Uttarakhand women prepare eco-friendly colours

To meet the demands of organic colours, Kiran Tiwari from Nainital decided to start a small seasonal venture along with her friend Nayla Khan which soon became a hit in major cities. The ingredients used for making these eco-friendly pigments are organic as well as kitchen-friendly.

Nainital: Naturally-made colours will adorn the faces of people on this festival of colours, thanks to the efforts of Kiran and her friend Nayla.

Over the years, people have become more conscious of the side-effects of synthetic colours and have switched to natural colours for Holi celebrations.

In this context, the duo from Nainital, conjured up vibrant colours from everyday kitchen items and started a small seasonal venture, whose product soon became a hit in major cities.

"We make colours by mixing kitchen ingredients like beetroot, spinach, marigold, rose and wheat flour. There are six women who are currently working with us. We produce around 300 packets on alternate days. We have customers in Mumbai, Chandigarh, Rudrapur, Delhi, Haldwani, and Almora," told Tiwari to ETV Bharat.

Nayla Khan who had always admired Uttarakhand's culture told that she decided to partner with her friend in order to revive the state's culture.

"After my children got settled, I decided to take part in this initiative to revitalize Uttarakhand's culture. We have provided employment to 20-25 people. Seeing the current situation of the country, I wish everyone to live in peace and harmony as that is what all the religions preach," said Khan.

Usha Tamta who is working with them expressed satisfaction and said that the job has helped her in making a living and she wishes to continue working with them in the future as well.

In their parting words, they urged people to promote the use of natural colours and keep their environment free from artificial substances.