering land investment ....................................................... 120
Table 12.11 Processing cost in Rs/quintal of Yellow chilli .................................................................................................................... 120
Table 12.12 Returns from processing of chilli........................................................................................................................................ 122
Table 13.1 Industry division of almora ................................................................................................................................................... 135
Table 13.2detailed industrial division of almora .................................................................................................................................... 135
Table.13.3 Market for bio coal in almora ............................................................................................................................................... 135
Table.13.4 Industrial division in nainital ................................................................................................................................................ 136
Table.13.5 detailed industrial division in nainital ................................................................................................................................... 136
Table.13.6 market for bio coal in nainital ............................................................................................................................................... 137
Table.13.7 Industrial division of bageshwar ........................................................................................................................................... 138
Table.13.8 Detailed industrial division of bageshwar ............................................................................................................................ 138
Table.13.9 Market of bio coal in bageshwar........................................................................................................................................... 138
Table.13.10 Market divison in chamoli ................................................................................................................................................. 139
Table.13.11 Detailed market division in chamoli ................................................................................................................................... 139
Table.13.12 market of bio coal in chamoli ............................................................................................................................................. 139
Table.13.13 Maarket division in pauri .................................................................................................................................................... 140
Table.13.14 Detailed market division in pauri........................................................................................................................................ 140
Table.13.15 market of bio coal in pauri .................................................................................................................................................. 141
Table.13.16 Category of industry division ............................................................................................................................................. 145
Table.13.17 Properties of pine needles ................................................................................................................................................... 149
Table.13.18 For bio coal price 10 Rs./ kg ............................................................................................................................................... 160
Table.13.21 SWOT analysis ................................................................................................................................................................... 167
Table.13.22 Cost analysis of cost from march to june for nail GP model .............................................................................................. 172
Table.13.23 Cost analysis of cost from november to February for nail GP model ................................................................................ 172
Table.13.24 Detailed cost of plant for nail GP model case 1 ................................................................................................................. 173
Table.13.25 Detailed cost of plant for nail GP model case 2 ................................................................................................................. 175
Table.13.26 Cost analysis of cost from march to june for integrated villages model............................................................................. 178
Table.13.27 Cost analysis of cost from november to February for integrated villages model ............................................................... 178
Table.13.28 Detailed cost of plant for integrated GP model case 1 ....................................................................................................... 179
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Table.13.29 Detailed cost of plant for integrated GP model case 2 ....................................................................................................... 182
Table 14.1 Design requirements ............................................................................................................................................................. 189
Table 14.2 Calculations to determine the heat required to raise the temperature of material ................................................................ 190
Table 14.3 Calculations to determine the energy required evaporate water ........................................................................................... 190
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Chapter-1 INTRODUCTION
1.1Motivation
“The soul of India lives in its villages”-declared Mahatma Gandhi. Development of villages is an essential precondition to the
development of our nation. To be a successful development professional and to come up with novel ideas with great potential to impact
the life in villages, technological interventions at grass-root level are essential. The curriculum orientation of field stay is an imperative
stipulation. The course- TD 609 provides a convenient entry point for ‘understanding’ the ‘real’ India- its social and political
organization and cultural life. It gives an opportunity to develop a true understanding of rural India, to step into the shoes of a rural
resident and know the world from their perspective, reflecting upon the same. The basic objective of 9-week summer field stay is to
sensitize the students of all dimensions of the world so that each new perspective can be explored.
1.2Objectives of the study

Our 9-week field stay was at the village called Nail in the district of Almora, Uttarakhand, supported by a SBI CSR unit- SBI Gram
Seva and NGO- Sanjeevani Evam Vikas Jan Kalyan Samiti. The primary purpose of field stay was to closely observe the life of village
(a representation of microcosm of Indian villages) and to fathom the actuality as it is without any pre-conceived notions and look for
appropriately relevant and effective interventions.
Objectives:
To get insight of socio-economic, political and cultural realities of rural life,
To understand the dynamics of various institutions,
To apprehend the dynamics of social structure, infrastructure, resources, organization and other various interventions and schemes, its
implementation, magnitude of discrimination and functioning,
To blend classroom learning and expertise with field level experience,

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To conduct a DR according to the demands and requirements of the local geography, lifestyle and livelihood so as to fortify the
development of village.
In order to gain a holistic understanding of the village, the following sectors have been studied:
1. Village profile
2. Demographics
3. Roads and Public Transport
4. Water resources and Water supply
5. Sanitation and Municipal Solid Waste Management
6. Energy
7. Governance
8. Public infrastructure
The detailed and in-depth analysis of the above sectors have been carried out.
1.3 Organization of Report

The entire report is divided into 13 chapters which have summarized below:
Chapters 1& 2 provides a brief background, including objectives, rationale behind selection of the villages for study and the
methodology adopted for the entire study.
Chapters 3 to 10 elaborates further on the methodology and findings associated with each of the sectors mentioned above. It also
discusses schemes associated with a few sectors.
Chapter 11 here we share our personal experiences which was the first of its kind for us and our learnings through this experience.
24
Chapter 12 covers in detail the topic for Directed research – tapping the value chain of Chilli production through technical intervention.
Chapter 13 covers in detail the topic for Directed research – Bio coal formation from pine needles.
Chapter 14 briefly demonstrates the integrated model of DR1 and DR2 along with the merits and demerits.
The Appendices towards the end of the document provides additional information to support the chapters mentioned above.
1.4Rationale for selecting GP: Nail

The rationale for selecting the village Nail (GP) for our field stay has been elaborated below:
Rationale 1: State Bank of India has established SBI foundation for its CSR initiatives in 6 States in India and Uttarakhand is one of
them. The Gram Panchayat Nail of Syaldey Block, Amora District has been selected in Uttarakhand. This has been done in association
with Nongovernmental organization named Sanjeevini Vikas Evam Jan Kalyan Samiti. We worked with the guidance of SBI Gram Seva
and Ngo Sanjeevini in a conducive environment provided by them.
Rationale 2: The gram panchayat Nail has five villages under it (presented in later part of the report) and located at different altitudes.
Due to the location, infrastructures, social problems and its dynamics have discernible differences. To observe and notice these existing
contrasts within a single gram panchayat is rare and thus we selected this village.
Rationale 3: Gram Panchayat Nail has many pronounce problems like migration, unemployment, critical water stress due to the
topography, remoteness of the location and more reasons. Hence to explore the livelihood opportunities in the village, with SBI and
Sanjeevini assisting us, we decided to choose this village for our TD 609 field stay.
Field stay planning
25
Planning of all the activities to be conducted during the 9-week field stay was necessary to ensure that all the objectives of the field stay
are met. The schedule prepared did undergo minor changes while on field. The basic schedule was prepared considering following
points:
• PRA was critical aspect of our study. To ensure its success, it was very important that we developed close rapport with the villagers
and get them involved in the whole process. This also had to be completed before monsoon – because we needed a large dry area to
prepare the resource map.
• Since our DRs was based on the primary data collection from village. Hence, we added our DR questions in household survey. we
planned to complete VR in the first month of our stay and DR in the second month of the stay. Taking into consideration the above,
Table represents a week-wise plan of the activities conducted during field stay.
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Table 1.1 Field stay planning on weekly basis
Timeline
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 10
Activities
Preparation
Acquaintances
Secondary data collection
Primary data collection
Questionnaire refinement
Interviews
Directed research
Data analysis
Report writing
27
Chapter-2 Methodology for village research:
This chapter essentially covers the methodology adopted for collecting primary data and secondary data for village research. We used
both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Qualitative methods included interviews and discussions with all stakeholders,
informal talks and PRA tools. Primary data was collected through household surveys. The methodology for directed research will be
discussed in the chapter of directed research.
2.1Data collection
The data of demographics, social structure, village organization, infrastructure facilities, people and institutions, issues of development
have been collected. Both qualitative and quantitative data has been collected using the suitable research methodologies like structure,
unstructured interviews, discussions and informal talks, FGDs, PRA tools and activities, household surveys and observation. The
methodology for directed research will be discussed in the chapter of directed research, separately.
2.2Source of data
The necessary and required data has been collected from primary and secondary source as well.
2.2.1Primary data
Village Household Survey, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) exercise, Focused group discussions, informal interviews, Mahila
Mangaldal meetings, non-participatory observation, Gram committee meeting and Household Survey (using a standard format of pre-
prepared set of questionnaires) fundamentally formed the basis of Primary Data Collection. During this process, we also got to know
the various sources from which data needed to be collected. Each of these methods is described in the below section:
2.2.2Secondary data
The secondary data has been collected from Gram panchayat, sarpanch, Patwari, NGO, hospital, ANM, Tehsil office, BDO, Anganwadi
and primary school.
28
2.3Sample design
For questionnaire survey systematic sampling has been done. We have adopted the method of cluster sampling. The structure of Gram
Panchayat Nail is represented in the figure XX:
Efforts were made to collect data from every hamlet of each village. Thus, we have considered 50% of Households in every habitat and
have also taken care to cover at least 50% of all the caste and economic group i.e., SCs, STs and Open.
Figure 2.1Representation of GP Nail
2.4Data Analysis
Statistical tools like Minitab has been used for the representation and comparison of data, averages, percentages, boxplots etc., have
been used to analyze the data collected and the same has been represented using various graphs and tables.
29
2.5Limitations of data collection
For the primary data collection, we have purely relied on the information given by the people.
Many of the information given are approximate figures.
The most of the interviewees are women, therefore there was not much of diversity in the gender and age group of the interviewees.
Each of these data collection methods has been described in detail below.
2.6Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)

PRA is a proven scientific approach to understand the village dynamics, identify and analyze problems/issues within a village eco-
system and formulate solutions. All of the above is done with the participation of villagers, which in turn helps complete the process in
a relatively short span of time. It also leverages several tools to extract information and build rapport with the residents. Some of the
tools leveraged include Resource Map, Transect Walk, Social Map, Venn diagram, Time-Line, Seasonality and Problem ranking.
2.6.1Resource Map
The Village Resource Map is a tool that helps us to learn about a community and its resource base. The primary concern is not to develop
an accurate map but to get useful information about local perceptions of resources. The objective is to learn the villagers' perception of
what natural resources are found in the community and how they are used. The process also helps the villagers to share their knowledge
regarding the village resources to the other people in the village itself. Our resource and social resource mapping were done in an open
space near the CIC common information center situated at higher elevation in the village after a Mahila Mangal Dal meeting using
colored chalk, stones, gravels and leaves on kuccha tiled floor. Hence it was done only by the women of all age groups. The social
resource mapping and natural resource mapping was done on the same map one after another. They were later reproduced separately as
natural resource map and social resource map. Figure below depicts villagers after completing resource mapping activity.
30
2.6.2Social Resource Map
This Tool is used to facilitate the process of mapping the social physical situation of a village by the villagers. It is useful to learn about
the social institutions and the different views local people might have regarding those institutions, settlements of people etc. The features
identified in the social resource map are pucca roads, kuccha roads, taps, houses, mandir, hospital, other public structures like primary
and secondary school etc, shops and the surrounding villages.
Figure 2.2 Social Resource Map
31
The village is situated just beside the road and the residential plot contributes to only a part of it whereas the agricultural lands take up
the major share. There are majorly three divisions in caste being Schedule caste, Pandits and Kshatriyas. There are only 4 Harijan houses
and are situated together in a row. The village also has a large number of temples. The village has only one pucca road and all other
internal roads are kuccha roads.
2.6.3Natural resource Map

Resource map is an illustration of the various natural features of the region. The natural features shown in the map are agricultural fields,
mountains, forest, canal, springs and roads by default.
Figure 2.3 Natural Resource Map
32
It can be observed that the village is surrounded by agricultural fields on all the sides. There are majorly two springs which is the only
source of water but are perennial and the water is available throughout the year. The forests around consists only of pine trees and no
other major forest vegetation found. There trees over the years have moved and now can be found in the agricultural lands as well due
to which a major part of the lands have been abandoned or used as grazing lands. The lands are purely rainfed and not irrigated. Figure
XX shows the natural resource map of the village.
2.6.4Transect walk
A walk by the facilitators along with few villagers around the area on a predetermined path that representatively covers all types of
resources of the village. We focused on soil, water, forest, agriculture, and land use patterns. We conducted a transect walk with grassroot
worker of Nail. The transect walk in the north to south direction with its total length being 2.kms. The whole region is located on the
hilly slopes. The farmers face problems due to wild animals and monkeys which either eat away their produce or spoil the crop
Figure 2.4 Ttransect Walk

33
During our walk through the habitation of the village it was observed that there is poor sanitation in the village. All plastic garbage is
found on sides of the sides of the roads. A total of 16 solar powered street lights are present which was installed by SBI gram Seva. We
have also made an attempt to identify difficulties faced in different areas and the potential in each zone of the transect walk. Figure XX
represents our transect walk and the observation for each zone covered during the walk.
2.6.5Venn diagram
The primary purpose of Venn diagram, also known as chapatti diagram is to understand the various institutions in and around the village.
The Venn diagram depicts the importance and priorities of various institution to the villagers and also the linkages between the
institutions and the village. The following figure depicts the Venn diagram constructed after having discussions with villagers.
Figure 2.4 depicts Venn diagram for Nail Village, orange circle denotes the village while all other circles denote different institutions
associated with the village. The institutions which involves the villagers are shown inside the village circle whereas institutions involving
other people are shown outside the village circle. This size of the circle denotes the importance of the institution to the villagers while
the distance from the village circle denotes the priority. The nearer the circle to the village circle higher is its priority. The solid arrows
indicate direct interaction of villager with the institution while the dashed arrow indicates indirect relationship.
34
Figure 2.5 Venn Diagram
2.6.6Seasonality
The seasonality calendar represents major seasonal trends through festivals, agricultural activities, disease occurrence and other
parameters. This activity was conducted with the
villagers actively involved in agriculture. It is observed that major cropping is in rainy season only due to water scarcity. Major
expenditure is in April and November because of the festivals. Majority of crops cultivated are Chili, Wheat, Ragi, Paddy crops while
vegetables are cultivated for self-consumption. There is no availability of water for farming purpose, hence there is a potential to do
provision of farm ponds in farm area. The table represents the seasonality chart for Nail village. The symbols in the chart are only a
qualitative depiction of a particular instance and does not correspond to any quantification.
35
Table 2.1 Seasonality Diagram
Figure 2.6 Seasonality
Rainfall Crops and Water Income Expenditure Festivals Animal Disease Less Drinking
agricultural availability Agri. Agri. Forage work Water
January masur, mutter, Makar fever, ||||
activities Availability
potato, Wheat, sankranti cold
February Onion weeding, Vasant fever, ||||
onion weeding.
mutter and potato panchami cold
March chili holi fever, |||
weeding
sowing, cold
April Chili weeding, Phulsagyan, fever |||
Vegetable
harvesting of rabi phuldevi,
May Weedingof Ragi,
Sowing phode ||
crops marriages
Paddy, Corn.
June sowing of vomiting ||
Weeding of chili
coriander,
July Weeding of harela Cold,
Weeding of
Paddy and Ragi fever
August Paddyharvesting
Chili and Ragi ghansyan \\\\\ Cold,
fever
September Harvesting of panchami \\\\\ Cold,
fodder, Ragi and fever
October Harvesting of \\\\
paddy
fodder and chili
November Harvesting of diwali \\\
fodder
December Sowing of potato,
onion, wheat,
sarso, masur,
mutter
36
Figure 2.2 Seasonality diagram
2.6.7Problem Ranking
Problem ranking exercise helps in identifying the problems faced by the villagers and prioritizing them. We conducted focused group
discussions with the women in the Nail, Thadidhar and Jairaj to identify the problems faced by them.
Amongst these three, Nail and Jairaj has road while Thadidhar don’t have road. Also, Thadidhar and Jairaj are at higher altitude, while
nail is at lower. Then individual rankings for the problems listed down were taken from each of the participants.
2.6.7.1Women FGD (Nail village)

The Table in the previous page represents the results obtained from the problem ranking exercise. The least number denotes the most
severe problem. It was observed that major problem is related to harm for the crops by wild animals. Another high priority problem of
women in nail village is there are no employment opportunities. The third high priority problem is that there is unavailability of hospital
in the village. There is no proper education facilities after 10 th
for the children. And people don’t have enough money to send their
children to other villages or cities. Liquor consumption by men is also a fifth severe problem in the village.
Table 2.2 Problem ranking of Nail
Water Hospital
Respondent’s Wild Pine Employme
unavailabil Unavailabi Education Road Liquor Firewood
name animal tree nt
ity lity
Urmiladevi 2 7 3 6 4 8 1 5 9
Laxmidevi 1 7 5 4 2 8 3 6 9
Kantadevi 2 4 5 3 6 8 1 7 9
37
Sheeladevi
Figure 2 of NaIL
2.7 Problem ranking 6 5 7 4 8 3 1 9
Jyoti 7 6 3 9 8 4 5 1 2
Maya 3 7 2 6 1 9 4 5 8
Shantidevi 3 7 2 4 1 9 5 6 8
TOTAL 20 44 25 39 26 54 22 31 54
2.6.7.2Women FGD (Thadidhar village)

Table represents the results obtained from the problem ranking exercise. The least number denotes the most severe problem. It was
observed that major problem is related to harm for the crops by wild animals. Another high priority problem of women in Thadidhar
village is there are no employment opportunities. The third high priority problem is that there is Liquor consumption by men. The
problem at fourth number is that there is no road availability to the village. There are no proper hospital facilities
Table 2.3 Problem ranking of Thadidar
Respondent’s Road Wild animals Grocery doctor Employment Education Pine Liquor
name shop
Prabhadevi 2 1 7 5 3 4 8 6
Bhavlidevi 3 1 8 7 4 5 6 2
Gangadevi 7 5 6 1 2 3 8 4
38
Nemadevi 4 1 8 6 2 3 7 6
6 1 7 4 2 5 8 3
Radhika 8 1 7 4 6 5 2 3
Perulicdevi 3 1 8 4 5 6 7 2
Shantidevi 2 1 4 6 5 7 8 3
Nandidevi 1 3 8 2 5 4 7 6
TOTAL 36 15 58 39 33 42 61 35
Table 2.2 Women FGD of Thadidar
2.6.7.3Women FGD (Jairaj village)

Table represents the results obtained from the problem ranking exercise. The least number denotes the most severe problem. It was
observed that major problem is related to water. Another high priority problem of women in Jairaj village is that there are no proper
education facilities after 10 th for the children. And many people have migrated to the cities because of their children’s’ education. The
third high priority problem is related to harm for the crops by wild animals. also, there is no employment in the village. And there are
poor health facilities in the village.
39
Table 2.4 Problem ranking of Jairaj
Respondent’s Water Employment Education Road Hospital Market Wild animals Pine
name
Meena 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Govindidevi 1 5 4 2 6 8 3 7
Umadevi 1 7 5 6 4 8 2 3
Ganeshidevi 1 6 5 8 4 7 3 2
Liladevi 1 5 3 8 4 6 2 7
Deepadevi 1 6 2 8 3 7 5 4
Deepadev 1 2 3 8 4 7 6 5
Mandlidevi 1 4 5 2 7 6 3 8
TOTAL 8 37 30 46 37 55 31 44
40
2.6.7.4 Men FGD ( All villages)
Table 2.5 Problem ranking of men
Respondent Water Road Employment Wild Rashan Migration hosital Education Pine tree Liquor
name animals
Sundar 9 5 1 3 6 7 8 10 4 2
singh
Amasingh 1 2 4 3 5 7 6 8 9 10
Mohan 6 4 8 5 1 2 3 7 9 10
singh
Parvesh 3 9 2 4 1 6 5 8 7 10
singh
Kundan 7 8 2 3 9 6 1 4 10 5
singh
Mahendar 2 3 1 4 7 8 5 6 9 10
singh
Daulat 5 10 4 2 8 1 3 9 7 6
singh
Pandit Ji 7 8 1 4 6 9 3 2 5 10
TOTAL 40 49 23 28 43 46 34 54 60 63
41
The Table in the previous page represents the results obtained from the problem ranking exercise. The least number denotes the most
severe problem. We did the FGD of men from different villages of nail gram Panchayat including nail, mallibakli, thadidhar, jairaj and
gagnaula. It was observed that the problems of men are different from the problems of women. The major problem is related to
unemployment in the village. Another high priority problem of men in nail gram panchayat is harm for the crops by wild animals .The
third high priority problem is that there is unavailability of hospital in the village. There is no proper management of water in the village
for agriculture. And people said that PDS is not working well in the village. Liquor consumption is a least priority problem according
to men
2.6.8Daily activity clock

