Lac is a resinous material secreted from the small insect ‘Kerria lacca Kerr’ which grows on certain host plants. It is the only natural animal resin. Lac cultivation is mostly done in the states of Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and West Bengal. Jharkhand is the highest producer of lac in India. As a Non Timber Forest Produce, it is a good source of allied income for tribal population and farmers. Because of its wonderful properties, shellac, the commercial product of lac, has a wide range of applications in surface coating, electrical insulation, filling materials, adhesives, controlled release fertilizer, and other agricultural formulations. Its most recent applications include the synthesis of bioactive and perfumery compounds. It not only provides a living for nearly three million poor people, but also generates foreign exchange through export.
The lac insects thrive on the sap of certain plants called lac hosts. Some of the host trees are Palas, Ber, Kusum, Peepal, Akaasmani, Galwang, Flemingia and Gular. Two strains of the lac insects are recognized in India, the Rangeeni and Kusumi. Each strain completes its life cycle twice a year enabling the cultivation twice in a year. Lac cultivation is now popular all over the world and has, thus, become a source of high income for tribals in Jharkhand. Lac cultivation methods that are scientific provide a higher income while minimising risk. Farmers who received training from various institutes on lac culture earned a higher income from it.
Based on the methods of collection and processing, various forms of lac are known in commerce: Stick Lac: It is raw lac, obtained by scraping the lac encrustation from dry twigs cut down before the new insect emerges. It contains dead lac insect bodies, bark from the host plant, dried leaves, dust, and other impurities. It is sold in the local market for around 875 per kg, and most people in the region sell the scrapping without further processing. Seed Lac : Seed lac is the semi – refined product obtained after crushing, sieving, and winnowing stick lac, followed by washing and drying. It has impurities such as sand and insect debris. It is sold in the market for around 800-1000 per kg.
Shellac: It is a refined form of lac that is available in thin flakes. It is made by stretching heat softened seed lac that has been freed of infusible materials. It is the commercial lac and is graded according to its colour and wax content. This refined product sells for a high price in the market, with the seller earning up to 1050-1350 per kg. Button Lac: It is another form of heat purified lac, where the molten resin is cast into button-shaped cakes instead of being drawan into sheets, as in the manufacture of shellac. They are largely used for bonding mica splittings. These are sold at a rate of 1200-1600 per kg in the market.
Bleached Lac: A major portion of lac consumed in the world today is in the form of bleached lac or ‘White Lac’ which is obtained through treatment of alcoholic solution of seed lac with activated charcoal or by bleaching a sodium carbonate solution of seed lac with sodium hypochlorite solution.
Dewaxed Lac: Lac from which wax has been removed is known as dewaxed lac. It forms clear solution with spirit and is extensively used in furniture polishing, coating tablets in pharmaceutical industry, etc. and is sold at around `600-700 per kg.
Uses of lac and lac based products
Because of its unique combination of properties, lac finds a wide variety of uses in paint, electrical appliances, automobiles, cosmetic products, adhesives, leather, wood finishing and other industries. Lac has long been in use both for decorative purposes and lacquers of various kinds and insulating varnishes. It is mostly used as a first coating on wood to fill the pores and also applied to seal knots likely to exude resin and disfigure or spoil finished paint work. Lac is used in manufacture of glazed paper, printing and water proofing inks, lac bangles, dry mounting tissue paper, dental plates and optical frames. It is also used as a coat for metal ware to prevent tarnishing and for finishing various products such as playing cards, oil cloth and linoleum and for preserving archeological and zoological specimen. In electrical industry, lac is used as coating of insulator, coating of spark plugs, cement of sockets of electrical lamp, anti-tracking insulating, etc. In pharmaceutical industry, lac is used in coating of tablets, micro-encapsulation of vitamins and coating of medicines. Lac dye is used in dying of wool and silk, soft drink formulation, confectionary and chocolate coating. Lac wax has wide variety of uses in manufacturing shoe polishes, tailor’s chalk, lipstick, crayons (for writing on glass). Nowadays, it is also used in fruit coating.
Objectives
Lac cultivation is a good source of income for poor farmers. It is a reliable source of income during drought years when farming is not possible and agriculture is not profitable. It thrives best in marginal and degraded land. The cultivation has no negative effects on the health of the host tree or any other flora or fauna. It also helps to reduce rural-urban migration and increases opportunities for women for better employment and returns. An estimated 4 to 5 kg of lac is produced from one tree.
The project is imparting training to women beneficiaries in specified subjects with the help of Civil Society Organisations (CSO) to create entrepreneurship among the women. After imparting training, skill building, network formation, policy dialogue and entrepreneurial support, several women beneficiaries are establishing enterprises for their livelihood. Marketing support is also provided for showcasing and selling of their products at different platforms. Keeping in view the importance of lac production and value addition activities in selected districts of Jharkhand under the project, training on Lac Cultivation by Girl Power Project was conducted for a batch of 50 women beneficiaries in Ranchi to introduce them to the scientific methods of cultivation to improve productivity and increase the yield. The project plans to have upgraded skills training in which the women will learn to process lac and make products for additional income. Girl Power Project is in the process of executing more trainings for processing and value addition of lac through NABARD and National Institute for Secondary Agriculture (NISA), a unit of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in the near future so that rural women entrepreneurs can enhance their skills and earn additional income.
Outcome
The project aims that through these trainings, thousands of rural women will earn a good income by adopting scientific lac cultivation practices. Scientific practices will help in ensuring increased quantity and quality of production. Through processing and value addition, the women will generate five to ten times more than what they are used to. Hopefully, this will also reduce rural-urban migration which is rampant in Jharkhand.