Incense sticks from discarded flowers: Tea garden women find new livelihood

Siliguri: After the festive season, rivers across the city often become clogged with discarded flowers, leaves, and waste materials from Puja rituals—contributing to water pollution. But this year, an innovative initiative is turning that waste into something meaningful. Women from the Marapur, Merry view and Gangaram tea gardens under Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad area in Darjeeling district have started producing natural incense sticks using flowers that were once immersed in rivers after Durga Puja.

The initiative is being led by a couple Poulami Chaki Nandi and Anirban Nandi who runs ‘Mobile Library’, to promote education and self-reliance in tea garden areas for a long time. After the conclusion of Durga Puja, they both collected used flowers from various city pandals and distributed them among the women in the tea gardens. Their goal was to teach the women how to make eco-friendly incense sticks without using any chemicals—by mixing dried flowers with cow dung and other natural materials.

Poulomi Chakhi Nandi said: “The income of women in tea garden areas is very limited. Through this project, they can earn from home while also contributing to environmental conservation. If this initiative succeeds, we plan to scale it up and introduce these natural incense sticks in the market.”

Last year, during Diwali, the same group of women had produced earthen lamps and candles for sale, which gave them a new source of income.

Building on that experience, they have now ventured into incense stick making. Currently, the process of making incense sticks has already started.

The couple also gave training to the women on the making process.

The sticks are supposed to be made before Kali Puja. Along with this, the Nandi couple also provide training to women in tea garden areas on mushroom cultivation, making homemade products, creating awareness about the use of sanitary pads and many other topics.