Daily Activity Clocks illustrate all of the different kinds of activities carried out in one day. Focus group discussion was taken place
with ladies in the village. Some women go in cluster for bringing firewood and grass from forest. There are two daily activity clock of
women. The daily activity clock of women with livestock is different from the daily activity clock of women with livestock.
Women daily avctivity clock ( those who don’t have livestock)
Table 2.6 Daily activity clock of women without livestock

Time of day Activity
6 Wake up
6.15- 8.00 Brush, bath, toilet, house cleaning
8.00- 8.30 Breakfast
9.00- 11.00 Farm work + firewood collection
11.00- 12.00 Lunch making
12.00- 13.30 Cloth washing + household chores
13.30- 14.30 Lunch
14.30- 16.00 Rest
42
16.00- 17.00 Tea+ small chores
17.00- 18.30 Farm work+ firewood collection
19.00- 20.00 Dinner making
20.00- 21.00 Dinner
21.00- 22.00 Washing of utensils, preparation for sleep
22.00 Sleep
Women daily avctivity clock ( those who have livestock)
Table 2.7 Timeline of women with livestock

Time of day Activity
4.30 Wake up
4.30-6.00 Brush, bath, toilet, house cleaning
6.00-7.00 Breakfast making and breakfast
7.00- 11.00 Grass cutting from forest
11.00-12.00 Lunch making
12.00-13.30 Cloth washing + household chores
13.30-14.30 Lunch
14.30-15.30 Rest
15.30-16.00 Tea
16.00-19.00 Grass cutting from forest
20.00- 21.00 Dinner
21.00- 22.00 Washing of utensils, preparation for sleep
43
22.00 Sleep
The women having livestock has more work than women not having livestock.
2.6.9Timeline
The objective of this exercise is to gain an idea of historical and repetitive events in the village. In addition, it also provides the socio-
economic status of the village – in terms of development/progressive activities happening in the village. This information was gathered
through discussions with elderly people in the village. Table shows the timeline of village Nail
Table 2.8 Timeline of nail village

Year Event
1960 Gram Panchayat formed
1980 Internal road in the village
1982 Primary school was built
1885 Secondary school was built
1985 First grocery shop in village
1993 Pakka road in the village
2000 Pine tree started increasing in forest
2004 Village electrified
44
2004 First motorcycle in the village
2010 Wild animals problem has stated
2011 Rain water harvesting scheme in the village
2013 Anganwadi was built
2013 Panchayat office was built
2014 11th , 12th college
2019 First community information center started
2.6.10Household surveys
For household’s surveys we covered all the different social and economic groups present in the village. We did the survey of 85
households in the prescribed format by the department. Adequate care was taken to ensure the sample size and scope was appropriate
and representative of the whole village.
2.6.11Village Survey
This section primarily covers the methodology followed to collect village level data.
Roads & Public Transport Survey- Information regarding this sector was collected mostly from observations and informal talks with
villagers.
Sanitation- Information pertaining to Sanitation was obtained through visual observation, Social Map activity, Household Survey
Analysis and studying of various schemes that make sanitation a priority and funds it. The Household Survey covered questions related
45
to Toilet facilities, Water Disposal and Garbage disposal mechanisms – responses to these questions gave us deep insight on the
sanitation facilities available in the village.
Energy- Information associated with Energy was mainly obtained through Household Survey – as a result of interviews with residents.
In addition, we also had interactions with officials from various institutions (Gram Panchayat, Schools etc.). We also visually observed
the different sources of energy (Street lights, Solar panels, household appliances etc.).
Infrastructure and Assets- Infrastructure is an important parameter to measure the level of economic development of a village. It plays
a vital role in the socio-economic upliftment of the residents. And we found tat the infrastructure and assets are different for different
villages.
Governance: This sector includes information about the current Gram Panchayat body in the village, how it was elected and the roles
and responsibilities of different position holders. Information pertaining to this was collected through group discussion with different
people.
Water Resources & Water Supply: As before, most of the information collected on Water Resources (Springs and piping system) &
Water Supply was through visual observation, survey reports and information obtained from residents/officials through questions asked.
Our PRA activity helped identify the different sources of water and the impact of its distribution. We geo-tagged the community taps
2.7 Secondary Data Collection

Secondary data to supplement the information obtained from the primary data was collected from various sources mentioned in the
Table
46
Table 2.9 Institutes covered in secondary data collection
Source Information
Census Data Census data was taken

for the range 2001 and
2011
Talathi Office Information regarding

RTS
Revenue Department Village map ( but it was

very old),
Forest land of the nail

village
Government school Records of total numbers

of teachers, staff and
students
Anganwadi Records of total children

enrolled in Anganwadi,
their attendance, etc.
47
2.8Summary
In this chapter the methodology adopted for primary data collection and secondary data collection has been discussed. The detailed
analysis of the primary and secondary data collected is elaborated in further chapters. The methodology adopted for directed research
will be discussed in the chapter of directed research.
48
Chapter-3 VILLAGE PROFILE
3.1Study area:
Our base for village research was Nail located in Syaldey block of Almora district in Uttarakhand state, India. The region lies in the
Himalayas and consists of a series of ridges and valleys. The snow-clad peaks and glaciers lie in the extreme north of tahsil Almora and
the ranges diverting from Nanda Devi group of mountains extends to the southern and eastern parts of the region. The region is bounded
in the north east and north lie districts of Pithoragarh and Bageshwar, on west lies district Garhwal on north and north-west lies district
Chamoli and on the south is district Nainital. Located at latitude 29.79 degree north and longitude 79.16-degree east, the village has a
total area of 38.5 hectares.
Figure 3.1 District map of Almora
3.2Physiography
The village is situated in the northern mountain region (Central Himalayas) of the country and it comes under Kumaon Himalaya – east
division, consists of a series of ridges and valleys. The snow peaks and glaciers lie in the extreme north of Almora and ranges diverging
from Nanda Devi group of mountains extend to southern and south eastern part of district. The average height of the village from the
mean sea level varies from 1000m to 1800m.
49
3.3Climate
The altitude greatly affects local climatic condition in the village. Generally, summers are warmer in low-lying valleys and cool at high
altitudes. The temperature at high altitudes goes below zero mark during winter with occurrence of snowfall. The region has a highly
rugged terrain, marked with steep and high ridges and deep and narrow valleys through which flow the Ramganga, the Kosi, the Sarju
and their tributaries 30 km away downside around the village. The general slope is towards the south or south-east in the eastern half
and towards the west or south-west in the western half. The elevation is high ranging from about 1000 m to 2700 m above sea-level
towards the north. The climate, therefore, depends largely on elevation and exposure to the sun and winds. The chief climatic feature of
the district is its severe winter which lasts from December to March. The region gets most of its rainfall from the monsoon current,
which penetrate, through the valleys from mid of June to start of November. The district receives an average annual rainfall of about
1000 millimeter mainly confining to rainy season. About 75 per cent of the annual rainfall occurs during the monsoon months, June to
September. With the onset of the summer, monsoon rainfall increases sharply in June. July, August is the rainiest month, which accounts
for about 50 per cent of annual rainfall. With the withdrawal of monsoon in September, rainfall rapidly decreases and November sees
very less rainfall. The amount of rainfall in the village varies from 113 cm to 250 cm depending upon the altitude of the place.
3.4Natural resources
Various types of forests occur in this region. Up to a height of 1200 m sal is of common occurrence in the forests. Pine trees are common
in the forests up to about 1800 meters. Oak and banj occurs in the forests from 1800 to 2400 meters. The region is immensely rich with
4000 species of plants having remarkable diversity in its natural vegetation by virtue of its being at a great range of elevation. The sub-
alpine zones of Almora district and outskirts are natural sanctuary for leopard, langur (monkey), Himalayan black bear, kakar (the
barking deer), goral (goat antelope) and wild pigs. Hence the region faces high losses due to crop damage by these wild animals.
The types of soil which are met with in the village are the same as usually found in the hilly areas viz. the gravel sand, sandy loam,
clayey loam, heavy clay and calcareous soils. They differ in color and texture according to the locality, altitude and the composition of
50
the subsoil rocks. It is sandy along sharp gradients and loamy or clayey on milder slopes with stones and pebbles. The color of the soil
is light brown or dark brown depending upon the quantity of organic matter in it. The soil is mostly clayey and dark gray, turning into
brown forest soil as a result of cultivation and terracing. The sub soils are often light and unconsolidated even under terraced cultivation.
These are incapable of retaining much of moisture.
Land in this region is classified as talaon (irrigated), first class upraon (dry), second class upraon and ijran (inferior land, cultivated
intermittently) also known as katil, khil or kala banjar. The land is generally inadequately irrigated except during rains and they are less
fertile. They possess no means of irrigation except rainfall. All kinds of crops including paddy, wheat and barley, otherwise mandua
(ragi), jhangora, kangni, bhat, rans, chuwa and maize are cultivated.
3.5Water resources
Rainfall is one of the most important source of water supply. Springs are the only source of water for irrigation as well as drinking water
or any other purpose. The piped water supply system from the springs is used. The area being hilly, rain water flows away very quickly.
The water of bigger rivers flowing in deep valleys can be utilized for irrigation only after lifting it 7 with power driven pumps. But as
the village is at a very high altitude there has been no such provisions so far.
Table 3.1 Area under different land use

Nail Gram Panchayat Village
Total geographical 231.03 Ha 44.2 Ha
area
Agriculture 104.46 Ha 33.4 Ha
Cultivable land 104.73 Ha 38.5 Ha
Irrigated Land 1.67 Ha 1.67 Ha
Unirrigated land 102.79 Ha 34.4 Ha
Pasture/grazing land 5 Ha -
51
Forest plantations 12.3 Ha -
Other common land 4.81 Ha -
3.6Village profile summary

Table 3.2 Village profile summary
Sl. no Characteristics Value
1 Village Nail
2 Gram Panchayat Nail
3 Area of village 44.2 Ha
4 Block Syaldey
5 District Almora
6 Language Kumaoni
7 Elevation 1642 m
8 Coordinates latitude 29.79
degree north and
longitude 79.16-
degree east
9 Main occupation Agriculture
10 Source of water Springs
11 Names of Naula, Sisarola,
surrounding etc
villages
12 Name of active SBI Gram Seva,
NGO in the village Sanjeevini
52
Chapter-4 DEMOGRAPHICS
4.1Secondary Data Analysis
Data Collected from the Census India
The secondary data was collected from the government census data. Some relevant data was also collected from the NGO office. The
Nail Gram Panchayat consists of the five hamlets, Jairaj, Gagnaula, Nail, Thadidar and Malibakli.
As per population census 2011, the Nail gram panchayat has a population of 968 of which 428 are males while 540 are females. The
total area of the gram panchayat is 383.23 hectare. There are about 219 Households in the gram panchayat. In the gram panchayat, the
population of children with age 0-6 is 128, which make up 13.53 % of the total population of the village. Average Sex Ratio of the GP
is 1261, which is higher than the rural Uttrakhand state average of 1000. Child Sex Ratio for the GP as per census is 882, lower than
Uttrakhand average of 899.
The entire population falls in two caste categories open and SC, of which SC comprise only 7.4 % of the total population of the village.
There is no ST population in the GP. The literacy rate is around 66%, which is less than the state average literacy rate of 78.82%.
Among the total population, 428 were engaged in work activities. The majority of the population (more than 90%) are dependent on
agriculture and very few people are dependent on labour work.
Table 4.1 Census data reflections

S.N. Parameters M/F 2001 2011 Decadal
Growth
Rate (%)
1 Number of Total 218 219 0.46
Households
2 Total Population Total 1044 968 -7.28
53
Male 468 428 -8.55
Female 576 540 -6.25
Sex 1230 1261 2.52
Ratio
3 Population (0-6 Total 182 128 -29.67
Years) Male 100 68 -32.00
Female 82 60 -26.83
Sex 820 882 7.56
Ratio
4 SC Total 79 72 -8.86
Population Male 38 35 -7.89
Female 41 37 -9.76
Sex 1078 1057 -1.9
Ratio
5 ST Total 0 0 0
Population Male 0 0 0
Female 0 0 0
6 Literate Population Total 586 640 9.22
Male 309 327 5.83

Female 277 313 13.00
7 Illiterate Population Total 459 328 -28.54
Male 159 101 -36.48
Female 299 227 -24.08
54
8 Total Working Total 490 428 -12.65
Male 179 164 -8.38
Female 311 264 -15.11
Sex 1737 2315 33.28
Ratio
9 Main Working Total 289 300 3.81
Female 149 190 27.52
Sex 1064 1727 62.31
Ratio
10 Main Cultivators Total 253 273 7.91
Female 148 185 25.00
Sex 1409 2102 49.18
Ratio
11 Main Agricultural Total 0 0 0
Labourer Male 0 0 0
0Population Female 0 0 0
Sex 0 0 0
Ratio
12 Main Household Total 0 1 -
Industry Population Male 0 1 -
Female 0 0 -
55
Sex 0 0 -
Ratio
13 Main Other Work Total 36 26 -27.78
Population
Male 35 21 -40
Female 1 5 400
Sex 28 238 750
Ratio
14 Marginal Working Total 201 158 -21.39
Population Male 39 54 38.46
Female 162 104 -35.80
Sex 4154 1925 -53.66
Ratio
15 Marginal Total 201 146 -27.36
Cultivators Male 39 45 15.38
Population Female 162 101 -37.65
Sex 4154 2244 -45.98
Ratio
16 Non-Working Total 554 510 -7.94
Female 265 246 -7.17
4.2Census Data Summary

The following section provides an overview analysis from the above census data. This analysis is tabulated, and conclusions summarized.
The analysis has been performed in different dimensions –Population, Literacy, Working Population
56
4.2.1Population Profile Analysis
It can be seen in figure 1 that sex ratio has increased greatly in a

decade. However, the population has decreased this may be happen
due to migration.
Figure 4.1 Population profile analysis

4.2.2Literacy Profile Analysis
It can be seen in figure 2 that literacy percentage has increased greatly
both in the case of males and females. This indicates that may be
awareness on education has increased in the last decade.
4.2.3Working population profile analysis

Following Table gives the change in working population in the last
decade. The female working population has increased drastically
since the last decade.
Figure 4.2 Literacy rate analysis
57
Table 4.2 Working population analysis
Parameter M/F 2001 2011 Decadal
Growth (%)
Total 289 300 3.81
Main
Male 140 110 -21.43
Working
Female 149 190 27.52
Population
Sex Ratio 1064 1727 62.31
4.2.4Sex Ratio Analysis

Following table gives the change in sex ratio in the last decade. Sex ratio has increased in the last decade. However, the sex ratio of SC
population has decreased. It is also appreciable that the sex ratio for literate population has increased considerably. The sex ratio of the
working population has also increased which indicated that working women population has increased.
Table 4.3 Sex ratio analysis

S.N. Parameter 2001 2011 Decadal Growth (%)
1 Total Population 1230 1261 2.52
2 Child Population 820 882 7.56
3 SC Population 1078 1057 -1.9
4 Literate Population 896 957 6.83
58
5 Main Working Population 1064 1727 62.31
6 Main Cultivator Population 1409 2102 49.18
7 Marginal Working 4154 1925 -53.66

Population
4.2.5Cast Profile Analysis

The figure shows the caste-wise distribution of the population based on Census 2011. As per Census data, SC comprises of only 07%
of the total population while the remaining 93% liesin open category.
Figure 4.3 Caste profile analysis
59
4.3Data Collected from SBI Gram Seva base line survey
NGO also conducted the baseline survey in the gram panchayat with the help of SBI fellows in 2018. As earlier mentioned, the gram
panchayat consists of five villages. The following analysis has been done at the village level.
4.3.1Households Profile
According to the NGO data, there is a total of 212 households in the gram panchayat. Among them, the nail village has the maximum
number of households covering 43% of total households. The following table and pie chart show the distribution of households among
the villages in the gram panchayat. Table 4.4 Number of households
Village Number of HH
Nail 90
Gagnaula 38
Malibakli 32
Jairaj 28
Thadidar 24
Figure 4.4 Household profile

analysis
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4.3.2Population Profile
According to the NGO data, the gram panchayat has a total population
of 1351 having average sex ratio 1063. The overall sex ratio looks good.
However, the sex ratio varies from village to village. Among them, the
nail village has the highest participation in the population, covering
44% of the total population. The following table and graphs show the
population statistics among the villages in the gram panchayat.
Figure 4.5 Population profile

Table 4.5 Population profile
Village Names Population Female Population Male Population Sex Ratio
Jairaj 115 58 57 1018
Thadidar 130 71 59 1202
Malibakli 204 89 115 774
Gagnaula 306 150 156 962
Nail 596 328 268 1224
Total 1351 696 655
Sex Ratio 1063
61
Figure 4.6 Village wise sex ratio
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Chapter-5 ENERGY
5.1Introduction
Energy has important role to play in the human and economic development. Energy is used in daily activities like cooking, agriculture,
lighting, access to clean water, education, transportation etc. Energy demand is continuously increasing in both rural and urban areas.
But in rural areas, energy demand is mainly observed for agriculture, cooking, lighting etc. The availability and consumption of energy
influences the socio-economic profiles of people. Thus, it is important to study the consumption patterns in a village which can be a
good indicator to judge the economic development of a village.
The main objectives for our rural energy survey were:
• To identify different energy sources in a village

• To analyze energy consumption pattern of the villagers
Nail village got electrified in the year 1994. At present, only 99% of Nail village is electrified. According to our house hold survey
(sample HH size: 85), Almost every house hold had connections. During household survey, it was observed that every household had
meter connection and found meters in working condition. We could not observe any illegal connection in the village.
The average electricity bill of village is INR 250. The villagers are getting electricity bill once in two months. Some of them pay
electricity bill regularly and some are not paying it regularly.
Sometimes their electricity bill comes as big as INR 3500. This might be because their previous bills might be pending. Also people
said no person come to check their meter reading and they randomly get the bill.
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There were no power cuts in the month of May. If supply gets interrupted, it will restore in 30 minutes. But from mid-June, interruptions
were increased. It took maximum 7 hours to restore the supply. We couldn’t observe any Discom employee in the village during
interruption.
The street lights in the village are solar lights. And that solar lights came about 1 year ago and Sanjeevani NGO has introduced the street
lights. Earlier street lights were not there in the village. We observed that, the existing street lights are not enough, at many places there
is requirement of street lights.
Villagers use only CFLs for lighting purposes. For cooking purpose, 100% of households used firewood as a primary source of energy.
92 % households use both LPG and firewood. But the usage of LPG is very less. People use LPG only for making tea, hot water and for
cooking when they are in hurry. Most of the households got LPG connection through UJWALA scheme. No household has private LPG
connection.
Energy consumption in heating water was observed as very less. People were using the pine wood for heating the water. Other household
amenities included TV, Fan and Mobile. Very few households were having two wheelers and four wheelers. We observed that there are
5 two wheelers in the village and 1 four wheeler. And that four wheeler is for commercial purpose only. There was one flour mill in the
village. The flour mill used electricity for its working. Also there was one shop for photography and video shooting. That was also
dependent mainly on electricity.
5.2Energy Consumption
Different amenities used by villagers is shown in the Figure.
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Various ammenities used- %
CFL+FAN+MOBILE
households
CFL+FAN+MOBILE+TV
CFL+FAN+MOBILE+TV+M
ixer
TV+CFL+MOBILE
MIXER+CFL
CFL+FAN+MOBILE+TV+M
ixer+Refrigerator
Figure 5.1 Percentage households for various household amenities used

5.2.1Cooking
For cooking purpose, 100% of households used firewood as a primary source of energy. 92 % households use both LPG and firewood.
But the usage of LPG is very less. People use LPG only for making tea, hot water and for cooking when they are in hurry. It is shown
in Figure.
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Fuel usage pattern
firewoood
firewood+LPG
Figure 5.2 Fuel usage pattern

5.2.2Transportation
The villagers usually travel to the nearby towns by jeep or government buses. State transport bus frequency is not so good. So people
have to manage times according to buses. Very few villagers i.e. 5 have own two-wheelers. One villager have four wheeler, which he
uses for commercial purpose.
5.2.3Other Institutions
There is one flour mill in village which runs on electricity. Apart from this there is one anganwadi and primary school. Panchayat office
is also there in the village but it found to be closed.
5.2.4Electricity Consumption
Electricity consumption at village level is calculated on following assumptions
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According to the villagers opinion, electricity consumed for CFL and TV is considered for average 4 hours. Electricity consumed for
fan and mobile charger is considered as 2 hours and 1 hour respectively. Electricity consumed for refrigerator and mixer is considered
as 5 hours and 0.5 hours respectively.
Rating of appliances are taken from web search.
For annual consumption, 265 days are considered which excludes rainy days and windy days before monsoon.
Such electricity consumption for sampled 85 households is shown in the Table
Table 5.1 Electricity consumption of households

