Traditional mills disappearing

The Rising Nepal
10 Dec, 2021

By Our Correspondent
Sindhulimadhi, Dec. 10: With the arrival of modern machines, traditional technology like traditional mills is fast vanishing from the rural areas of Sindhuli.
Teacher Lekh Bahadur Basnet of Golanjor Rural Municipality–5 remembers a time when such mills, colloquially called Kol, were an absolute necessity for each house. “You could not grind sugarcanes, lemons and mustard seeds without them,” he said, adding, “But now, newer and easier alternatives are available and as a result, the present generation prefer not to use them.”

He also worried about the disappearing Dhiki and Janto and said, “Implements made of wood, bamboo and straw have now been replaced by ones made of plastic and metal.”
Balram Baral of Dudhauli Municipality–4 said that using modern machines had more disadvantages that advantages. “These machines are expensive and hence, cannot be afforded by everybody,” he said, asking the community to promote the usage of traditional mills and aware youngsters about them.

Many locals of Sindhuli worry that the declining use of these machines will negatively affect the rural culture and knowledge of the country.