A kulhad is a biodegradable, disposable clay cup used in India by food vendors to serve hot beverages like chai and some desserts like yogurt. The cups have been excavated from the Indus Valley from as far back as the end of the Stone Age, 5,000 years ago. They are generally unglazed and unpainted so the hot liquid will seep into the clay, which is said to affect the flavor of the beverages giving it a more earthy note. While synthetic materials like plastic and paper have started replacing these clay cups as they are cheaper and more convenient for vendors to acquire, the clay cups still persist in India today. The cost per kulhad can vary but generally sits around 1 rupee, or .01 USD. Each kulhad is made by hand in harsh conditions that take a significant toll on the artisans. But proponents point to kulhads as the healthier, more environmentally friendly option, though the science isn’t all there. We went inside a kulhad workshop outside of Kolkata to see how the traditional clay cup business is still standing.
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The biggest issue in my mind isn’t how recyclable the kulhad is, but how to improve their production. Right now they are too labour intensive and not profitable enough. If that family could produce four times as many cups per daily, but do so in 8 hours instead of 18, if the work was not back breaking and lung damaging, then the future of the kulhad maker would be secure. As it stands, I see there being only one future for the kulhad: In one or two generations at most, there will be no one still making them no matter how many people may prefer to drink from them. Who would keep making them under such harsh working conditions, doubly so when their costs are rising and their profits dropping? Plastic cups, despite how harmful they are to people and the environment, are easy and cheap to produce, meaning they will steadily replace the kulhad as more potters give up making them as a losing proposition. To prevent this outcome, the kulhad production problems need to be addressed, otherwise we are just standing around watching it disappear while we drink tea from our cheap cancerous plastic cups.
1. Recyclable
2. Environment Friendly
3. No impact to health unlike plastic or paper cups which uses chemicals.
4. Supports very small manufacturers who still depend on traditional way of manufacturing.
5. Aesthetically very appealing.
Advantage of 5000 years old tradition.
Mud and fire. oh, and time. India needs ALOT of cups.
They sell 2500 cups a day at half a Rupee per cup. 1,250 Rupees translates to $14.75. From the video it seemed like at least 3 people were working all day on this, and they said 16-18 hour days. If you do the math for 3 people at 17 hours average, they make about .29 cents an hour. The only thing this doesn’t factor in is the cost of the clay. They mention a truck costs 10,000 to 11,000 Rupees, but I don’t know how many days one truck worth of clay will last.
How have none of these guy tried to make a machine that spins the cups from clay for them
that should be self explanatory