Amenities Rating Total no. of Total watts Average No. of units Annual
devices (W) daily usage (KWh/day) consumption
(hrs./day) (KWh)
CFL 20 343 6860 4 27.36 7250.4
Fan 50 29 1450 2 2.9 768.5
TV 80 68 5440 4 21.76 5766.4
Mobile 10 124 1240 1 1.24 328.6
charger
Refrigerator 100 4 400 5 2 530
Mixer/ 550 17 9350 0.5 4.675 1238.875
Grinder
Total consumption 15,882.775
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5.2.5Energy flow diagram
Energy flow diagram of village where large consumption of energy observed is shown in Table
Source Extractio End Use Utilizaton

n
LPG LPG
Cooking
Forest Firewood Chulha
Lightenin
Electricit CFL g
y
Figure 5.3 Energy flow diagram
5.3Household Survey in Summary

Most of the villagers have basic amenities that are light and TV. Very few villagers have fan and refrigerator. There is no correlation
found between income and amenities used in the village. LPG are used but once finished, refilling of it is depending on the money
availability.
5.4Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) Scheme

PMUY scheme has been an initiative of Government of India and also Ministry of Petroleum and Gas. The government gives
responsibility of verifying applications to ministry. Beneficiary will get financial support of Rs.1600 under this scheme. Under PMUY
scheme, government aims to provide clean cooking fuel- LPG to safeguard the health of women and children. Therefore women don’t
have to compromise their wealth in smoky kitchens and wander to collect firewood. Under this scheme, the connection will be issued
in the name of the women of household. The connections will be provided to the BPL families which are identified through Socio-
Economic Caste Census (SECC) Data. This scheme has been started in 2016 and will be active for three years.
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5.4.1Application Procedure
The details for getting LPG connection through the PMUY are given on their official website and these are as follows:
1. A women from BPL family, may apply for new LPG connection to the nearest LPG distributor
2. The documents such as detailed address, Jandhan Bank Account, Aadhar number need to submit along with application form.
3. The connection will be issued by Oil Marketing Companies to eligible beneficiaries after processing application.
4. In case consumer opts for EMI; the EMI amount will be adjusted the subsidy amount due to consumer on each refill.
5.4.2Eligibility criteria
PMUY has eligibility criteria as mentioned below:
1. Women have to from below poverty line class to apply for scheme
2. The age of women should be above 18 years
3. She should be listed in SECC-2011 data
4. Women applying for PMUY scheme, should not have existing LPG connection
5. The subscriber should be citizen of India
6. Women belonging to SC/ST groups are under priority
7. Women subscribing for the scheme should have saving account in any nationalized bank across the country
8. Women applicants should not have any other similar beneficial scheme under their name
9. Women living in the state having low LPG coverage will be given the priority
5.4.3Survey Observation:
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From the household survey of 85 households, 30 households have LPG under ujjwala yojana. four households don’t have the LPG
connection. All other households have private LPG connection.
Ujjwala Yojana Beneficaries
Yes
No
Figure 5.4 Ujjwala yojana beneficiaries

We didn’t get information from office about beneficiaries of Ujjwala scheme.
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Chapter-6 Sanitation
6.1Availability of toilets
The information regarding availability of toilet was collected through household surveys. The village was declared as open defecation
free by government officials, when Sanjeevani NGO has come to the village. But actually the village was not ODF. Sanjeevani has built
toilets under swajal scheme and the number of toilets built by sanjeevani are 10 .there are 4 community toilets in the nail garmpanchayat.
6.1.1Swachh Bharat Mission

This scheme is started in 2014 to put focus on safe sanitation. The Mission comes under department of water and sanitation. This aims
to achieve Swaccha Bharat by 2019.
6.1.2Insentive under scheme

Provision of incentives to the rural households for individual household latrine is available to the state. Incentive for one IHHL is
Rs.12000 which is shared between state and central government. State will decide on methodology of actual construction of toilets. In
case of cash transfer, the bank account of beneficiary may be linked to their Aadhar number, wherever possible.
As per the guidelines of the scheme, a duly completed household sanitary latrine unit shall comprise of
• A sanitary substructure
• A super structure with water facility
• Hand wash unit for cleaning and hand washing
The aim of mission is to ensure that rural families will get access to safe toilets. GOI provides flexibility to the state in choosing right
toilet technology depending upon topography, ground water level etc.
6.1.3Selection of eligible household

While selecting eligible households to give them incentives, following order shall be preferred
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1. BPL
2. APL
3. SC/ST
4. Person with disability
5. Widow/old age pensioners
6. Small farmers
7. Marginal farmers
8. Women headed households
6.1.4Pre-Requisites for filling up IHHL Application

1. Scanned copy of Applicant's Photograph (Mandatory).
2. Bank Account Details (Mandatory).
3. Scanned copy of First Page of Bank Passbook showing Account Details (Mandatory).
4. If Applicant does not have Aadhaar number, then copy of Aadhaar Enrollment Slip is required.
When an applicant satisfies the above mentioned criteria, a fund of Rs. 12000 per applicant is sanctioned. However this fund is
completely released only when the toilet is completely built. The applicant has to give a photo proof that the toilet has been built to
receive the funds. The loop hole in this proof requirement is that people submit images of toilets built in others house to get the money
sanctioned without actually building the toilet. There may be many reasons for such a behavior like unavailability of water or drastic
poverty.
Between the year 2014 to year 2019, there have been 50 applicants who have received the sanctioned payment ranging from Rs.2000 to
Rs.12000 among the 74 households with toilet from sample size of 85 households.
6.2Tap toilet availability
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It was interesting to see if there was a correlation between the availability of tap connection and toilet connection. Following figure
shows the division of households on the basis of availability and facilities of toilet.
Division of HHs on the

availability of toilet
tap connection+
toilet
toilet
tap connection
not both
Figure 6.1 Division of toilets on the basis of availability of toilet
6.3Solid waste management

In Nail village, very few houses have livestock either cow or buffalo. But no wet waste dumping outside or collection of such waste is
observed in the village. The wet waste from kitchen is directly fed to the livestock. Villagers burn other solid waste and use that ash in
the farms. Open dumping is followed by villagers for the waste from functions, community festivals, etc. There is no proper waste
collection system found in the village.
6.4Drainage system
The village has poor drainage network. The sewage from the bathrooms is let off underground and, in some case, even in the open. But
every toilet in the village has soak pit under it. Hence there is a scope for improvement of sewage management system.
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In Nail village around 91.7 % of the households have toilets in their home, while the rest resort to open defecation or otherwise use
community toilets. There is necessity of planning and implementation of a systematic solid waste management of waste from marriages,
community programs and festivals.
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Chapter-7 Roads and Transport
Nail village comes under syaldey block of district Almora, uttarakhand. Syaldey block is a hilly area. The road connectivity is poor
when it comes to the mountain area. In the Nail GP there are five villages and only two villages have roads. Most of the development
work happen when there is connectivity. There is a lot of drudgery to carry LPG on kaccha road for the villages without road. People
have to come to grocery shops for vegetables and other things to nail. There is a lot of drudgery for older people to climb to their villages
by mountain road. Also there is a lot of drudgery to the children, they have to come to school by mountain road only. Hence overall
there is a lot of drudgery to people in villages without road.
7.1Roads
Nail village is quite interior village. The nearest developed town syaldey is 30 km away from nail village. And ramnagar which is quite
good city with good facilities is 140 km away from nail village. All the vegetables come once In a week from ramnagar to nail village.
In nail GP, the nail village and jairaj village have pucca road connectivity. While other villages in nail GP- malli bakli, thadidhar,
gagnaula have kaccha roads.
Road development work (Block level) has been done in past one and a half year under MNREGA and BDC Sadasya supervised by SBI
gram seva. There is no data available regarding the number of villagers employed for the same.
The below table gives the length of the road constructed, type and amount spent.
Table 7.1 Road characteristics
Sl. No Length (m) Type Amount (Rs)
1 115 CC+RCC 70000
2 110 CC+RCC 90000
3 No data No data 30000
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4 80 CC+RCC 50000
Total - - 240000
7.2Transport
The villagers usually travel to the nearby towns by jeep or government buses. State transport bus frequency is not so good. So people
have to manage times according to buses. Very few villagers i.e. 5 have own two-wheelers. One villager have four wheeler, which he
use for commercial purpose only. The bus fare from nail to syaldey is Rs. 30. The jeep are very infrequent and only available to go
gumathi village from nail. Public transportation after 7 pm is a great difficulty.
In the following image, we can see that the only road goes through nail is Dotiyal-Nail-Deghat road.
Figure 7.1 Nail village boundaries
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Chapter-8 Infrastructure and Assets
Infrastructure is an important parameter to measure the level of economic development of a village. It plays a vital role in the socio-
economic upliftment of the residents. In Nail gram Panchayat there are 212 houses, most of them are semi-pucca, made of stones and
mud. The houses near to road are puccca houses with brick and cement. Hence the houses near to road in nail and jairaj villages are
pucca houses. And there are no pucca houses in malli bakli, thadidhar and gagnaula. This is evident from the following figure. This
observation has been deduced from our household surveys. The semi pucca houses have stone rooftop. While pucca houses have cement
rooftop. The sub-centre – the basic unit of health infrastructure of our country – is located at Deghat, which is 50 km from Nail.
All the villages in Nail GP – nail, thadidhar, gagnaula, malli bakli and jairaj have temple and community hall. While four villages in the
nail GP- nail, malli bakli, thadidhar and jairaj have community information centre. The nail village have crematorium. The two villages
in nail GP- nail and jairaj have anganwadi, primary school, secondary school.
Types of houses in Nail GP
pucca houses
semi-pucca houses
Figure 8.1 Types of houses in nail village

For cattle, people have to go to forests for getting grass. And this is very exhaustive and time taking process. Hence very less people
have cattle.
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The nail and jairaj village in nail GP have road connectivity. All rest of the villages have kaccha road to the villages.
Table 8.1 Public infrastructure in nail village

Public Infrastructure Nail Malli Thad Gagnaula Jairaj Nearest Distance
idhar location
Bakli
1 Cemetery 1 0 0 0 0 - -
2 Burial Ground 1 0 0 0 0 - -
3 Gram Panchayat Building 1 0 0 0 0 - -
4 Community Hall 1 1 1 1 1 - -
5 Gymkhana / Vyayam Shala 0 0 0 0 0 syaldey 30 km
6 PDS Godown 1 0 0 0 0 - -
7 Library 0 0 0 0 0 manila 27 km
8 Police Station 0 0 0 0 0 syaldey 30 km
9 Talathi's Office 0 0 0 0 0 syaldey 30 km
10 Electricity Office 0 0 0 0 0 syaldey 30 km
11 Bank 0 0 0 0 0 gumathi 10 km
12 Post office 1 0 0 0 0 - -
13 Kissan Seva Kendra 0 0 0 0 0 syaldey 30 km
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14 PDS Ration Shop 1 0 0 0 0 - -
15 Grazing Grounds 0 0 0 0 0 - -
16 Water holes for Cattles 0 0 0 0 0 - -
17 Cattle sheds (common) 0 0 0 0 0 - -
18 Anganwadi 1 0 0 0 1 - -
19 Primary School 1 0 0 0 1 - -
20 Secondary School 1 0 0 0 1 - -
21 College up to 12 th 1 0 0 0 0 - -
22 Degree College 0 0 0 0 0 Manila 27 km
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Chapter-9 Governance
9.1Introduction
The nail village by itself is a Gram Panchayat consisting of five hamlets. In the strengthened Panchayat Raj System, Gram Panchayat
plays important role in the development of village economy. It acts as executive of the Gram Sabha. A total of 1052 Gram Sabhas exist
in the district of Almora. Gram Sabha prepares master plan and development activities are carried out. The jurisdiction of Gram Sabha
is mainly concentrated within the village whereas Naya Panchayats cover more than one Gram Sabha. Elections are periodically held to
elect members and Pradhan of Gram Sabha. Government has attached many departments to Gram Sabhas in order to ensure that the
benefits of government programmes may reach to the common people. Gram Sabha controls and manages all the activities concerned
with the welfare of village community. They also prepare priority development plans for the overall growth of the village dwellers.
Members of the Gram Sabha are responsible for day-to-day administration. The main duties relate to construction, repair, cleaning and
lighting of fairs, establishment and management of common land and grazing grounds, maintenance of schools etc. and promotion of
social and communal harmony and goodwill amongst the villagers.
9.2GP body
There are seven wards in the Gram Panchayat. Each ward have ward member. The following table gives the current members of the GP
body
Table 9.1 Nail GP body

Mr. Govind Singh Pradhan
Mr. Ranjeet Singh Dy. Pradhan
Mrs. Maheshi Devi Member
80
Mrs. Chana Devi Member
Mrs. Geeta Devi Member
Mrs. Prabha Devi Member
Mr. Padam singh Member
81
The below flow charts represent the Governance Hierarchy of State, District, Block and Panchayat respectively.
Figure 9.1 Village governance hierarchy
82
Figure 9.5 State governance hierarchy Figure 9.4 District governance hierarchy
Figure 9.3 District governance hierarchy Figure 9.2 Block governance hierarchy
83
Figure 9.6 Panchayat governance hierarchy
84
Chapter-10 WATER RESOURCE AND WATER SUPPLY
The only source of water in the village are the perennial springs which is used for drinking and rest other purposes. Hence the supply is
24 hours. There are a total of 4 handpumps, one in Gagnaula (Kadpatiya), one in Jairaj and two other in Nail found along the road to
village Nail which are rarely used. However, none of the houses have private tap connection. The water is carried from the community
taps. The villagers have pay Rs. 200 as annual water fee for the maintenance of laid pipe lines. The pressure of the water is very high
due to the elevation and slope of the region. The water is connected to the community taps through pipe lines laid during 1982 under
the Jalsansthan Nigam operated by central government. The same has been replaced by the SBI Gram seva under swajal scheme.
As it is the spring water, the water is naturally filtered and hence consumed directly by the villagers. During the summers the flow of
water reduces but never runs out. There are a total of 10 springs from which the water is supplied to the 5 villages. The distance of the
springs from the village varies from 500m to 4000m. The distribution of number of springs is as shown below.
Table 10.1 Village wise number of springs

Village No. of springs
Nail 3
Mallibakli 2
Thadidar 2
Gagnaula 2
Jairaj 1
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Figure 10.1 Mapping of tap connections in the Nail village
Water source scenario in Gagnaula and Jairaj:
Gagnaula and Jairaj hamlets are situated uphill at the top most part thus having highest elevation. These villages are critically water
stressed and have to fetch waters from the lowlands during summers. It can be observed from the problem ranking chart that the water
problem occupies top positions in these two villages. The women of the above villages spend one to two hours every day to fetch water.
SBI gram seva has worked in the water sector and have contributed to the development and renovation water works. The have
constructed natural water filtering structure and a couple of storage tanks in Gagnaula and Jairaj. Also, few trenches have been dug by
the villagers.
Suggestion: There is a lot of scope for implementation of rain water harvesting and construction of reservoirs and kuccha talaabs (ponds)
in these two villages.
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Chapter-11 OUR EXPERIENCES
11.1Akanksha N. Chavan
For the first time I was going to Uttarakhand, and I was very excited. At first I was little scared by thinking about the how will be the
people over there, whether we will get adapt to the weather of the village, whether field work will be exhaustive. Hence many questions
were there. All the people in Nail village were lovely and supportive and we were very much adapted to weather of nail. It was very
unique experience to be in the village of Uttarakhand. And I thank TD609 for such a unique and wonderful experience.
When we reached nail for the first time, it was raining there. The village was very beautiful. The village is surrounded by mountains.
The clouds had come down on the mountains, the mountains with green pine trees, clod breeze of air; everything was so beautiful and
nice about village. The one thing was bad that, NGO personnel has said that we have to cook our food on our own. So I was little worried
about food. And at the end we learned to make so many yummy dishes and tasty food. First time we met Shanti didi, who is the grassroot
worker in the village of Nail. She helped us a lot and gave us yummy food, till we were adapting and improving on our cooking skills.
From our very first day in the village, we could experience the impeccable hospitality of the villagers. The love and care offered by the
villagers; their sensitivity has restored my faith in humanity. We got so many little friends in the village, got so many dadi amma in the
village, also we got dabbu (dog) in the village, who was very lovely dog. And while we were leaving the village, everyone got so
emotional (Including us).
Talking about the terrain, the terrain was so difficult. The nail village is situated on mountains. So, we have to climb mountain in order
to go into the village. Also, we have covered survey of other four villages in nail GP. In the first week we went to one hamlet of nail,
which was 2 hours continuous trekking from nail to that hamlet and that hamlet don’t have road. And after that I got to know about the
difficulties faced by people about road. We only climbed to that village, but people over there, have to carry grocery items, cylinders by
the mountain road only. Also, they are unable to send their farm produce to market, because transportation cost of farm produce to the
road is very high, hence they are not able to get good returns.
87
The culture of this people was so different. The marriages in nail take place in night. And the ceremony is very beautiful. Throughout
these 9 weeks we were more in the vicinity of mother nature than we have been in the city even after spending years over there. Hence
my admiration for mother nature and her ways has grown all the more. However, the most appreciable part is how nature keeps giving
us even though we have been harming her in so many ways.
There were lack of resources in the village. There was water scarcity for agriculture, in the village. There is only one option of livelihood,
i.e. farming. And the crops were eaten by monkeys, pigs and barshinga. The only cash crop in nail was chili. Hence there is a lot of
migration is there. But still some people stay happily in the village with minimal resources.
There was also a lot to learn from my field stay partner Nisha without whom this stay wouldn’t have been completed in a satisfactory
manner. I will surely cherish the memories of this 9 week stay and I hope to always remember and apply these learnings in life.
11.2Nisha Sathish
Having earned my degree in mechanical engineering from a college in Bangalore, I have grown up encountering the major environmental
problems such as pollution, garbage, deforestation, water shortage and traffic, watching all the green turn grey (concrete). But was
always drawn towards the life in a village. TD 609 was a dream come true. Intellectual understanding of environment was passed on by
my mother at a very tender age and ever since I have looked up to nature as extension of myself. It was a privilege and once in a lifetime
opportunity to watch the rural life and lifestyle such as agriculture, irrigation, bio gas production, bee keeping, cattle farming, water and
food very closely especially at the “DevBhoomi”, Uttarakhand. Our house was situated in the valley surrounded by mountains, like that
in the dreams. The sun, like a good boy, rose red every day, at 4 45 AM. A tiny trek every day trying to collect my jar of sunrises along
with my four-legged companion called Dabbu (What I call as “Dabbu and Dabbu Dairies”) is one of the best memories I have from the
field. To witness and experience the Peace and Problems of rural regions for a span of 9 weeks was an eye opener. Patience, the
importance of letting things go, the importance of letting things be as they are, to live in the moment are some of the things “life in a
village” taught me.
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Value Satisfaction Gratitude Happiness
The above representation is self-explanatory. The attitude of acknowledging and appreciating the subtle elements supporting our lives
is brings the feeling of contentment in ones life. As rightly said “The grass on the other side is always greener”, progressively over the
period of two months, the lush green grass turned pale and no sooner dried up to a paler brown. The sufferings are real, the drudgery is
no fairytale. The things we have taken for granted are fought for. We only need the light when its burning low, only miss the sun when
its burning low. But yet, there is peace, happiness and smiles. There is a lot to learn from the crushing beauty of the country side. India
is a country which has identified itself very strongly with land, where our roots lie. From the baby who used to fall asleep only in my
arms to the kids calling me by name “Battery” to the doggo who protected me like a spirit guide to the pure but wild breeze to the hill
top yoga and every day tiny treks, rosy red sunrises to the star studded night sky to the first sight of Himalayas, memories for life time
have been made which will be cherished and drooled over forever.
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Chapter-12 DR-1: Tapping value-chain of Chilies
12.1Introduction
Chilli (scientific name: Capsicum frutescens) is a spice crop valued for
Color % of Chilli in Uttrakhand
its various commercial uses. India is one of the major producers,
consumer and also an exporter of this crop (to more than 90 countries). 9%
Capsicum frutescens is a pungent form of green and dried chilli fruit. Its
33%
fruit is rich in Vitamin A and C. It constitutes an important and 58%
indispensable part of every household kitchen due to its unique pungent

and spicy taste. Chilli is used in different forms: green chilli, chilli
pepper, paprika are few derivatives of different species of chilli. Red Yellow Red & Yellow
Chilli is widely cultivated around the world, especially in the tropical Figure 12.1 Color % of Chilli in Uttrakhand
and subtropical regions. India contributes about 36% to the world chilli production.
In Uttarakhand, farming of chilli (Mirch-local dialect) has been practiced from many years. It is a home for varieties of chilies which
cannot be grown elsewhere.
There is a great demand Sult & Syalde (District-Almora) chilli in the markets because of the unique variety of chilli that’s grown in
these regions. They have the highest pungency level and are rich in color.
Our TD 609 field stay village belongs to the district Almora, which is one of the leading producers of the yellow chillies: Lakhori,
Jaamri, Janjeer and Dhada being the most famous varieties. These (especially Lakhori and Jaamri) has the highest pungency level
compared to any other traditional varieties.
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Pungency % of Chilli in Uttrakhand
10%
44%
46%
High Medium Low
Figure 12.2 Pungency % of chilli in Uttrakhand

