Our Journey

India produces tons of flower waste offered in the temple every day, which ends up in the Ganges River. But many contain toxic chemicals like arsenic, lead, cadmium, and pesticides. Our organization is giving a second life to these sacred flowers by collecting lots of flowers from temples and transforming them into incense sticks. As the flowers are used in rituals, they are considered sacred and cannot be thrown into the garbage. So, we collect the flowers and offer our respect to the Almighty in the form of Dhoop sticks.

Kailapira Dhoop Sticks are born out of a desire to rise above superficiality and get back in touch with existence. We researched the problem and recycled the waste by excluding wood and making a non-toxic element. The employees of our company pick up the flower waste from temples throughout the Doon Valley, Uttarakhand. Then we transport the flower to the facility, where they are washed and cleaned. We weigh and separate them from the greens, plastics, threads, and fabrics. Workers save only the flower petals for the incense stick and sort them by color. They keep the stems and buds to create compost that is sold separately. The flower petals are then laid on large drying beds and are dried in the sun. Once they are dried, they are ground into a powder. This is where we get our primary working compound for our incense sticks. The powder goes into the mixer, where essential oils, herbs, condiments, and water are added to the flower extract until it reaches a clay-like texture.

Now it’s time to roll!

This dough mixture is put into an assembly line which produces neat rows of tube sticks that are cut to size. The sticks are arranged on trays, and straightened by hands while rolling to create an even thickness. They are then left to dry before dipping them again in the essential oils. They are laid out to dry one more time, after which they are bundled, ready to be boxed, and packed. Each box contains a stand for the sticks made out of red soil and cow manure.

Who we are today

Kailapira is a brand of Jagrati Associates that was incorporated in 2021 to produce Dhoop sticks in partnership with Jagrati Foundation, an NGO (80G and 12A registered) engaged in skill development and de-addiction program since 2014. This organic process of conversion of sacred flowers to Dhoop sticks has been developed by us in collaboration with CSIR (Council of Scientific & Industrial Research) through their CIMAP (Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants) in Lucknow under an aroma mission to help us with our research and development process.

We have heavily invested ourselves in our Research and Development to invent methods to convert flower waste in temples into biodegradable incense sticks and products. The mission to empower vernacular people by offering a means to earn a living and preserve the river Ganges became a reality for us. Our solemn effort to turn this religious waste collection into a full-scale social initiative now extends to cities across the country.

What makes us unique?

Organic: Kailapira Dhoop Sticks are 100% organic and are eco-friendly
Natural products: The Dhoop sticks are made from colored petals of the temple flowers and 16 other essential oils, herbs, and condiments indigenous to India are added
Bamboo and charcoal less: All our products are bamboo, charcoal, and wood-less and hence are free from harmful chemicals
Non-toxic: Kailapira Dhoop Sticks produce low smoke and are free from harmful elements and they do not emit toxins.
Made in India: Kailapira Dhoop Sticks are entirely designed and handcrafted by local workers and no harmful chemicals are added.