Make in Kashmir: A village which supplies 90% wood for pencils in India
Kashmir-pencil
You might have heard about Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir when it comes to violence and encounter but there is a village that will soon be called a 'Pencil district' of India.
Oukhoo village in south Kashmir supplies around 90 percent wood used to manufacture pencils in India.
The village is the hub of pencil slates where both men and women are employed to process raw wood.
Not many know that this district will soon be called the pencil district of India given it supplies most of the slates needed to make a pencil.
"Companies used to get supplies from Germany and Chine but with time they started taking wood. Later we got machines and designed slates here, I'm happy we are getting employment here through this," says Manzoor Ahmad, one of the factory owner.
It wasn't the same before the 90s when companies in India would import wood from Germany, China, and other countries. This has helped in local employment generation as well.
Special trees which grow in the wetlands of the district are used as it has the right amount of moisture. Around 17 registered units here work hard to write made in Kashmir story.
"The government is trying several initiatives and has been successful too. There is an initiative by which Pulwama will be known as 'Pencil district' and we expect it to happen soon. We want every house to make slates here," says Mubashir, another factory owner.
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The slates are stacked before they are dispatched to factories which will process them and make a pencil. Now there is a growing demand for making the entire pencil in Kashmir.