Figure 12.3 Lakhouri chilli
The GP Nail, still follows the traditional method of marketing. As soon as the chillies are ready to be sold, local middlemen pick up the
harvested lots, paying the farmers immediately and the chillies are transported to the nearest Mandi. The farmers are completely
dependent on the market value for their produce. The market prices are highly fluctuating, i.e., from Rs. 180/kg to Rs. 450/kg, leading
to highly unstable and unpredictable returns. Also, it was observed that no processing unit was present for the yellow chillies in the
region. Hence the motivation to study the value chain of dried chilli and introduction of a technological solution to assist the farmers in
addition to generating local employment by establishing FPCs (Farmer Producer Companies) led to the above-mentioned Directed
Research.
12.2Objectives
• Understanding the farm practices of yellow chillies in the village,
• Understanding supply chain of yellow chillies,
• Study the market demand of the consumers.
• Understanding the role of FPOs,
91
• Evaluating feasibility of chilli processing and drying unit.
12.3Methodology
The following approach was taken as a part of this Directed Research:
• Understanding cultivation practices of the yellow chilli through structured and unstructured interviews, informal talks and site visits,
• Understanding the value chain of the dried chillies through interviews and informal talks with the farmers and middlemen,
• Conducting a literature survey for analysis of feasibility of chilli drying and processing unit,
• Conducting literature surveys to understand role of FPOs.
12.4Sampling
Cluster sampling has been done for information collection. All the 5 hamlets under the GP Nail has been covered and interviews were
conducted with the farmers from all 5 hamlets. Interviews were focused on male farmers, especially those who plough the land for the
rest.
12.5Chilli Activity Analysis

To understand the cultivation practices of the yellow chilli, we conducted structured interviews of the farmers. The questionnaire for
the interview has been attached in the appendix. Each interview lasted for 4-5 hours. The several steps involved in the production phase
have been explained below:
12.5.1Pre-production phase
It includes the following steps:
• Field/land preparation
• Seed selection and sowing
• Seed storage
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Less than 10% of the farmers in the district follow nursery method and none of the villages of Nail GP follow nursery management.
12.5.1.1Field/land preparation
The field is ploughed manually using the wooden plough to loosen up the soil followed by levelling up of soil using a plank (pata). The
remaining lumps of mud are broken manually with the help of spade.
The above procedure is repeated for three times with a gap of five to six days between them. Dragging the plank along the ploughed
field breaks the lumps of mud and unwanted weed gets embedded deep inside the soil.
Manuring: The quantity of dung used in the fields is independent of the need of crop but, instead depends on the number of animals
owned. The dung is carried from home to the field and is stacked for 10-15 days. Once the dung (kachcha) turns into a manure (pakka),
it is beaten. Use of pakka manure in the field reduces the chances of incidence of grubs. The seed is sown (during 3rd field preparation)
by broad casting method. The manure is scattered. Due to this practice, the seed is coved in manure, which protects them from birds.
12.5.1.2Seed selection
According to 3/4th of the interviewees, seeds from 2nd or 3rd time harvested chillies from their own farms are used. The best fruit is
selected, dried and seeds are collected. The remaining 1/4th of the interviewed farmers did not care of the order of harvest. 2-2.5 kg of
dried chilli gives 0.5kg of seeds.
12.5.1.3Seed storage
The seeds are also dried, stored in plastic bags in a well-ventilated area and are preserved for cultivation in the next season. The field
preparation generally starts in the month of March.
12.5.2Production phase
This phase includes transportation and crop development phase.
Once the seed is sown, the germination depends solely on the rainfall as the fields are purely rainfed. After a good rainfall, it takes five
to six days for sprouting to begin. The seeds are accompanied by unwanted weeds as well. Within 2 weeks, weeding starts. Weeding is
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done 10-12 times, at an interval of 10 days to 2 weeks. It takes 45 to 60 days until flowering. After 6-7 days of flowering, fruiting starts.
It takes another 15-20 days for the fruits to ripen. Once the fruit ripens, it turns yellow within an average of 3 days and is ready to be
harvested.
12.5.2.1Transportation phase
Once the plant is six to seven inches tall, transportation starts. Random transplantation is done but a minimum distance of eight inches
is maintained. No water monitoring is done during any stage.
Artificial fertilizers like Urea, DAP and NP are used.
Table 12.1 Fertiliser usage information

Fertilizer Duration/Phase Quantity/Nali Price per kg
UREA Fruiting 1.5kg-2kg Rs.10/kg
NP 2nd Land Preparation 1.25kg-2kg Rs.15/kg
DAP 2nd Land Preparation 1kg-2kg Rs.30/kg
Use of any kind of pesticide is not practiced in the region.
The major loss is caused due to a small grub called ‘kurmurla’, which germinates due to use of kachcha gobar (raw dung) in the fields.
They eat up the plants from the roots.
12.5.3Post production phase

This phase includes activities like harvesting, drying and sorting.
Harvesting: A highly labor-intensive activity and is carried out during the month of October and November. An average of 15kg to 25kg
of ripened fruit is harvested per day per person.
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Drying and Sorting: The general practice followed for drying is open sun drying. The two major problems of drying, as mentioned by
the interviewees, are: a) improper sunlight and b) excess rainfall during the month/season of drying. If optimum sunlight is present, the
chilli dries up in five to ten days, else rotting starts.
For drying, chilli is spread on land and manually rotated two to three times. Once drying is completed, the rotten chillies are separated,
which is treated as loss. By thumb rule, the total loss is considered as 50%.
Loss % Break-up
Figure 12.4 Loss % break-up
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Figure 12.5 Chilli phase analysis
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12.5.3.1Packaging and transportation:
The chillies are collected form the door step of the farmers by the local middle men in jute gunny bags and are transported in trucks to
the nearest market Ramanagar which is 60kms away and takes about 4 hours. The chilli enters the mandi and further the supply chain
is continued.
12.6SWOT Analysis
After getting basic information about chilli production activities, to know where the shoe pinches SWOT analysis of pre-production,
farming and post-production stages has been done.
12.6.1SWOT Analysis of Pre-production stage

In pre-production process it is important to note that traditional method is still being followed. Hence it is extremely labor intensive
consuming most farmers’ time in the field activities. The major strength is no use of pesticide and fewer use of fertilizers. It is relatively
easier to convert the region into organic farming. Nursery farming is not adopted in this region and thus it can be adopted which increases
the percentage of seed germination. There is also a huge scope for introduction of small handy agricultural equipments that can be easily
taken up to the elevated fields.
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Weakness
Strength
Traditional broadcasting method of sowing
No cost for seed
Huge equipment like tractor can’t be used due
Use of manure
to topography (hilly region)
Traditional way of seed production
Labor intensive cultivation
Perfectly suitable geographic location
No pesticide is used
Pre-production stage
Opportunities
Threats
Small, handy power tillers can be introduced
Chances of degradation of seed quality due to
Nursery method can be adopted unscientific storage
Elimination of usage of UREA, NP and DAP can Insufficient labor
convert the entire area into an organic
farming region
12.6.2SWOT analysis of Farming (Production)

The region is most favorable for the yellow chilli to be grown due to the high elevation it is situated in. This is the only commercial crop
grown around in the region. Rest of the crops are grown as subsistence farming. The major drawback is that the whole region is rainfed.
Rest of the swot analysis is shown below.
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Weakness
Strength
Rainfed agriculture
Minimum gap of eight inches is
maintained between two plants (enough Manual weeding
nutrition is available) No water monitoring
Non usage of pesticide (can easily turn Crop destruction by wild animals
into organic farming)
Too much rainfall results in loss of flower
Farming or Production
Stage
Opportunity Threats
Potential for improvement in farming Untimely rain may damage the crop and
practices leading to growth in productivity affect its yield
and profit (water, pest and nutrient Manure used is not proportional to crop
management) requirement
12.6.3SWOT analysis of Post Production

In post-production stage after harvesting the main activity is drying and sorting which takes approximately 12-15 days. There is
possibility that price fluctuation in the market and drying period don’t match and farmer has to compromise with low value. Farmers
are dependent on only one market yard that is at Ramnagar and hence do not have much choice regarding market rates. SWOT analysis
of post-production phase is shown in the below figure.
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Weakness
Strength
Harvesting is labor intensive
The only strength is that the laborers
No drying machines available
involved in the process are experienced.
Purely dependent on sunlight
No storage facility
Post Production Stage
Threats
Opportunities
Spoiling of the produce due to
Technological interventions
traditional method of drying
Value addition
If we want to tackle above mentioned situations, following might be useful interventions
1. Introducing drying technology to reduce drying losses
2. Value addition in chilli
To find feasibility of any intervention we felt that checking production cost of chilli is important. While understanding activities involved
in chilli production, we took cost involved in each activity through structured interviews of farmer. The next section will give detail
explanation of production cost of dried yellow chilli.
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12.7Market Analysis
Once all the relevant information about the chilli was collected from the interviews and surveys, we set to further investigate the chain
of chili from farmers to consumers.
The dry chilli is being marketed by the farmers mostly from the village itself to the traders. The chilli is collected by the middlemen
from the farmers. . The small quantities make direct marketing for the farmers challenging due to high costs in transportation etc.
The farmer is totally unaware of the supply chain of the chilli.
The GP Nail has approximately eight to nine middlemen, out of which, five were interviewed.
The local middlemen collect different varieties of chilli separately and store them in bori (gunny bags) of 25kg capacity.
Baniyaa comes with the truck and the produce goes to open Mandi in Ramnagar which is 60km away (approximately 4 hours). The total
cost includes 2%-4% commission charges, truck charges and labor charges (for loading and unloading).
The above-mentioned costs are to be incurred y the middlemen. Due to high price fluctuations at the Mandi, the middlemen call it a
game of gamble as the changes of being at loss or profit is almost equal
From Ramnagar, the supply chain of chilli is a mystery. None of the villagers or dealers are aware of further chain.
With the help of NGO, we got in touch with Dr. Devendra Singh Negi of Uttrakhand Organic Commodity Board who gave us the related
information. The supply chain is pictorially represented below.
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Figure 12.6 Supply chain analysis
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12.8Supply Chain Management
Dry chilli is being marketed by farmers mostly from the village itself to the traders. Almora and Nainital farmers sell dry chilli at
Ramnagar and Haldwani through the Mandi. Sale and supply is traditionally well established for hill chilli grower, but small quantities
make direct marketing challenging due to high costs in transportation.
12.9Production Cost of Dry yellow Chilli

Through interviews during household surveys, we collected the information regarding the cost incurred in each activity of chilli
production, from the land preparation till selling of chilli to the local middlemen. The transportation cost has been calculated separately
as it is handled by the middlemen and not the farmers. Method followed to get production cost is as follows:
Asked about the total land under chilli cultivation present year and the previous year. (As the chilli plants have hardly sprouted this year,
the calculations made are based upon the previous year data)
The cost incurred in cultivation of chilli for previous year was collected.
The labor is not converted into monetary terms as its only the land holders who work in their own fields (majorly women).
All the values were presented to us in terms of Nali and the same has been converted to acre i.e. all prices have been calculated for 1
acre area.
Average production cost has been presented in terms of rs/kg and Rs/acre
Yield in terms of kg/acre has been calculated.
12.9.1Production Cost (Rs/kg)

We wanted to know the amount of money invested by the farmer in production of 1 kg of chilli and the returns so that the current profit
can be calculated. This is to understand the existing condition in terms of values of produce.
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Calculations
Activity Description Cost/Nali Cost/acre

Land preparation cost For 3 time ploughing Rs 500 Rs 10000
and levelling
Pesticide Not used - -
Irrigation cost (water Rainfed - -
charges)
Electricity Not used - -
Seed cost Traditional method of - -
collection
Manure Dung - -
Labor - -
Fertilizer - -
DAP Rs 30/kg*2 Rs 60 Rs 1200
NP Rs 15/kg*3 Rs 45 Rs 900
Urea Rs 10/kg*2 Rs 20 Rs 400
Total Rs 625 Rs 12500
We found that the average production cost of dried chilli is RS 625 per nali i.e., Rs 12500 per acre. This production cost is highly
variable depending upon the usage of fertilizers, pesticides, and preparation activities etc.
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This cost can’t be directly converted into Rs/kg as the yield is different for different farmers.
Yield (kg/Nali) and (kg/acre)
This value is necessary to know the annual chilli production as well as chilli productivity. It will be helpful to check intervention of
value addition if it is feasible or not. Following tabular column gives more details about yield of red dried chilli.
Village Average Yield per Nali Average Yield per acre

(kg/Nali) (kg/acre)
Nail 125 2500
Gagnaula 100 2000
Mallibakli 120 2400
Jairaj 100 2000
Thadidar 95 1900
Average yield (Kg) 108 2160
Figure 12.7 Box-plot of Yieldper acre
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The average yield per acre was found out to be approximately 2160 kg per acre.
12.9.2Production cost (Rs/acre)

We have taken this information to get better picture of production cost per acre. It will become easier to calculate production cost of
each farmer on the basis of land under chilli cultivation. The average production cost in this region is approximately Rs 625 per nali.
Conversion Factors
1 Nali = 200 sq.m.
1 acre = 20 Nali
1 Hectare = 50 Nali
Therefore,
Rs 625*20= Rs. 12500/acre
Total Produce from Gram Panchayat Nail for 50% of HH:
Table 12.2 Yield of villages

Village Final sold Yield (Kg)
Nail 971
Mallibakli 1420
Gagnaula 1122
Thadidar 534
Jairaj 953
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Total 5000
Total produce for GP Nail 10000
Assumption: As the survey has been conducted for 50% of HH we have multiplied the produce by factor 2 assuming the rest of the 50%
House holds gives the same produce.
Nail Yield Gagnaula Yield

Outliers 2 Outliers 250
Maximum 55 Maximum 100
rd
3 Quad. 32 3rd Quad. 80
Median 28 Median 59
st
1 Quad. 17
1st Quad. 30
MInimum 5
MInimum 0
Jairaj Yield Mallibakli Yield

Outliers 250 Outliers 300
Maximum 110 Maximum 150
3rd Quad. 100 3rd Quad. 100
Median 68 Median 88.75
1st Quad. 27.25 1st Quad. 16.25
MInimum 10 MInimum 25
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Thadidar Yield
Break-up of Production cost
Outliers -
Maximum 100
3rd Quad. 100
Median 44.5
1st Quad. 14.25
MInimum 8
Break-up of Production cost

Figure 12.8 Production cost break-up
Though the chilli production is a labor-intensive activity, the
labor charges are 0 and the land owners work in their own respective fields. The other input costs are only o9f land preparation and
fertilizers. We have considered the highest cap of input cost.
It is observed that 80% of total production cost is invested in land preparation and the rest 20% goes into fertilizers.
12.10Value Analysis
The market analysis and calculation of production cost has been done. From the information received during market analysis, a value
chain has been developed which gives the proce of yellow chilli at each stage as it travels from the farm gate to the consumer via a chain
of middlemen. The scenario is explained in the figure below.
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Figure 12.9 Value chain analysis
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It is observed that the price fluctuation for yellow fry chilli vary between Rs 180/kg to Rs 400/kg.
Here we tried to think on point that if drying or processing unit is established in this region which can be operated and maintained by
farmers then how much profit farmer get. That is we tried to find the path so that farmer can directly linked to the consumer. It will
again help to get rid of price fluctuation problem in market. Through literature survey we came to know that Farmer Producer Company
will be helpful in such situation. Before going to FPC, we have first analyzed what are possible intervention that can be done to help
farmer. The following interventions has been analyzed
1. Solar Dryer
2. Electric Dryer
3. Electric Dryer and processing unit
These are explained in following section.
Change in weight of chilli at different stages:
There is loss in different stages of chilli processing like stem loss etc. The data has been collected by interviewing different farmers
from different regions. The whole chilli is considered for grinding without removing seeds from it. There may be some loss during
grinding and packaging. The exact figures are shown in table below:
Table 12.3 Change in weight of chilli at different stages

Stage Change in weight Loss (kg) Loss %
Ripened chilli 100kg 0 0
Dried chilli 25kg 75 75% (moisture)
Cleaning and sorting 18.75kg 6.25 25%
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Grinding 18.28kg 0.47 2.5%
81.72
12.11Technological Interventions
12.11.1Dryer:
As mentioned above, this is option we thought as drying technology to minimize drying losses. The drying losses according to the survey
is 25%. The total approximately estimated produce of dry chilli from the gram panchayat nail is 10 tons after considering all the losses.
Considering an optimistic figure of reduction in drying losses from 25% to 5% due to technological intervention, the produce in hand
will shoot up to 14 tons of dry chilli. Considering 75% weight losses, the dryer has to be designed for 56 tons of wet chilli.
12.11.1.1Solar Dryer
The rationale behind the solar dryer is very weak. As mentioned in the earlier part of report drying loss occurs due to lack of sunlight or
excess rainfall. Thus, overall sunshine hours available per day is less. Still the analysis has been done just to compare the economic
feasibility. Method adopted to choose capacity of dryer is as follows:
Method Adopted:
1. Set target to dry 56 tonnes of yellow wet chilli to get 14 tonnes of dried yelllow chilli.
2. We checked harvesting rate of yellow wet chilli per day per farmer from interviews which is 15 to 25 kg per day per person (not
considered for selection of drier).
3. We checked solar dryer available in the market and its cost for various dryers and the one with lowest cost has been considered.
4. Checked drying rate of solar dryer
The following information was found from the dealers about solar dryer.
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Table 12.4 Solar dryer product details
Sl no. Attributes Description
1 Source India mart
2 Dryer type Solar tunnel dryer
3 Dryer Capacity 100kg
4 Operating temperature 65 οC
5 Max Temperature 65 οC
6 Brand Radha Solar
7 Automatic Grade Semi-automatic
8 Price Rs 65000 per piece
9 Address Ludhiana, Punjab
Ph: 08048760683
10 Features Natural convection
Low cost
Easy to operate
Long drying periods
Limited control of air flow
and temperature
Suitable for small modes- only
small quantities can be dried
at a time
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Table 12.5 Solar dryer capacity and cost Calculation
Total weight of dry chilli considering losses 10 tonnes
Total weight of dry chilli considering 14 tonnes
reduction of drying losses from 25% to 5%
Total weight of wet chilli (75% wt losses) 14*(100/25) = 56 tonnes
Average harvest per day (45 days) 1245 kg/day
No. of units of 100kg capacity required 12
Cost of dryer 65000*12= Rs 7,80,000
56 tonnes of chilli is harvested over a period of 1.5 months i.e., 45 days. Harvest per day is 1245 kg. Therefore to fulfill the requirement
we need to install 12 such drying units.
But time taken by solar dryer to dry one batch of chilli is approximately 3-4 days. That means we will get dried chilli after 3-4 days.
Chilli is harvested every day for approximately one and half months. There is mismatch between harvesting rate and drying rate. But
ignoring this element of drawback, the net profit or loss and NPV has been calculated.
Calculation of NPV without considering land investment
Project life 10 years

Initial equipment investment 7,80,000
O&M cost (5%) 39,000
Labor cost (5 Rs per kg of wet chilli) 280000
Savings: Unprocessed chilli 4tonnes*200 = 8,00,000
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NPV 1937514
Savings: Processed chilli 4tonnes*400 = 16,00,0000
NPV 6457288
Calculation of NPV with considering land investment

