UDHAMPUR, March 07 — In the quiet village of Kambal Danga, 65-year-old Puran Singh is keeping a 250-year-old family legacy alive by producing pure, organic jaggery (gud) using traditional oxen-driven crushers.
Unlike modern commercial units that rely on high-speed engines—which can alter the juice’s natural profile through excessive heat—Singh employs a slow, cold-press method. His pair of oxen gently extracts nutrient-dense sugarcane juice from hand-harvested stalks grown on his own fields.
This eco-friendly process involves boiling the raw juice for up to five hours in massive iron cauldrons, fueled entirely by recycled bagasse instead of coal or wood. Rejecting synthetic bleaching agents, Singh uses crushed neem bark as a natural clarifier, yielding mineral-rich, chemical-free “brown gold” that offers far greater health benefits than industrial sugar.
The reputation of this authentic, farm-to-table sweetener is so prestigious that Singh never needs to seek out markets. Instead, eager customers travel directly to his home to secure pre-booked orders—clear proof that traditional craftsmanship and organic integrity continue to hold strong value in an era of increasing automation.
