Extraction of lemongrass Oil Unit in Anigada

Jharkhand State Livelihoods Promotion Society (JSLPS) has provided one Distillation Plant for Essential oil & Lemongrass Oil in Khunti on pilot basis

Lemongrass essential oil is extracted from Cymbopogon citratus. Lemongrass Oil is derived from Lemongrass, which is a fast growing, tall, aromatic perennial grass native to India. We can cut the Lemongrass once in three months and once planted it can go on for five years and oil is extracted from the fresh or partly dried leaves by steam distillation. It is used for aroma therapy and external applications in health. Lemongrass oil blends well with other oils such as Cedarwood oil, Coriander oil, Jasmine oil, Lavender oil, Tea Tree oil and Rosemary oil.

Brief Operational Procedure of the unit

A RSC (Rural Service Centre) has been formed with the help of active SHG members in the panchayat. The Lemongrass are sourced from villages nearby using mini trucks. The labor identification is done by working committee of the RSC for a sum of ₹200 per day. The Lemongrass is loaded into the top furnace along with water, which is sourced from a well near by and recycled lemongrass is used as a fuel. The boiler is fired from the bottom and the oil vapor moves into the distillation chamber. The wastewater is left out through the outlet valve. Once the oil reaches desired level of potency the volatile oils extracted by distillation. The distilled oil is collected and packed in 10ml, 30ml and one liter packs. JSLPS does the branding and marketing. JSLPS makes orders are as per sales, In the current scenario demand is more and its majorly sold in various SRLM’s melas and exhibitions.

Recommendations in existing Infrastructure

• The plant capacity can be increased to 1000L instead of 500L, which will increase operational efficiency also once the oil extraction is completed opening of furnace takes around 12 hours.
• In the existing infrastructure a boundary wall, bore well, pulley system and water recycle plant will make the plant efficient, safe and conducive environment to extract oil.
• The initial working capital could be given to keep the cash flows in check.

Proposed action for the District administration

Similar distillation plants could be set up in other blocks in the Khunti to facilitate livelihood enhancement, the state JSLPS team has already got the tender approved for the unit which makes procurement easy. Also the existing forward linkages could be leveraged which would make this successful. The training and handholding support could be done by existing RSC & state level MKSP team.