Initial equipment investment 7,80,000
Land cost 1,00,000
O&M cost (5%) 39,000
Labor cost (5 Rs per kg of wet 280000
chilli)
NPV 1373542
NPV 5892316
We have compared the NPV of solar dryer with that of electric dryer. Following section will explain about electric dryer.
12.11.1.2Electric Dryer
We have picked up the electric dryer specification from the previous TD 609 report by Shraddha and Asawari of 2017 batch. They had
extracted the below information of electric dryer manufacturers from Bangalore. The following details are available:
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Table 12.6 Electric Dryer Specification
Electric Dryer Specification
No of trays 12
Each tray 4 kg
Load 6 kW
Drying rate 48 kg/4.2
hr
Assumptions regarding electric dryer are as follows
1. Set target to dry 56 tonnes of red wet chilli to get 14 tonnes of dry yellow chilli.
2. Considering 8 batches will be dried in a day. Therefore total 384 kg/day will be dried per day.
3. Considering 4 such dryers 1536 kg/day will be dried.
4. Total number of days required to dry 56 tonnes of yellow wet chilli are approximately 37.
Calculation is done to find out number of units required to dry 56 tonnes of yellow wet chilli. Initially 80% moisture content is present
in yellow wet chilli. Calculations are shown in the table:below:
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Table 12.7 Final Moisture content calculation
For 1000 grams
Initial moisture content 80% 800 grams
% loss of moisture 98% of initial moisture content 784 grams
Final moisture content 8% 16 grams
Final total weight 216 grams
There is a need to evaporate 784 grams of moisture per Kg of yellow chilli. Calculations are shown in the table below:
Calculation:
Moisture needs to be 784 Gram

evaporated
Heat required 1887.88 kJ
1887.88 kWs
0.524 kWh
No of units required to dry 1 0.524 kWh/kg
kg
No of units required to dry 805 kWh
1536 kg
Cost per unit (commercial) 5.4 Rs
Revised rates
No of units required 29785
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Total Electricity bill/dryer 40210 Rs
For 4 dryers, total electricity 160839 Rs
bill
*Electricity rates are taken from Tariff schedule of Uttarakhand Electricity Regulation Commission (UERC)
We also got the information about cost of electric dryer and it is Rs. 2,80,000. Then we have calculated NPV to check its feasibility.
Assumptions while calculating NPV are shown below:
Table 12.8 Investment cost for electric dryer:
Electric Dryer ₹ 1,120,000.00

Maintenance ₹ 20,000 Yearly
Electricity Charges ₹ 160839 Yearly
Calculation of NPV without considering land investment

Initial equipment investment ₹ 1,120,000.00
chilli)
O&M cost ₹ 28,000
Electricity Charges ₹ 160839
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NPV 796163
NPV 5315937
Calculation of NPV with considering land investment

Initial equipment investment ₹ 1,120,000.00
Land cost 1,00,000
chilli)
O&M cost ₹ 28,000
Electricity Charges ₹ 160839
NPV 796163
NPV 4750966
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12.11.1.3Drying and Processing Unit:
Drying calculations has been done in the previous section. Here we added processing cost for processing of chilli, we required grinding
machine. The data has again been taken from the TD 609 report of Asawari and Shraddha of 2017 batch who has worked on processing
of red chilli. They have extracted the information by doing internet search and calling up few dealers.
We have assumed investments which is shown in table below:
Table 12.9 Investment cost for drying and processing unit with considering land investment
Size of processing unit (Grinding) 100 kg
Particulars Rupees Percentage
Land 5,00,000 21.5%
Building and civil structure 2,00,000 8.6%
Machinery and equipment (Electric Dryer) 11,20,000.00 48.17%
Machinery and equipment (Processing unit)(3) 3,30,000.00 14.2%
Power installation 100000 4.3%
Others 75000 3.225%
Total cost 23,25,000 100%
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Table 12.10 Investment cost for drying and processing unit without considering land investment
Size of processing unit (Grinding) 100 kg
Particulars Rupees Percentage
Building and civil structure 2,00,000 11%
Machinery and equipment (Electric Dryer) 11,20,000.00 61.37%
Machinery and equipment (Processing unit) 3,30,000.00 18.8%
Power installation 100000 5.48%
Others 75000 4.109%
Total cost 18,25,000 100%
Then we have assumed that cost incurred from processing till packaging of Yellow chilli powder. This cost has been calculated on basis
of Rs/quintal. These are shown in Table.
Table 12.11 Processing cost in Rs/quintal of Yellow chilli

Cost of dry chilli Drying and processing
Particulars Amount (Rs./Quintal) Percentage
Cost of wet chilli 6000 76.5%
Electricity charges (Drying) 283 3.6%
Electricity charges 122 1.55%
(Processing)
Cost of gunny bags 78.22 0.99%
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Handling and transportation 7.07 0.09%
charges
Labor wages 100.00 0.78%
Repairs and maintenance 60.00 1.27%
Market fee 120.00 1.53%
Commission 160.00 2.04%
Office maintenance 7.43 0.097%
Telephone charges 5.87 0.074%
Interest on working 900.00 11.47%
capital@10%pa
Total variable cost 7844 100%
Depreciation 52.68 12.32%
Salaries of permanent labors 63.24 14.79%
Insurance Premium 10.27 2.40%
License Fee 3.94 0.92%
Interest on fixed capital 297.45 69.56%
@12%pa
Total fixed cost 427.584 100%
Packaging cost 800 4Rs per 100 grams of dry
chilli
Total cost (A+B+C) 9071 For 100 kg wet chilli
9071 For 25 kg dry chilli
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36286 For 100 kg dry chilli
Here we have assumed that cost of yellow uttarakhand chilli powder is Rs.600/kg which is taken from market survey. Returns from
processing unit is shown in the table below:
Table 12.12 Returns from processing of chilli

Returns from processing
Wet chilli 500kg
Dried Chilli 125 kg
Dry chilli powder recovery factor 80%
Dry chilli obtained 100 kg
Price (Rs/kg) 600
Value 60000
Drying and processing cost 36286
Net returns (Rs/quintal) 23714
Net returns per year (140 quintals produce) 3319960
12.12Sensitivity Analysis:
The sensitivity analysis for this intervention has been done considering only one factor viz. the income from chilli powder. By assuming
this variables sensitivity analysis is shown in the figure below. The black line at Rs. 1000000 shows the baseline scenario and two
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extremes on either side of the baseline values have been taken for analysis. It can be seen that the intervention is highly sensitive to
fluctuations the selling price of chilli powder.
Price Net returns

(Rs/kg) (Rs/quintal)
400 3714
500 13714
600 23714
700 33714
800 43714
Calculation of benefits:
Initial income 2000000

No. of households in GP Nail 212
Total population 967
Profit per HH 9434
Returns after intervention (Selling price 600 8400000
per kg)
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Profit per HH per annum 39623
Increase in profit per HH per annum 30188
Percentage increase 320%
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Chapter-13 Directed Research: Bio coal formation from pine needles
13.1Introduction
Uttarakhand’s forest is full of pine trees. At many forests, there is a monopoly of pine. The scientific name of the pine tree is pinus
roxaburgi. In uttarakhand it is known as “chid”. Pine trees are evergreen. Pines are long lived and typically reach ages of 100–1,000
years, some even more. The longest-lived is the Great Basin bristlecone pine, Pinus longaeva. One individual of this species, dubbed
"Methuselah", is one of the world's oldest living organisms at around 4,600 years old.
Figure 13.1 pine tree forest
The five subparts of the nail village are connected by the forest. And that forest mainly contains pine tree. The chid trees have grown in
this region since 40 years. This pine forests come under the forest department of the uttarakhand state. Local people over here use pine
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for various purposes. They use pine tree as bed for the animals. Also they use pine wood and pine cones for the burning purpose. When
the pine tree is burnt, then it gives black fog and which gets accumulated on the walls of the kitchen.
The pine is causing many problems in this area. The leaves or needles of the pine tree are highly combustible and catches fire quickly.
The leaves of the pine fall in the months from march to june. These dry leaves catch fire and leads to the burning of the plants on the
mountain. This leads to the burning of the crops as the farms are situated in the mountain. Also due to fire, the smoke formation happens
and that leads to the atmospheric pollution. Due to climate change because of the pollution the various trees in this region are extinct.
People in the nail village are not using pine needles for burning purpose because it burns very quickly. They don’t use the pine needles
except as bed for animals. and after that these leaves catches fire and burn the vegetation of the mountain.
People in the village are thinking pine tree as curse for them. They say that there is a fire due to the pine needles in the village. And pine
tree is sucking water from the soil, rather than giving water to the soil.
13.2 Rationale of DR
Struggle with livelihoods
There is a lot of struggle for livelihoods in the nail village. The main source of income in the nail village is the agriculture. The agriculture
is the subsistence agriculture. And this is mostly rainfed agriculture. And the agriculture is facing the problems of the wild animals, now
a days. Because most of the part of the nail village comes under forest. The joint families are also converting to the nuclear one. Earlier
people in the family used to divide their work and were able to manage their farms. The task division was important because the farms
of the people are scattered. Also people used to go in the farms at night time, to keep wild animals away. But now a days people are
migrating, hence people are not going to the farms. Hence the farm outputs are supporting livelihood.
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Figure 13.2 village activities overview
13.3Possible solution for livelihood crisis

Chili is the only cash crop in this region. This crop grows because the wild animals don’t destroy that crop. So if people will take the
crops like turmeric, ginger then wild animals will not destroy that. And people will get money from the agriculture.
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Also If we set up an industry here, then people over here will get employment opportunities. And that will improve the livelihood of the
people over here. So the bio coal formation from the pine needles is the good option for improving livelihoods of the people.
13.4Condition of fuel usage in the Nail village

For cooking purpose, 100% of households used firewood as a primary source of energy. 92 % households use both LPG and firewood.
But the usage of LPG is very less. People use LPG only for making tea, hot water and for cooking when they are in hurry. It is shown
in Figure.
Fuel usage pattern
firewoood
firewood+LPG
Figure 13.3 Pattern of fuel usage in the village

In nail village of the Uttarakhand people mostly use the pine wood for cooking purpose. Almost all families have the LPG, but they use
it for purposes like boiling of the water and making tea, etc. Hence they use it only for the purposes where there is the less consumption
of the LPG. People have to go the forests to cut the trees for wood. Hence there is a drudgery of women in wood collection. Also people
have to carry gas cylinder by their own in the mountains. Hence there is a lot of drudgery in carrying cylinder over mountains. The pine
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tree has resin. That resin is burnt with the pine wood and stick to the coking vessels and walls as the black substance. Hence if we use
torrefied pellets for cooking purpose, then that will volatize resin. Also that will reduce the pollution after the combustion. There are
health problems in using pine wood. And if villagers use LPG, then health problems will be reduced. But there is drudgery in the bringing
the cylinder from road to the houses in the mountain. Hence there is a need of alternative fuel for cooking purpose.
People in nail village have less livelihood opportunities. The people over here do only farming and wild animals destroy the farms and
eat the crops in the farm. Hence they don’t get enough money from farms also. As their income is low, they can’t afford the LPG and
they use pine wood for cooking purpose and that leads to the health issues. If there is the torrefaction unit, then that will give income
opportunities to the few people. Also people will collect pine cone needles and the can earn money from that. In nail village, almost in
all houses one man is migrated for job. And there is demand for livelihood opportunities from the women in the village.
Less
Less income can't afford Health
livelihood
of the peple LPG problems
opportunities
Figure 13.4 Livelihood problem
13.5Health issues in the women by using chulha

Many women in this village have a breathing problem. That problem might be due to the usage of wood for the cooking purpose. Also
they don’t have chimney to get rid of the smoke, hence that smoke get stuck in the room and causes problems to the women.
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13.6 Torrefaction process
13.6.1Introduction
Pyrolysis is basically, the decomposition of biomass by heating in an oxygen-free or oxygen-limited environment results in the
production of three phases: gas, condensable vapours (leading up to bio-oil) and char. Torrefaction is a pyrolysis in controlled
atmosphere. Torrefaction process is mild form of pyrolysis with slow heating of biomass. The process is basically performed in the inert
atmosphere with the absence of oxygen. The temperature requirement for the pyrolysis is between 200 to 320 0C. There is amelioration
of the physical and chemical properties of biomass. the unprocessed biomass has low bulk density, high moisture content, hydrophilic
nature.
Figure 13.5 Various pyroliysis processes

The torrefied biomass has properties like high bulk density, low moisture content, hydrophobic nature, reduction in energy need for
grinding process and hence there is possibility of achieving uniform size of biomass. if there are multiple raw biomass, then torrefaction
leads to the homogenization of the physical and chemical properties. Torrefaction removes oxygen content of the fuel and hence that
leads to the removal of certain acidic volatile compounds that release after the combustion process. Hence torrefied coal leads to the less
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pollution compared to the combustion of petrol, diesel, wood, etc. The torrefied products are used in the combustion and gasification
applications. Torrefaction when combined with densification (pelletization/ briquetting) creates 20 to 21 GJ/ ton lower heating value.
the torrfied product with densification is a promising to overcome logistic economics in large scale sustainable energy solutions because
this make it easier to transport and store it. The pellets and briquettes are lighter, drier and more stable compared to the unprocessed
biomass.
13.6.2Operations in the torrefaction process

Torrefaction is carried out in the absence of the oxygen, atmospheric pressure and at 200-3200C. during torrefaction process the water
conent, superfluous volatiles a rereleased. Also the biopolymers like lignin, hemicellulose, cellulose partly decompose. The final product
remained in the form of solid, dry material with black in colour. That material is known is torrefied biomass or biochar.
For torrefaction, we first need to do primary treatments on the biomass. Primary treatment involves drying and shredding of the biomass.
Then we have to perform the torrefaction in reactor with inert atmosphere. After torrefaction we have to do compacting of torrefied
biomass. the energy for drying and torrefaction can be obtained from combustor. And we can use energy released from torrefaction, by
providing it back to the combustor.
Figure 13.6 operations in torrefaction process
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13.7Checking for the feasibility of DR
13.7.1Daily activity clock of women
From the daily activity clock of the women, women are having free time between 2 to 4. In that time most of the women are taking rest.
When we asked women in FGD about the pine needle collection, then we got positive response. Earlier one project was run by NGO,
and the burash lower juice is made by villagers. Hence there can be good amount of collection pine needles from the villagers.
The daily activity clock of women with livestock is different from the women who don’t have livestock. The women having livestock
have to go for cutting the grass in the forest. And they have to spend 6 hours of a day for the same purpose. Hence they will not have
time for the collection of pine needles. Hence the collection of pine needles will be done by women who don’t have livestock.
13.7.2Checking for the response about pine needle collection

People in the nail village are enthusiastic to do work. One project was run by sanjeevani NGO to make the juice of the burash flower,
state flower of the uttarakhand. That flower normally grows in the high altitudes. People in the nail village have cut that flower and then
they made juice by themselves with the help of NGO. This incidence shows that the people are ready to do new things. Also the questions
were asked in the women FGD, and women are ready to collect pine needles if they are getting paid for that. Most of the men in this
region are migrating because there is no livelihood option over here. And the women in this region do agriculture but due to wild animals
they are getting income from the mirch only. All other crops are not even enough for their subsistence. Hence if there is some
employment opportunity, then that will be very helpful to this people.
13.7.3Road transport map of the uttarakhand

The road map of uttarakhand is important because the roads are not there because of mountains. The roads are important for
transportation of biomass to the plant and bio coal to the industries. Then we have to set up the plant at location, which will be connected
to the road. We can see that there is a quite good network of roads within the district almora. Also there is good network of road between
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almora and it’s surrounding districts. It is important because we have to set the radius for selling of bio coal to have low transportation
cost.
Figure 13.7 Road connectivity of uttarakhand
Potential market for the torrefied coal
We can use the torrefied briquettes for the cooking purpose in the village. Also we can use briquettes for cooking purpose in the schools,
hotels, dhabas, etc. the briquettes are more appropriate in this region, because people are using pine wood for cooking purpose, which
creates health problems. And the cost of LPG is high for this people and there is a lot of drudgery in carrying cylinder from road to their
houses by climbing the mountain. Also we can provide briquettes to the small scale industries that are near to the nail village. The small
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scale industries near the area of nail village are the potential industries for selling of the briquettes. The nearest industries should be
targeted in order to save the transportation cost of the briquettes.
13.7.4Industrial map of Uttarakhand

The kumaon region in uttarakhand consists of the following districts. The industrial map of uttarakhand is as shown in the figure below.
Figure 13.8 Industrial map of uttarakhand
The nail comes in the syaldey block of Almora. The districts near to the almora are nainital, chamoli, pauri, bageshwar. Amongst them
the almora, nainital, bageshwar comes under the kumaon region and pauri, chamoli comes under gadhwal region. The radius of
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transportation for nainital will be 66 km, for bageshwar will be 58 km, for pauri will be 73 km, for chamoli will be 80 km. Hence the
maximum radius for the transportation of final product will be 80 km and the minimum radius will be 58 km.
13.7.5Market Analysis
Almora region –
In the almora district, there are 65 firms are there. Among that there is 41 manufacture center and 24 service center. And among that 40
are micro firms, 22 small firms and 3 are medium firms.
Table 13.1 Industry division of almora

Manufacturing centers Service centers
41 24
Table 13.2detailed industrial division of almora

Micro firms Small firms Medium firms
40 22 3
Table.13.3 Market for bio coal in almora

Major firms where bio coal can be used No. of firms
Hotel and restaurant 15
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Dairy food processing units 2
Spices processing unit 1
Bakery products 2
Metal works firms 7
Fruit processing, herbal tea making 2
Organic seed processing unit 1
Dye processing unit 1
Nainital region –
In the nainital district, there are 215 firms are there. Among that there is 164 manufacture center and 51 service center. And among that
160 are micro firms, 52 small firms and 3 are medium firms.
Table.13.4 Industrial division in nainital

164 51
Table.13.5 detailed industrial division in nainital

160 52 3
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Table.13.6 market for bio coal in nainital
Major firms where bio coal can be used No. of

firms
Bakery products 3
Metal works firms 27
Fruit processing, herbal tea making and food processing 14
Dye processing and handloom unit 1
Beauty products 1
Atta, rice processing unit 30
Drinking water 3
Brick mfg. unit 3
Paper cup mfg. unit 1
Chemical industries including plastic processing industries 5
Jewellery making 2
Cement tiles mfg. unit 4
Candle mfg. 2
Phenyl and toilet cleaner making 3
Injection moulding 1
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bageshwar region –
Table.13.7 Industrial division of bageshwar

41 24
Table.13.8 Detailed industrial division of bageshwar

40 22 3
Table.13.9 Market of bio coal in bageshwar

Woolen and handloom making 1
Bakery products 3
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Metal works firms 5
Grain processing unit 7
Production of electrical items 1
Washing powder and soap mfg. unit 1
Chamoli region –
Table.13.10 Market divison in chamoli

14 19
Table.13.11 Detailed market division in chamoli

27 6 0
Table.13.12 market of bio coal in chamoli

Atta, oil explling 1
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Brick and flower pot mfg. 1
Food products processing unit 1
Bakery products 2
Metal works firms 2
Fruit processing, herbal tea making 1
water processing unit 1
Tyre retrading 1
Pauri region –
Table.13.13 Maarket division in pauri

50 26
Table.13.14 Detailed market division in pauri

52 24 0
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Table.13.15 market of bio coal in pauri
Bakery products 1
Metal works firms 4
Fruit processing, herbal tea making and food processing 2
Dye processing and handloom unit 4
Chemical industries including plastic processing industries 4
Cement tiles mfg. unit 2
Kitchen, doors mfg. 1
Electo-mechanical medical equipments 1
Auto services center 2
Solar equipment mfg. unit 1
13.7.6Forest department
Understanding the forest department of uttarakhand is important in bio coal formation from pine needles, as pine trees come under
forest. There are four levels of administration of the forest department at district level.
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Forest DFO- district development officer passses the budget from deharadun
and distribute it for development of forest.
Deprtment
Hierarchy OFFICE RANGER- the total vanpanchayat and goverenment forsets
come under the observation of office ranger.
FOREST GUARD- protection of forest in the oppose of cutting

trees, saving forests from fire, protetion of animals in the forest, etc.
comes under the forest guard.
SARPANCH- the works like tree planatation, check dam, protection

wall, gobar gas plant, biogas plant, cutting of unwanted grasses (
latena, curie), water management in forest, river water management,
management of wild animals by providng fences to the people comes
under the sarpanch.
Figure.13.9 Forest department hierarchy

All the development works in the village comes under the forest department. The major problems in the village are water stress, forest
fires due to pine tree, wild animals ruining crops in the farm. The management of all this issues comes under forest department. But the
budget is not sanctioned for the nail village under forest department, since 2014.
The sarpanch is get appointed at village level only by the villagers. The monthly meeting of the forest department is held at tamadhon
in which 124 sarpanch of the chowkat union participate. In this meeting the plans are get discussed about the management of forest. But
no plan gets implemented because of the lack of the budget. Sarpanch assigns two people for taking care of the forest fires. These people
get 248 Rs./ day for 48 days. This is a good opportunity for employment, but no money is received since 2014.
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Also there was darathi system, in which the 20 Rs. /3 months was collected from the people who are bringing grass, wood from the
forest. And that money was used for development of village like bringing utensils for community functions like marriage, yatra, etc. But
now the darathi is not getting collected from people.
The sarpanch of nail village said that forest department is sanctioning the budget, hence if they will get the royalty of the lisa then they
will get enough money for development of the forest. Also if people will go to village for the collection of medicinal plants, then that
will also generate good revenue for the people.
Civil land is the land that belongs to the people. This is also called as ‘nabhum’ in uttarakhand. There are pine trees on this land also.
People need to take permission of the forest department to cut those trees. If they cut trees in civil or forest land without the permission
of the forest department, then that will lead to the penalty of 10,000 Rs. along with 3 months jail.
Policies, Schemes and Incentives for working upon energy generation from pine needles
There are incentives from forest department of uttarakhand and state government of uttarakhand for working on energy generation from
pine needles. Here is the some information about schemes and policies-
Central government incentives- Clean development mechanism
Keeping in view the environment friendly nature of these projects, the developers shall be eligible to claim the benefits available under
the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The project developer shall pass on the benefits of Clean Development Mechanism as per
the directions provided by CERC/UERC (Central Electricity Regulatory Commission/ Uttarakhand Electricity Regulatory Commission)
from time to time .The CDM, in particular, aims to assist developing countries in achieving sustainable development by promoting
environmentally friendly investment from industrialized country governments and businesses
CDM can contribute to a developing country’s sustainable development objectives through:
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• Transfer of technology and financial resources
• Sustainable ways of energy production
• Increasing energy efficiency & conservation
• Poverty alleviation through income and employment generation
• Local environmental side benefits
13.7.6.1State Government Incentives – Policy for Power Generation from Pirul (Pine Leaves) and Other Biomass–2018
The pine leaves and other biomass based power generation units setup under the Uttarakhand State Policy for Power Generation from
Pine Leaves-2018 shall be treated as an industry and would be entitled to the benefits prescribed under the prevailing Industrial
Promotion Policy of Government of India and Uttarakhand micro, small, medium enterprise policy-2015, as and where applicable . The
developer shall be eligible as per for Central Financial Assistance as per the standing Guidelines of Ministry of New and Renewable
Power (MNRE) Government of India.
Electricity Duty – The developers shall be exempted from payment of electricity duty on the electricity generated by the power plant
for 10 year only after commissioning.
Stamp Duty – If the power generation unit is set up in private land, the developer shall be exempted from payment of stamp duty for
registration of documents. In case developer used this land for other purpose, the amount of stamp duty shall be recovered from the
developer.
Van Panchayat shall have to collect pine leaves and other biomass through human resources only (not from any automatic plant), for
which light tools can be used. For the collection of forest produce, such equipment shall not be allowed to be taken in the forest area
due to which forest area are prone to immediate for future forest. UREDA ( Uttarakhand renewable energy development agency)/ Forest
Department shall support the training & capacity building activities for CBOs (Chief business officer) on various issues related to
setting-up of biomass based projects.
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13.7.6.2State Government Incentives – Integration of Renewable Power Programme with Other Schemes
Forest fires have been seen to be almost regular features which are caused mainly due to presence of pine leaves in the forests, implying
that there is utmost need to remove pine leaves from forest floor on a regular basis. For this purpose, concerted efforts shall be made by
concerned Government departments to integrate the schemes being operated by them with the pine leaves collection activity by the local
community. Moreover, in case of SHGs and their above level federations, schemes like MGNREGS (the Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee act 2005, Ministry Of Rural Development, Government Of India), NRLM (National Rural Livelihood
Mission) and other Community development based Centrally/State /EAP (Externally Aided Projects) funded schemes may also be
integrated with this scheme for creation of infrastructure and other financial support. Interest subvention schemes of Central
Government/State Government for financial inclusion support to CBOs ((Chief business officer) shall also be integrated with this
scheme.
13.7.6.3State government’s incentives on MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise) policy
For the improved execution of the MSME policy, the state has been divided into four main class—A, B, C and D. A is the majority
rearward and D the best urbanized. The capital investment financial support is 40 per cent for districts under class A, 35 per cent for
class B, 30 per cent for class C district and 15 per cent in class D. The interest financial support offered is 10 per cent, 8 per cent and 6
per cent in classes A, B and C, in that order. though, no interest subsidy is obtainable to MSMEs located in class D.
Table.13.16 Category of industry division

Category Included Region
Category A Whole districts of pittorgarh, uttrarkashi, chamoli, champavat, rudraprayag and
bageshwar
Category B Whole district of almora
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All hilly development blocks of district pauri garhwal, tehri garhwal ( excluding
regions under category B+)
All hilly development blocks of district nainital and Dehradun ( excluding
regions under category B+)
Category B+ Kotdwar, sigaddi and adjoining plain regions of dugadda development block of
district pauri garhwal
Dhalwala, muni ki reti, tapovan and adjoining plain regions of fakot
development block of district tehri garhwal
Kotabagh development block of district nainital
Plain regions of kalsi development block of district Dehradun.
Category C Regions located above 650 meters from seal level in raipur, sahaspur, vikasnagar
and doiwala development blocks of district Dehradun
Ramnagar and haldwani developmement blocks of district nainital
Category D Whole districts of haridwar and udhamsingh nagar
Remaining area ofdistrict Dehradun and nainital (which are not included in
category B, B+, C)
Apart from these incentives, class A MSMEs will obtain their complete VAT reimbursed throughout the first five years after the initiation
of production and 90 percent compensation in the next five years. MSMEs in Category B, apart from receiving full VAT compensation
for the initial five years, will be given 75 percent compensation for the following five-year period. Class C and D will not obtain any
VAT incentives. everyone the categories, apart from D, shall be excused from paying stamp duty. MSMEs in class D will have to
reimburse 50 percent stamp duty.
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As per the MSME policy of Uttarakhand, invented by the department of MSMEs and the Industries Association of Uttarakhand (IAU),
which symbolize the interests of MSMEs, the state administration will provide hold up to create the transportation, ease the cluster
progress schemes of the Centre, set up little apparatus rooms and develop a land bank so land can be given to MSMEs at a concessional
cost. The policy additionally centers on abilities improvement among the young of the state.
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Figure.13.10 subsidies given for MSM
13.8 Basic information about DR

13.8.1Objectives
With this background, our objectives are as follows-
• Finding out market for the bio coal

• checking for the feasibility of bio coal over other fuels for energy purpose
• Evaluating feasibility of bio coal formation unit from pine needle
13.8.2Methodology
The following steps were undertaken a part of this research.
1. Understanding the willingness to collect pine needles through personal interactions and FGD
2. Understanding acceptability of bio coal in cooking through unstructured interviews with villagers
3. Understanding the management of pine needles from forest department
4. Conducting a literature survey for analysis feasibility of bio coal processing unit from pine needle
5. Analyzing information to get better solution for existing condition
13.8.3Sampling
In household survey the questions related to pine tree was included, the problems with the pine tree was asked. There are five villages
under the nail village namely nail, mallibakli, thadidhar, gagnaula, jairaj. In that villages also there are hamlets scattered over area and
height. All the hamlets in the villages were surveyed. And half of the villages in each hamlets were covered. The major issue came out
as there is the fire due to the pine needles.
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13.8.4Properties of the pine needles
In literature, the experiment performed to find out properties of pine needles. Pine needles collected from local resources were initially
washed thoroughly with detergent powder. After this these needles were soaked in hot distilled water for 3 h, dried for 48 h in air at
room temperature followed by drying at 100 °C for 24 h to adjust the moisture content to 1 to 2%, and then stored in a vacuum dessicator.
Then these fibers were ground into a powder particle of 200 microns size. The presence of moisture in the fiber may affect the chemical
reaction between the lignocellulosic material and polymer matrix and results in poor adhesion. Physico-chemical characteristics of the
pine needles are presented in the Table
Table.13.17 Properties of pine needles

Physical properties Chemical properties
Length of pine needles 170-250 mm Lignin 33.37%
Diameter 0.7- 1.31 mm Holocellulose 67.29%
Color Brown Ash 2.71%
Extractives 15%
Pentosan 11.57%
Compounds such as resin, tannins, lignin, terpenes, and waxes have high energy values whereas carbohydrates have relatively low
values. There are no direct relations between HHV and the holocellulose of the lingo-cellulosic fuels, but there are good relations
between the lignin contents and determined HHVs of the lingo-cellulosic fuel samples. As lignin content gets increased, the HHV is
also increasing.
13.8.5 Techno economic analysis

For doing techno-economic analysis, we must know the fuel conversion ratios in order to compare coal with LPG. The direct conversion
ratios are not available from the literature for coal and LPG, hence there are ratios of coal with wood, LPG with wood and torrefied fuel
with wood. From two different papers, there is minimum and maximum fuel usage ratio
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Hence the minimum and maximum fuel usage ratios are as follows
(Kg charcoal/ Kg wood)1 = 1.11 ( calorific value of charcoal 25 MJ/ Kg)
(Kg charcoal/ Kg wood)2= 0.36 ( calorific value of charcoal 25 MJ/ Kg)
(Kg wood/ Kg LPG)1 = 1.87 ( calorific value of LPG 46.1 MJ/ Kg)
(Kg wood/ Kg LPG)2= 8.95 ( calorific value of LPG 46.1 MJ/ Kg)
(Kg Torr. Fuel/ Kg wood)1= 0.95 ( calorific value of Torrefied fuel 21.2 MJ/ Kg)
In the last conversion there was a comparison between wood and torrefied pellets than between wood and coal. Because the torrefied
coal is more likely to burn like a wood than a coal because of having higher oxygen content and hydrogen content. LPG usage was first
converted into equivalent wood usage, and then into equivalent Torrefied fuel usage. Wood was converted into Torrefied fuel by ratio
of calorific value. from the tests, Torrefied pine needles have a calorific value of 21.22 MJ/kg at selected process conditions of 250oc
and 15 minutes residence times. Also in literature, pine wood is reported to have a calorific value of 14.7 MJ/kg. Hence from the energy
equivalence, 0.95 kg of wood equates to 1 kg of Torrefied fuel. This ratio, in combination with the LPG/wood ratios above, will be used
to estimate a range of equivalent Torrefied fuel consumption, given a defined LPG consumption. The prices of torrefied bio coal are
taken as Rs. 10, 12, 14/ kg from Indiamart. The price of bio coal is Rs. 12- 14/ kg on Indiamart. And the price Rs. 10/ kg is taken by
considering bulk orders.
13.8.6Household Analysis
The requirement of cylinder varies from people to people in the nail village. Some people use one cylinder for 1 an half month and for
some people it lasts about 3 months. People cook majority of food with pine wood. The pine wood is free of cost available for the
villagers, but it requires a lot time for collection, lot of walking is needed and there are health problems because of the smoke of the
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pine wood while burning. According to villagers the cost of subsidized cylinder is 650 Rs. Hence the cost analysis for 1 year of the
people in the nail village is as follows,
For people who use cylinder for 1 and half months = Rs.5200/ yr.
For people who use cylinder for 3 months = Rs.2600/ yr.
For household analysis, let’s take a average family size as 4
For four people charcoal requirement is 3.5 kg/ day
(Kg charcoal/ Kg wood)1= 1.11
(Kg charcoal/ Kg wood)2= 0.36
(Kg Torr. Fuel/ Kg wood)1= 0.95 ( calorific value of Torrefied fuel 21.2 MJ/ Kg)
Low estimate of Torr. Fuel consumption = (3.5/1.11)*0.95 = 3 Kg/day
High estimate of Torr. Fuel consumption = (3.5/0.36)*0.95 = 9.23 kg/day
Assuming, the Torr. Fuel is sold at a price of 10 Rs/kg, 12 Rs/kg, 14 Rs/kg.
Low estimate of Torr. Fuel costs = Low estimate of Torr. Fuel consumption * Biomass selling price*365 days
High estimate of Torr. Fuel costs = High estimate of Torr. Fuel consumption * Biomass selling price*365 days
For bio coal price 10 price

Rs./kg
low torr. Estimate 10950
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high torr. Estimate 33689.5

Rs./kg

Rs./kg
The cost of LPG goes to Rs. 2600 to 5200/ yr. And the cost of bio coal goes to Rs. 10,950 to 47,165/ yr, for bio coal selling price Rs.
10, 12, 14 / kg. Hence the LPG is more economical over bio coal.
13.8.7Critique
According to the report on 5th February 2019 in economic times, India is 2 nd largest LPG consumer after government’s ujawala yojana.
Hence is it appropriate to give subsidy on LPG?
And how Indian government will meet the demand after few years, when there will be depletion of non- renewable sources of energy?
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13.8.8Interviews of the people for checking acceptability of bio coal in households
The interviews of 5 people were taken to know the acceptability of the bio coal as cooking fuel in the chulha. Most of the people use
pine wood as their cooking fuel. And pine wood is free of cost. They said that the pine wood turns their kitchen roof into black color.
And it also causes the health problems. And the reason they don’t use LPG is because of the cost of the LPG is high from them. Some
people said that when they have less time for cooking then only they use LPG. People said that they will use torrefied bio coal, only if
it is cheap than LPG and have less smoke with less time should be required for cooking on bio coal. There is possibility to replace LPG
with bio coal, because there a lot of drudgery to carry LPG in the mountains. But again it is time taking process.
13.8.9Hotel Analysis (For eateries)

LPG Consumption – Domestic
LPG consumption = 6 cylinders/month or 72 cylinders/year
14.2 kg of LPG in one cylinder
LPG usage = 14.2*6 = 85.2 kg/month
Calorific value of LPG = 46.1 MJ/kg.
Energy consumption = 72*14.2*46.1 MJ/year = 47,132.64 MJ/year
Cost of each cylinder = 800 Rs/cylinder
Total cost = 800*72 Rs/year = 57,600 Rs/year
Estimated Torr. Fuel Consumption
Based on the methodology to convert fuel usage from one fuel,
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LPG usage = 85.2 kg/month
Equivalent wood consumption 1 = 85.2*1.87 = 159.324 kg wood/month
Equivalent wood consumption 2 = 85.2*8.95 = 762.54 Kg wood/month
Higher Heating Value of wood = 14.7 MJ/kg
Higher Heating Value of Torr. Fuel = 21.22 MJ/kg
(Torrefaction @ 250oC and 15 minutes residence time followed by bomb calorimetry)
Therefore, (Kg Torr. Fuel/ Kg wood)1= 0.95 ( calorific value of Torrefied fuel 21.2 MJ/ Kg)
Torr. Fuel price = 10 Rs/kg
Torr. Fuel use 1 = Equivalent wood consumption 1*0.95 = 151.35 Kg/month
Torr. Fuel use 2 = Equivalent wood consumption 2*0.95 = 724.41 Kg/month
Torr. Fuel expenditure 1 = Torr.Fuel use 1*selling price of bio coal*12 months
for bio coal price 10 Rs./Kg Price

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For bio coal price 12 Rs./Kg Price
low torr. Estimate 21794.4
For bio coal price 14 Rs./ Price

Kg
low torr. Estimate 25426.8
The cost of domestic LPG for hotel goes upto Rs. 57,600/ yr. And the cost of bio coal goes to Rs. 18,162 to 1,21,700 yr, for bio coal
selling price Rs. 10, 12, 14 / kg. Hence the LPG can be economical over bio coal.
LPG Consumption-Commercial
LPG consumption = 4 cylinders/month or 48 cylinders/year
19 kg of LPG in one cylinder
LPG usage = 19*4 = 76 kg/month
Calorific value of LPG = 46.1 MJ/kg
Energy consumption = 48*19*46.1 MJ/year = 42043.2 MJ/year
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Cost of each cylinder = 1500 Rs/cylinder (from parallel market)
Total cost = 1500*48 Rs/year = 72000 Rs/year
Estimated Torr. Fuel Consumption
Based on the methodology to convert fuel usage from one fuel,
LPG consumption = 4 cylinders/month
(Equivalent wood consumption)1 = (19*4)*1.87 = 142.12 kg wood/month
(Equivalent wood consumption)2 = (19*4)*8.95 = 680.2 Kg wood/month
Higher Heating Value of wood = 14.7 MJ/kg
Higher Heating Value of Torr. Fuel = 21.22 MJ/kg
(Torrefaction @ 250oC and 15 minutes residence time followed by bomb calorimetry)
Therefore, (Kg Torr. Fuel/ Kg wood)1= 0.95 ( calorific value of Torrefied fuel 21.2 MJ/ Kg)
Torr. Fuel price =10 Rs/kg
Torr. Fuel use 1 = Equivalent wood consumption 1*0.95 = 135Kg/month
Torr. Fuel use 2 = Equivalent wood consumption 2*0.95 = 646.2 kg/month
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Torr. Fuel expenditure2 = Torr.Fuel use 2*selling price of bio coal*12 months
For bio coal price 10 Rs./ Kg Price

high torr. Estimate 77544


The cost of commertial LPG for hotel goes upto Rs. 72,000/ yr. And the cost of bio coal goes to Rs. 16,200 to 1,08,561/ yr, for bio coal
selling price Rs. 10, 12, 14 / kg. When the bio coal price is Rs. 10/ kg, then the bio coal is more feasible over LPG. And for bio coal
price Rs. 12, 14/ kg, LPG can be economical over bio coal.
13.8.10For big hotels

Calculation for using biomass boiler system for water heating
Total electricity bill of hotel visited = 15,000 Rs/month (water heating and space heating is the main consumption)
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The hotel visited had 15 geysers with 1 geyser per room. The volume capacity of each geyser was 30 L. The power capacity of each
geyser is 1 kW.
Thus, on a day the peak demand for hot water is on a winter morning, with all rooms occupied and using hot water for bathing in a span
of 1 hour can be 15*30, or 450 L. This can be approximated to 500 L/h to accommodate for people/families that use more hot water for
bathing than 1 full tank of the geyser. A biomass pellet based water boiler system with 600 L/h of water output can be used for this
hotel. Based on the specification sheet given by the company, the efficiency of the boiler is 80%. Specifications are shown for water
being heated from 20-80oC.
Calculation for 30 liters water heater
Typically, an electric geyser in a bathroom can heat up its full capacity of 30L in about 15 minutes or 0.25 hours (based on experience
of using them). The commercial cost of electricity found out was 5 Rs/kWh. Therefore the cost of using an electric geyser to heat up its
full capacity is 1.25 Rs.
To heat 30 L of water from 20oCto 85oC, the amount of energy required is,
Q = 30*4.18* (85-20)*103 J = 8.15 MJ
The efficiency of the boiler in the specification sheet is 80%. Therefore,
Q = 10.18 MJ
Calorific value of Torrefied biomass = 21.22 MJ/kg
Total amount of Torrefied pellets needed for this = (10.18/21.22) = 0.48 Kg
Cost of Torrefied pellets = 10 Rs/kg
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Therefore cost of heating 30 L of water using a pellet based boiler = 4.8 Rs
Cost of Torrefied pellets = 12Rs/kg
Therefore cost of heating 30 L of water using a pellet based boiler = 5.76 Rs
Cost of Torrefied pellets = 14 Rs/kg
Therefore cost of heating 30 L of water using a pellet based boiler = 6.72Rs
The price of electricity for heating 30 liters is Rs. 1.25. And the price of heating of 30 liters water with bio coal is Rs. 4.8, 5.76, 6.72 for
bio coal prices 10, 12, 14 respectively. Hence it is not feasible to use bio coal for heating water over LPG.
13.8.11Bakery analysis
Abellon Bio Energy sells a biomass pellet fired oven which is ideal for small bakeries and biscuit factories.
The specifications of the oven that were used are as follows :
Pellet Feed Rate: 7-15 Kg/hr
Power Input: 0.75 HP or 0.55 kW
Moreover, the following assumptions were made:
The oven feed rate is 7 Kg/hr.
The lifetime of the oven is 5 years.
The shop is open 350 days/year.
Average cost of commercial LPG cylinder = 1500 Rs./ cylinder
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Commercial LPG fuel costs
The shop that uses an LPG fired oven, consumes 10 commercial cylinders in a month.
Therefore,
LPG fuel cost = 10 x 1500 x 12 = 1, 80,000 Rs/year
Biomass Oven Usage Cost
Since the oven is used as per demand, or can be used for 2, 3, 4 and 6 hours/day.
Consider the electricity costs about the Rs. 5/ KWh
Biomass usage fuel cost = bio coal cost + electricity cost
Biomass usage fuel cost = (oven feed rate* No. of hours* biomass selling price* no. of working days in year of bakery) + ( power input*
No. of hours* unit cost of electricity* no. of working days in a year of bakery)
Table.13.18 For bio coal price 10 Rs./ kg

No. of working hours Bio coal cost Electricity cost Total cost
2 49000 1925 50925
3 73500 2887.5 76387.5
4 98000 3850 101850
6 147000 5775 152775
Average cost=
95484.375
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2 58800 1925 60725
3 88200 2887.5 91087.5
4 117600 3850 121450
6 176400 5775 182175
Average cost =
113859.375

2 68600 1925 70525
3 102900 2887.5 105787.5
4 137200 3850 141050
6 205800 5775 211575
Average cost =
132234.375
Biomass Oven Cost = 20,000 Rs
Assuming the lifetime of the oven to be 5 years,
Annualized biomass oven cost = (20,000/5) = 4000 Rs/year
Total cost of biomass oven usage for bio coal price = Average cost + Annualized biomass oven cost
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Total cost of biomass oven usage for bio coal price 10 Rs./ Kg = 99,484 Rs/year
Total cost of biomass oven usage for bio coal price 10 Rs./ Kg = 1,17,859 Rs/year
Total cost of biomass oven usage for bio coal price 10 Rs./ Kg = 1,36,234 Rs/year
The total cost of LPG for bakery is Rs. 1,80,000/ yr. And when the cost with bio coal is Rs. 10/ kg, then the cost for bakery is Rs.
99,484/ yr. When the cost with bio coal is Rs. 12/ kg, then the cost for bakery is Rs. 1,17,858/ yr. When the cost with bio coal is Rs. 14/
kg, then the cost for bakery is Rs. 1,36,234/ yr. Hence the use of bio coal for bakery is economically feasible over use of LPG.
13.9 SWOT analysis

Before beginning a venture, it is imperative to evaluate the risks associated with such a venture. Thus SWOT analysis (Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) is important.
13.9.1Strengths
Integration of Local and External Knowledge
One of the most apparent strengths of this business is the integration of both local knowledge and external knowledge. The successful
implementation of the business is highly influenced by how easily the business integrates in the local context, including the local
economy, culture, and society. Thus, the perspectives of local knowledge, represented by the local entrepreneurs and managers who
would be heavily involved in the direction of the business, and eventually preside over the company essentially. This integration of local
insight is essential, and would greatly aid the business.
Furthermore, the benefit of external expertise, specialized in engineering, and having experience from various parts of the world, would
bring additional insight to the company that many other local rival businesses would likely not have.
Established Local Contacts
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We have already established contacts and rapport in nail. We already have a mild grasp on the local context in order to have a somewhat
clear image of what would be required to being the venture. Thus, having experience and contacts in the region, we already has a basis
to begin development.
Importantly, we have already established contact with the local governing authorities, including officials in the Regional Forest
Department. Thus, issues arising from policies, particularly with the forest and pine needle collection, could be avoiding by strengthening
these relationships with these parties.
Logistical Advantage
Compared to producing raw biomass pellets, torrefied pellets/briquettes have distinct advantages, particularly in the logistics chain.
Torrefied pellets are much more energy dense (having a higher calorific value and higher energy density) than raw biomass, as the
moisture and other low-energy components have already been extracted during torrefaction. Thus, the transport and storage of this fuel
is much more efficient, being already in a compressed, high energy form, than as bulky pine needles or raw briquettes which contain
significant moisture. This reduces logistics costs substantially. Torrefied pellets, also, are far less susceptible to biological degradation
in the storage phase.
Key Partnerships
Several key partnerships that would sustain the business are readily available. As mentioned, relationships with the local Forest
Department have already been established, helping to secure the biomass. In addition, cookstove suppliers in India are looking for
markets for their product and are readily offering training and support to new clients. Thus, the torrefaction business would be able to
collaborate with the cookstove suppliers to provide customer support and maintenance for the cookstoves sold, helping the transition of
users to a new cooking technology/fuel.
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13.9.2Weaknesses
Immature Technology
TThe actual technology of the torrefaction reactor needs development, and is currently far from being on production level. The concept
of torrefaction has been proven, and the possibility certainly exists to apply it to pine needles. However, the design of the reactor must
be refined in order to gain the control.
Current Lack of Business Development
Currently, the business has not been tangibly developed to a significant extent, other than small test set-ups and contacts with local
stakeholders being made. the business, in many ways, would be starting from scratch, and thus large investments and resources would
be necessary, in addition to time on the scale of years, in order to reach operation. In addition, the resources of the team are quite limited,
as the team currently has no backing of larger investors or organizations. Thus, resources would need to be found quickly.
Dependency on Other Energy Sources
The distribution system uses automobile transportation for distribute the torrefied coal, which is dependent on the local costs of diesel,
or other fuel. Thus, the viability of the business is dependent on the prices of these sources of energy.
13.9.3Opportunities
No Competition for Feedstock
No business is currently using the pine needles in large quantities in the area, for fuel applications or otherwise. Avani is using them for
electricity generation, but these activities do not reach the Almora area, where this project would be based. Thus, there is currently no
competition for the pine needle resource. Therefore, the market is open a new venture taking advantage of this resource. Furthermore,
there is no local production of fuel of any sort, for commercial sale, be it biomass based or otherwise. The vast majority of fuel is
164
imported from industrial centers in the plains of India, or from other countries. Thus, at the onset, no competition would exist for the
company, and much potential for accruing clientele.
Unexplored Market
Furthermore, very few companies have ventured into commercial production of torrefied fuel, primarily being based in Europe and the
USA, with India being an untested market for this product, with no current competitors in torrefaction. Thus, this venture has the
opportunity of exploring new possibilities in the market and gaining valuable experience and knowledge, particularly with this
technology in its development, before this advantage has been taken by other entrants.
Large Potential Profits
The significant profits can be generated from this business. To reiterate, profits are not the main goal of this company, but the potential
profits demonstrate that this venture, with social aims, is financially sustainable, and can thus attract the support of investors.
Replication of the Business
This business model, although somewhat particular to the region of Kumaon, can likely be adapted to other regions of the Himalayan
mountains in India without need for significant change. Thus, the business would be possibly able to expand to other parts of Himalayan
India, and certainly to other area within Kumaon region.
13.9.4Threats
Government Control of Feedstock
The pine needles are technically the legal property of the Regional Forest Department, and thus the rights to harvest and use them reside
primarily with them. Thus, the business will need to cooperate with the Forest Department to acquire and maintain permission to use
this natural resource. Avani currently performs their operation with the permission of the Forest Department, and thus our business
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would do likewise. However, if this relationship were to become difficult, such that the Forest Department either limits the harvest of
pine needles or requires payment for the harvest, then the profit margins could be direly in danger.
Possible Future Entrants and Current Competitors
In addition, after a business would be established and proven profitable, certainly other entrepreneurs would enter the market to compete.
This may not be in the form of torrefaction for pine needles specifically, but another enterprise may seek to utilize the pine needles for
other applications, such as extracting oils or resins, or producing charcoal, as companies in other regions currently do to a small extent.
Such a competitor could put a strain on the pine needle resources, and thus hurt profit margins.
Resistance to Change in Fuel Use
Likely none of the potential fuel users are currently using biomass pellets for cooking currently. Thus, these users may exhibit strong
resistance to transitioning to a new fuel, having no prior experience with the fuel or the cook stove technology. Particularly in the
cooking context, the users will want to stick with what they know works, and thus finding faithful customers may prove difficult.
The results of the SWOT analysis are summarized in the table below.
166
Table.13.21 SWOT analysis
Strengths - Integration of Local and External Knowledge
-Established Local Contacts
-Logistical Advantage
-Key Partnerships
Weaknesses - Immature Technology
-Current Lack of Real Business Development
- Dependency on Other Fuel Sources
Opportunities - No Competition for Feedstock
- Unexplored Market
-Large Potential Profits
-Replication of the Business
Threats - Government Control of Feedstock
-Possible Future Entrants and Current Competition
- Resistance to Change in Fuel Use
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13.10 Experimental setup and analysis
The oil drum of 55 gallons or 200 liter was taken for the experiment. The specifications of oil drum are 22.5 inches diameter and 33.5
inches height. This drum has a capacity of processing 20 kg pine needles in one batch. The design of the setup is shown in the following
figure,
Figure.13.11 Bio coal formtion unit

We have collected 8 kg of pine needles for testing of the unit. We put 3 kg of pine needles into the drum. Then we ignite them with the
help of matchstick. And after that we add remaining pine needles in a way that the fire flame shouldn’t get off. Till the time all the pine
needles we throw into the drum, the chimney is there on the syphon. After that we took off the chimney. The chimney pipe height is
168
greater than the drum height, to ensure that all the smoke go into atmosphere. This process took 10 minutes and after that I closed the
drum with the help of lid. And after that we kept the water in notch around the drum and lid. The water ensures that the air will not enter
in the drum and ensures the inert atmosphere in the drum. After that we opened the drum after 8 hours. And then we found the coal has
formed in the drum.
Figure.13.12 Bio coal formation process
169
Figure.13.13 Bio coal from pine needles
After that we ignite that coal with the help of matchstick. The black color of coal has turned into white when it burnt. And I observe that
the heat intensity from this coal of pine needles is more than normal coal.
170
Figure.13.14 Bio coal burning
Village potential of having bio coal plant (For single Nail gram Panchayat)
The nail gram panchayat has 35.2 hectares forest according to the 2011 census data. And in the forest area of nail, there is monoculture
of pine only. We get 6 tonnes per hectare pine needles annually. Hence the pine needle availability from nail forest is 211.2 tonnes. Then
we will get 42.24 tonnes of the bio coal from that, according to the conversion ratio as 0.2 i.e. 20%.
The total cost of the setup is Rs.6000. the operation and Maintainance cost of the setup is negligible. We have to protect the setup from
rain and water, so that it won’t get corrode. We will require about 500 sq.ft. of the land for this purpose. Also we will require two
unskilled workers for performing this operation. The collection of pine needles will be done by women in the village. And we have to
give them 1 Rs./ kg for the pine needles. Let us suppose that the collection percentage will be 80%. The women will collect 170 tonnes
of pine needles from 211 tonnes of pine needles, annually from the forest. The coal formation will be 34 tonnes from the 170 tonnes of
171
pine needles. Then the money returns from the selling of pine needles will be Rs. 3,40,000 per year, by selling 1 kg coal for Rs. 10. This
will give employment for 23 women in the village, if we assume that each woman will collect 20 Kg pine needles in a day.
Here the labor costs are calculated. From march to june, it is the peak time of pine needles fall. Hence the 4 months the production will
be at its peak. Normally there is pine needles fall throughout the year. But most of the biomass is available from march to june. And in
rainy season, i.e. from July to October the availability of pine needles is less. Let us assume that the 70 % of the pine needles are available
during march to june. And remaining 30 % are available from November to February. Then the working hours are more from march to
june than from November to February. Let us assume that the working hours from march to june are 4 hours per day and from 120 days
of four months, the 100 days work will be there. And for November to February the working hours will be 2 hours per day with 50 days
work from 120 days of four months. Then the cost of the workers will be
Table.13.22 Cost analysis of cost from march to june for nail GP model
Business Business Working Worker Wage Number of Year Round
days/ season hrs./day Hours (Rs/day) Workers Labor Costs
(hrs./season) (Rs/season)
100 4 400 100 3 30,000
Table.13.23 Cost analysis of cost from november to February for nail GP model
Business Business Working Worker Wage Number of Year Round
days/ season hrs./day Hours (Rs/day) Workers Labor Costs
(hrs./season) (Rs/season)
172
50 2 100 50 3 7,500
Let us consider the land requirement is 500 sq.ft. area is requirement for the bio coal making. The cost of land is not considered in this
analysis, because we can set up plant anywhere.
To shed the unit from taking consideration of rain, 560 sq.ft tin will be required. Hence we will round it off to 600 sq.ft. The cost of the
tin is Rs. 284 per sq. m. And 1 sq. m. is equal to 11 sq. ft. Hence the total cost of tin will be Rs.15,500.
13.10.1Case 1
If the setup cost is Rs. 6000. This set up has a capacity of processing 20 kg pine leaves per batch. . The processing capacity of one setup
is 20 kg pine needles per batch. Hence for 170 tonnes pine needles, we have to perform 25 batches in a day. And the time of one batch
is 9 hrs. Hence we can perform two batches on one unit. Hence we will require 15 units. And we will require briquetting machine, which
costs Rs.5,00,000. Hence total setup cost will be (6000*15)+ 5,00,000= Rs. 5,90,000. Let us consider that we will make decentralized
system and will have 3 different locations with 5 units in each location. As the number of units are increased, the labor requirement will
be 3 for each decentralized unit. Hence labor cost will be cost = 3*(30,000+7500) = Rs.1,12,500.
Table.13.24 Detailed cost of plant for nail GP model case 1

Costs Rs./ Yr. when Rs./ Yr. when Rs./ Yr. when
biomass is Rs. biomass is Rs. biomass is Rs.
10/kg 12/kg 14/kg
Shed cost 15,500 15,500 15,500
Setup cost 5,90,000 5,90,000 5,90,000
Labor cost 1,12,500 1,12,500 1,12,000
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Labor cost for collection of pine 1,70,000 1,70,000 1,70,000
needles
Money earned from coal selling 3,40,000 4,08,000 4,76,000
For bio coal selling price Rs. 10/ Kg-
Operational cost = Rs. 2,82,500/ yr.
Fixed cost = Rs. 6,05,500/ yr.
Money earned from selling of coal = Rs3,40,000/ yr.
3,40,000 2,82,500
NPV = -6,05,500+∑10 10
1 (1+0.5)𝑡 − ∑1 (1+0.5)𝑡 = -. 6,05,500+1,13,275 = Rs.-4,92,225
NPV≤ 0, hence the proposal is not feasible.
Money earned from selling of coal = Rs 4,08,000/ yr.
4,08,000 2,82,500
NPV = -6,05,500 +∑10
1 − ∑10
1 = -. 6,05,500+ 2,47,235= Rs. -3,58,265
(1+0.5)𝑡 (1+0.5)𝑡

174
Fixed cost = Rs. Rs. 6,05,500/ yr.
4,76,000 2,82,500
NPV = -6,05,500+∑10 10
1 (1+0.5)𝑡 − ∑1 (1+0.5)𝑡 = -. 6,05,500- 3,81,195= Rs. – 2,24,305
13.10.2Case 2
Also if we buy the set up from the setup of pyrolysis reactor from Indiamart, then the cost of set up will be 40,00,000 for the pyrolysis
reactor for a capacity of 10 tonnes per day and 5,50,000 for the briquetting machine with 5 mega ton capacity per day. The shed cost,
labor cost, labor costs will remain same. The biomass availability in nail village is 170 tons. Hence we need to process 470 kg pine
needles every day. Hence one processing machine is enough.
Table.13.25 Detailed cost of plant for nail GP model case 2

Costs Rs./ Yr. when Rs./ Yr. when Rs./ Yr. when
biomass is Rs. biomass is Rs. biomass is Rs.
10/kg 12/kg 14/kg
Shed cost 15,500 15,500 15,500
Setup cost 45,50,000 45,50,000 45,50,000
Labor cost 25,000 25,000 25,000
Labor cost for collection of pine 1,70,000 1,70,000 1,70,000
needles
Money earned from coal selling 3,40,000 4,08,000 4,76,000
175
Operational cost = Rs1,95,000/ yr.
1,95,000 3,40,000
NPV= −45,65,500 − ∑10 10
1 (1+0.5)𝑡 + ∑1 (1+0.5)𝑡 = -45,65,500+ 2,84,388.5= Rs. - 42,81,112
NPV≤ 0, Hence the proposal is not feasible.
1,95,000 4,08,000
NPV= −45,65,500 − ∑10
1 + ∑10
1 = -45,65,500+ 4,17,756 = Rs. - 41,47,744
(1+0.5)𝑡 (1+0.5)𝑡
176
1,95,000 4,76,000
NPV= −45,65,500 − ∑10 10
1 (1+0.5)𝑡 + ∑1 (1+0.5)𝑡 = -45,65,500+ 5,51,125.3= Rs. - 40,14,375
13.11Village potential of having bio coal plant (Integrated model for 4 villages)
The villages surrounding to nail are naugaon, arari bist, gumati. The forest areas under this villages are 14.2, 56.1, 29.1 hectares
respectively.
The four gram panchayats have 134.6 hectares forest according to the 2011 census data. And in the forest area of this four villages, there
is monoculture of pine only. We get 6 tonnes per hectare pine needles annually. Hence the pine needle availability from nail forest is
807 tonnes. Then we will get 161.4 tonnes of the bio coal from that, according to the conversion ratio as 0.2 i.e. 20%.
The total cost of the setup is Rs.6000. the operation and Maintainance cost of the setup is negligible. We should increase the number of
days and number of hours from the previously mentioned model, as the raw material availability is more in this case. Also we will
require two unskilled workers for performing this operation. The collection of pine needles will be done by women in the village. And
we have to give them 1 Rs./ kg for the pine needles. Let us suppose that the collection percentage will be 80%. Then women will collect
645 tonnes of pine needles from 807 tonnes of pine needles, annually from the forest. The coal formation will be 129 tonnes from the
645 tonnes of pine needles. Then the money returns from the selling of pine needles will be Rs. 12,90,000 per year. This will give
employment for 88 women in all the villages, if we assume that each woman will collect 20 Kg pine needles in a day.
Here the labor costs are calculated. From march to june, it is the peak time of pine needles fall. Hence the 4 months the production will
be at its peak. Normally there is pine needles fall throughout the year. But most of the biomass is available from march to june. And in
rainy season, i.e. from July to October the availability of pine needles is less. Let us assume that the 70 % of the pine needles are available
during march to june. And remaining 30 % are available from November to February. Then the working hours are more from march to
june than from November to February. Let us assume that the working hours from march to june are 6 hours per day and form 120 days,
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the 110 days work will be there. And for November to February the working hours will be 3 hours per day with 70 days work from 120
days.
Table.13.26 Cost analysis of cost from march to june for integrated villages model
Business Busine Working Worker Number Year-Round
days/ ss Hours Wage of Labor Costs
season hrs./da (hrs./seaso (Rs/day) Workers (Rs/season)
y n)
110 6 660 100 3 33,000
Table.13.27 Cost analysis of cost from november to February for integrated villages model
Busi Busi Workin Worker Number Year-Round
ness ness g Hours Wage of Labor Costs
days/ hrs./ (hrs./se (Rs/day) Workers (Rs/season)
seaso day ason)
n
70 3 210 50 3 10,500
Let us consider the land requirement is 500 sq.ft. Area is requirement for the bio coal making. The cost of land is not considered in this
analysis, because we can set up plant anywhere.
To shed the unit from taking consideration of rain, 560 sq.ft tin will be required. Hence we will round it off to 600 sq.ft. The cost of the
tin is Rs. 284 per sq. m. And 1 sq. m. is equal to 11 sq. ft. Hence the total cost of tin will be Rs.15,500.
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13.11.1Case 1
If the setup cost is Rs. 6000. This set up has a capacity of processing 20 kg pine leaves per batch. The processing capacity of one setup
is 20 kg pine needles per batch. Hence for 645 tonnes pine needles, we have to perform 90 batches in a day. And the time of one batch
is 9 hrs. Hence we can perform two batches on one unit. Hence we will require 50 units. And we will require briquetting machine, which
costs Rs.5,00,000. Hence total setup cost will be (6000*50)+ 5,00,000= Rs. 8,00,000. As the number of units are increased, the labor
cost = 25,000*50 = Rs. 12,50,000. . Let us consider that we will make decentralized system and will have 10 different locations with 5
units in each location. As the number of units are increased, the labor requirement will be 3 for each decentralized unit. Hence labor
cost will be cost = 10*(33,000+10,500) = Rs.4,35,000.
Table.13.28 Detailed cost of plant for integrated GP model case 1

Costs Rs./ Yr. Rs./ Yr. Rs./ Yr.
when when when
biomass is biomass is biomass
Rs. 10/kg Rs. 12/kg is Rs.
14/kg
Shed cost 15,500 15,500 15,500
Setup cost 8,00,000 8,00,000 8,00,000
Labor cost 4,35,000 4,35,000 4,35,000
Labor cost for 6,45,000 6,45,000 6,45,000
collection of pine
needles
Money earned from 12,90,000 15,48,000 18,06,000
coal selling
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Operational cost = Rs 10,80,000/ yr.
Money earned from selling of coal = Rs12,90,000/ yr.
12,90,000 10,80,000
NPV = -8,15,500+∑10
1 − ∑10
1 = -8,15,500 + 4,13,700= Rs. – 4,01,800
(1+0.5)𝑡 (1+0.5)𝑡
Fixed cost = Rs.8,15,500/ yr.
Money earned from selling of coal = Rs.15,48,000/ yr.
15,48,000 10,80,000
NPV = -8,15,500+∑10
1 − ∑10
1 = -8,15,500+ 9,21,960= Rs. 1,06,4260
(1+0.5)𝑡 (1+0.5)𝑡
NPV≥ 0, hence the proposal is feasible.
The payback period will be =
Every year profit will be = 15,48,000-10,80,000= Rs.4,68,000
Fixed cost is Rs. 8,15,000
In two years profit will be = 2*4,68,000= Rs.9,36,000; which is exceeding the fixed cost
180
Hence the payback period is 2 yrs.
Fixed cost = Rs.8,15,500/ yr.
Money earned from selling of coal = Rs.18,06,000/ yr.
18,06,000 10,80,000
NPV = -8,15,500+∑10
1 − ∑10
1 = -8,15,500+14,30,220= Rs.6,14,720
(1+0.5)𝑡 (1+0.5)𝑡
NPV≥ 0, hence the proposal is feasible.
The payback period will be =
Every year profit will be = 18,06,000-10,80,000= Rs.7,26,000
Fixed cost is Rs. 8,15,000
In 1.2 years profit will be = 1.2* 7,26,000= Rs 8,71,200; which is exceeding the fixed cost
Hence the payback period is 1.2 yrs.
13.11.2Case 2
Also if we buy the set up from the setup of pyrolysis reactor from Indiamart, then the cost of set up will be Rs. 40,00,000 for the pyrolysis
reactor for a capacity of 10 tonnes per day and Rs. 5,50,000 for the briquetting machine with 5 mega ton capacity per day. The shed
cost, labor cost, labor costs will remain same. The biomass availability in nail village is 645 tons. Hence we need to process 1767 kg
181
pine needles every day. Hence two pyrolysis processing units will be required and one briquetting machine will be required. Hence total
setup cost will be Rs.85,50,000. The labour required will be 3 for increase in the number of machines.
The labor cost of three labors = (110*100*3)+(70*50*3)= Rs. 43,500
Table.13.29 Detailed cost of plant for integrated GP model case 2
Costs Rs./ Yr. when Rs./ Yr. when Rs./ Yr.

biomass is Rs. biomass is Rs. when
10/kg 12/kg biomass
is Rs.
14/kg
Shed cost 15,500 15,500 15,500
Setup cost 85,50,000 85,50,000 85,50,000
Labor cost 43,500 43,500 43,500
Labor cost 6,45,000 6,45,000 6,45,000
for
collection
of pine
needles
Money 12,90,000 15,48,000 18,06,000
earned
182
from coal
selling
6,88,500 12,90,000
NPV= −85,65,500 − ∑10 10
1 (1+0.5)𝑡 + ∑1 = -85,65,500+ 11,79,721= -37,67,614
(1+0.5)𝑡
Money earned from selling of coal = Rs. 15,48,000/ yr.
6,88,500 15,48,000
NPV= −85,65,500 − ∑10 10
1 (1+0.5)𝑡 + ∑1 = -85,65,500+ 16,85,737= -32,61,597.8
(1+0.5)𝑡
183
6,88,500 18,06,000
NPV= −85,65,500 − ∑10 10
1 (1+0.5)𝑡 + ∑1 = -85,65,500+ 21,91,752= - 63,73,747
(1+0.5)𝑡
13.12Business plan diagram

The plant of bio coal formation should be social business. That should be for profit over non profit. The reason for that is, in profit
organizations the all the time goes for getting fund and applying or the same. If it will be a profit company then the investor are also
investing into it and the money for running the business will come into time. While in the in the non profit organization, there might not
be a continuous funding available. Also in the profit organization people will get what they deserve in terms of the money returns and
their payment will not stop because of the funding issue. Also the top down approach is not better. The top down approach will not help
in the progress of village. The business idea should follow the bottom up approach. Also this business plan gives employment for 23
women for a plant in nail village for 170 tonnes of pine needles collection and 88 women in all 4 integrated villages for 645 tonnes of
pine needles collection, if we assume that each woman will collect 20 kg pine needles per day
The social blueprint business design framework
Anchor purpose
To bring wealth through bio coal formation from pine needles to accelerate rural economy
Key Partners Key Partners Key Partners Stakeholder Stakeholders
relationships
184
-Co-operatives -Co-operatives -Co-operatives -Women
-Forest development -Forest development -Forest development -Co-operation -NGOs
authorities authorities authorities -Inclusiveness -Producers
- Mahila mangal dal - Mahila mangal dal - Mahila mangal dal -Direct contact and info. -Customers
-Local agricultural -Local agricultural -Local agricultural Sharing -Industries
institutions institutions institutions -Government
Key resources Channels
-Pine needles -Government schemes

-Labor -Local ration shops
Costs Costs
- Capital cost of infrastructure - Capital cost of infrastructure

- Labor cost, pine needle collection cost, Transportation cost - Labor cost, pine needle collection cost, Transportation cost
Differentiaion Differentiaion
-Locally available waste -Locally available waste

-Circular development model -Circular development model
Differentiaion Magnitude
-Locally available waste
185
-Circular development model -Replace small portion of firewood consumption and industrial,
bakery, hotel fuel usage
Figure.13.15 Business design framework
186
13.13Future Scope and Challenges in the projects-
13.13.1Future scope
There are many challenges in this project. There is a lot of drudgery in collection of pine needles. Also if we set up plant in the nail
village, then we can easily collect the pine needles with low transportation cost for villages nail, mallibakli and thadidhar. But the
transportation of pine needles from jairaj, gagnola and other nearby villages will cause more transportation cost and there will be a lot
of drudgery if people carry pine needles by themselves by the mountain route. Hence there is a need to develop a ropeway system.
Hence the future scope will be having ropeway system in the village and devices to reduce drudgery of women in pine needle collection.
13.13.2Ropeway system
Once the torrefaction unit is implemented. Then people can use the ropeway system by getting energy from the torrefied biomass. the
roads are not available for the gagnola, thadidhar, mallibakli, bagjibola, timildhaiya villages, hence people can also use the ropeway
transport by running it on torrefied biomass. Ropeway system will reduce the drudgery of people because they have to carry cylinder,
grocery by the route of mountain. Also when ropeway system is there, then old people can easily travel from up hills to down hills. Also
if there is any medical emergency, then the ropeway system will be useful.
13.13.3Need of devices that can be used to reduce women’s drudgery

Pine needles are difficult to grab. They get prick into the hands. So there is a drudgery of collecting the pine needles. Hence there is a
need of devices in order to collect the pine needles. As per the government policies of uttarakhand, the pine needle collection will be
done by only mild automatic devices and not fully automated devices, so that this will not harm the biodiversity of forest.
187
Chapter-14 Integrated Model:
Sanjeevani Vikas Evam Jan Kalyan Samiti is a nonprofit, rural development and voluntary organization in India whose mission is to
eliminate poverty, unemployment, poor health and illiteracy. Sanjeevani is an indigenous NGO based in Almora District in Northern
India (Himalayan Region). It was formed in 2000 by a group of social workers. Sanjeevani have been providing voluntary services to
women empowerment & awareness, expansion of education, development science & technology awareness in common people, and
create jobs in rural areas since its beginning.
State Bank of India has established SBI Foundation for its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. SBI Foundation has
strategically moved forward to its flagship program “SBI Gram Seva” in the year 2017-18. SBI Gram Seva program has undertaken
integrated village development initiatives through Gram Panchayat. SBI Gram Seva Program is being implemented by Sanjeevani Vikas
Evam Jan Kalyan Samiti where the community needs are objectively assessed through “Integrated Community Development Approach”
through Gram Panchayat.
SBI Gram Seva which was established on 1st October 2017 in Nail village with a tenure of three years critically is working on 9
components. Namely,
1. Community based organization

2. Education
3. Health and hygiene
4. Sanitation
5. Environment
6. Water
7. Infrastructure
8. Livelihood
188
9. Public awareness
We have integrated the findings of both the directed research and have proposed one integrated model which has to be implemented by
formation of FPO in the region. This task can be done by the NGO Sanjeevini which is highly active in the district of Almora. The below
calculations and flow chats gives us the approximate quantitative facts and figures:
Calculation of Heat input for a dryer of capacity 100kgs
Table 14.1 Design requirements

Required Loading Capacity of dryer 100Kg
Latent heat of vaporization of water (DH) 2257 kJ/kg or 540 kCal/kg
Specific heat capacity of water ( Cp) 4.180 kJ/kg.K
Specific heat capacity of organic material ( 2.000 kJ/kg.K
Cpo)
C.V of Bio Coal 21220 kJ/kg
Efficiency of biomass burner 25%
Ambient Temperature of water 25
Maximum Temperature of water 65
Energy required to remove the moisture from the material
For the heat load calculations, we are considering following parameters:
Weight of wet chilli : 100 kgs
Initial moisture content (w.b) : 80%
Desired moisture content after drying (w.b) : 8%

189
Moisture to be removed (Mm) : 78.4 kgs
Weight of dry mass (Mdm) : 21.6 kgs
Heat load required for this will be calculate by following formula:
(Mdm Cpo ΔT) + (MmCpΔT) + (m LH)
Table 14.2 Calculations to determine the heat required to raise the temperature of material
Heat required to raise the temperature of (Mdm Cpo ΔT) + (MmCpΔT)
material
= (21.6 x 2 x 40) + (78.4 x 4.18 x 40)
Sensible heat =14836.5 kJ
We know latent heat of vaporization of water is 2257 kJ/kg.
Thus energy required to evaporate water is calculated by following formula:
LH x mass of water
Table 14.3 Calculations to determine the energy required evaporate water

Thus energy required evaporate water 2257 x 78.4
Latent heat 176949 KJ
190
Total heat load required to remove 20% 176949 KJ+14836.5 kJ
moisture
191785 KJ/hr
53.27 Kwatts
We have assumed that the biomass burner would be working at 25% efficiency, thus rated heat load capacity of our system would be
13.95 /0.25 kWatts = 213 kWatts = 767141 kJ/hr
Moisture needs to be 784 Gram

evaporated
Heat required(per 7671 kJ
Kg)
7671 kWs
Calorific value of 21.22 MJ/kg
coal formed by
torrefaction
Coal requirement of 2.766 Kg
1 Kg of wet chilli
Coal requirement of 3444 Kg
1245 Kg of wet chilli
Coal required per 3444 Kg
day
191
Calculation of coal production:
We have 645 tons of pine needles. Let us assume that in march to june 70% of pine needles are available. In that months, plant will run
for for 110 days from 120 days. And remaining 30 % are available from November to February. In that months, plant will run for for
70 days from 120 days.
The coal production for one day, from march to june is
Pine needle availability= 645* 0.7= 451.5 tons
Hence coal formation from march to june = 451.5 *0.2= 90.3 tons
Hence per day production of coal = 820 kg
In the integrated model, there are 50 setups, which will run in two shifts in a day. The capacity of each setup is average 16.4 kg
coal in one day.
The coal production for one day, from November to february is
Pine needle availability= 645* 0.3= 193.5 tons
Hence coal formation from march to june = 193.5 *0.2= 38.7 tons
Hence per day production of coal = 552.85 kg
In the integrated model, there are 50 setups, which will run in two shifts in a day. The capacity of each setup is average 11.05 kg
coal in one day.
Total capacity of coal production = 90.3+ 38.7= 129 tons
192
Coal requirement per day for chili drying = 3444 kg for 45 days from October mid to November end
Hence total coal requirement for chili drying = 154980 kg= 155 tons
The production cost of coal per Kg= Rs.8.372/ kg
If the production of coal is increased by increasing the biomass supply, then due to economy of scale the coal price will be Rs. 3/Kg
At present integrated model of only 4 villages have been considered. If the radius of collection is increased, the biomass supply and thus
coal production and production cost will be reduced, calculation of which is out of scope of this DR.
NPV
Solar dryer 1937514
Electric Dryer 796163
Bio-coal Dryer -3627138
The Solar dryer is the best option out of the above three options. The use of bio coal is highly undesirable as the production cost is very
high. But if the scale expands considerably then due to economy of scale the coal price will be Rs. 3/Kg and the model becomes desirable.
The above technological interventions have indirect benefits such as employment generation, distribution of profitable returns amongst
farmers, reduction of losses etc. As migration is the major problem of the region employment generation would be one of the major
lucrative intervention.
193
Comparison of employment generation of different model proposals
Labor
SL. Technical No of Wage/person/annum
wages per Job description
No intervension employees (Rs)
year (Rs)
Collection of wet chilli, Cleaning and sorting, Loading and

1 Solar Dryer 280000 8 35000
unloading, Operation of dryer, Packaging
Electric Collection of wet chilli, Cleaning and sorting, Loading and

2 20000 6 33333
Dryer unloading, Operation of dryer, Packaging
Drying and Collection of wet chilli, Cleaning and sorting, Loading and
3 Processing 274775 12 22900 unloading, Operation of dryer, Packaging, operation of
unit grinding unit, pocketing, packaging
Collection and transportation of biomass, Operation of

Bio-coal
4 775000 120 6460 shredder, Operation of torrifying unit, palletization or
Dryer
briquetting
194
Figure 14.1 Mass flow diagram of integrated model
195
Farmer Producer Organization:
Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India has identified farmer producer organization
registered under the special provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 as the most appropriate institutional form around which to mobilize
farmers and build their capacity to collectively leverage their production and marketing strength. Organization and collective action can
help support enhance farmers’ affordability and better their advantage in emerging markets opportunities. To avail the benefits under
various schemes and programmes of the Central and state Governments, the FPO must be a body registered and administered by farmers
it must be focused on activities in agriculture and allied sectors.
Formation of a FPO
The formation of a FPO can be promoted by:
• A NGO working with the producers for their economic enhancement

• Any socially motivated persons or group of persons
• Any Government organization or department can also promote Producer Companies.
The procedure for establishing a FPO is as follows:
• Mobilization of producers to form producers groups of minimum 10 producers.

• Aggregation of farmer producer groups across 12-15 villages for viable operation.
• The initiator starts the process through conducting a series of meetings with the potential producers, developing rapport with them
and introducing the concept of PC.
• An exposure visit to successful producer companies may be organized to further strengthen the understanding of the identified group
of producers.
196
• The eligible community members are required to apply through a membership application form (specified in the Act.) to the BoD.
The General Body (GB) is the final authority to approve or reject the membership application.
• The initiator in consultation and support from the members develops the draft ‘Memorandum and Articles of Association’ specifying
the roles and responsibilities of each of the office bearers of PC.
• Once these documents are in place, the first formal meeting of the shareholders should be organized. The basic agenda of this meeting
is to get the approval on the Memorandum and Articles of Association as well as select/elect the Board of Directors of the company.
• After taking the consent of the members on the selected list of directors of the company and the Memorandum and Articles of
Association, the initiator can go ahead with the registration process.
• After having registration of the company, the first General meeting of the shareholders should be conducted within the mandatory
90 days of the registration.
• Other than discussing the business plan, the General Body has to select/elect the Board of Directors for the next tenure. The
proceedings of the meeting should be sent to the Registrar of Company (RoC) within 60 days of the meeting along with the list of
finalized BoD.
• The entire process might take two to six months (sometimes more), depending upon the motivation and inclination of the producers.
• The minimum number of membership depends on the legal form of the PO. 10 or more primary producers can incorporate a Producer
Company under Section 581(C) of Indian Companies Act 1956 (same provisions are retained in the 2013 Act).
• There is no restriction on the maximum number of membership. Generally, the PO will require certain minimum scale of operation
to remain in business. This operation scale/volume is known as break-even level. Studies have shown that a PO will require about
700 to 1000 active producers as members for sustainable operation.
The cost of managing a Producer Organisation of the above nature may be around Rs. 2 lakh per month or Rs. 24 lakh per annum.
197
The total value of the produce of the farmers/non-farmers handled by the Producer Organisation may be around Rs. 2.5 crore, assuming
that approximately 10% of the total turnover of the PO may be reasonably spent towards cost of management.
Further, the markets selected for the Producer Organisation for selling their produce may be within 200 KM to make their marketing
activities viable.
Financial support for FPO
SFAC operates a Credit Guarantee Fund to mitigate credit risks of financial institutions which lend to the Farmers Producer Companies
(registered as Producer Company under Part IX-A of Companies Act) without collateral. This helps the FPCs (one form of PO) to access
credit from mainstream financial institutions for establishing and operating businesses.
SFAC provides matching equity grant up to Rs. 10 lakh to the FPCs to enhance borrowing power, and thus enables the entities to access
bank finance.
A fund titled “Producers Organisation Development Fund” has been created by NABARD to provide financial support to FPO. Through
this fund, NABARD assists FPO in following ways:
Lending to POs for contribution towards share capital on matching basis (1:1 ratio) to enable the PO to access higher credit from banks.
This is a loan without collateral which will have to be repaid by the PO after specified time. The maximum
amount of such assistance is Rs. 25 lakh per PO with a cap of Rs. 25,000 per member.
Credit support against collateral security for business operations is available. In general credit support is available for business activities
and creation of assets like building, machinery, equipment, specially designed vehicles for transportation etc. and/or working capital
requirements including administrative and other recurring costs connected with the project as composite loan. Capital expenditures like
purchase of land, vehicles for general transportation & personal use, etc., will not be considered for support
198
SFAC will create sustainable linkages between FPOs and inputs suppliers, technology providers, extension and research agencies and
marketing and processing players, both in the public and private sectors thus strengthening the FPO.
In this way in business environment the FPO interacts with various stakeholders like NABARD, SFAC, Agriculture Universities, end
consumers etc
Stakeholders of Producer Company
By aggregating the demand for inputs, the PO can buy in bulk, thus procuring at cheaper price compared to individual purchase. Besides,
by transporting in bulk, cost of transportation is reduced. Thus reducing the overall cost of production. Similarly, the PO may aggregate
the produce of all members and market in bulk, thus, fetching better price per unit of produce. The PO can also provide market
information to the producers to enable them hold on to their produce till the market price become favorable. All these interventions will
result in more income to the primary producers.
Summary of FPO model
To summarize, the essential features of a FPO are:
• It is formed by a group of producers for either farm or non-farm activities.

• It is a registered body and a legal entity.
• Producers are shareholders in the organization.
• It deals with business activities related to the primary produce/product.
• It works for the benefit of the member producers. A part of the profit is shared amongst the producers.
• Rest of the surplus is added to its owned funds for business expansion.
199
The FPO model thus seems a feasible route for setting up a drying and processing unit of red chillies. The funding for infrastructure for
this unit (electric dryer and grinding unit) will be assisted by SFAC and NABARD as explained earlier. Through the FPO the producers
can be directly linked to end consumers and organized buyers. The farmers can thus maximize their economic benefits by having a
greater share in the consumer price which was earlier reaped by the middle men in the value chain.
200

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FIELD STAY (TD 609)

Nail Village, Almora, Uttrakhand

26th July, 2019

Prof. Amit Arora Prof. Satish Agnihotri

Figure 2.1Representation of GP Nail ........................................................................................................................................................ 29

1.2Objectives of the study

To get insight of socio-economic, political and cultural realities of rural life,

To understand the dynamics of various institutions,

To blend classroom learning and expertise with field level experience,

1.3 Organization of Report

1.4Rationale for selecting GP: Nail

Field stay planning

Secondary data collection

Primary data collection

Figure 2.1Representation of GP Nail

Many of the information given are approximate figures.

2.6Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)

Figure 2.2 Social Resource Map

2.6.3Natural resource Map

Figure 2.3 Natural Resource Map

Figure 2.4 Ttransect Walk

2.6.7.1Women FGD (Nail village)

Table 2.2 Problem ranking of Nail

2.6.7.2Women FGD (Thadidhar village)

Table 2.3 Problem ranking of Thadidar

Table 2.2 Women FGD of Thadidar

2.6.7.3Women FGD (Jairaj village)

2.6.8Daily activity clock

Women daily avctivity clock ( those who don’t have livestock)

Table 2.6 Daily activity clock of women without livestock

Women daily avctivity clock ( those who have livestock)

Table 2.7 Timeline of women with livestock

Table 2.8 Timeline of nail village

1960 Gram Panchayat formed

1980 Internal road in the village

1982 Primary school was built

1885 Secondary school was built

1985 First grocery shop in village

1993 Pakka road in the village

2000 Pine tree started increasing in forest

2004 Village electrified

2010 Wild animals problem has stated

2011 Rain water harvesting scheme in the village

2013 Anganwadi was built

2013 Panchayat office was built

2014 11th , 12th college

2019 First community information center started

2.7 Secondary Data Collection

Census Data Census data was taken

Talathi Office Information regarding

Revenue Department Village map ( but it was

Forest land of the nail

Government school Records of total numbers

Anganwadi Records of total children

Figure 3.1 District map of Almora

Table 3.1 Area under different land use

3.6Village profile summary

Table 4.1 Census data reflections

Male 309 327 5.83

4.2Census Data Summary

It can be seen in figure 1 that sex ratio has increased greatly in a

Figure 4.1 Population profile analysis