Machines for making long cotton wick are available in the market for industries; however there is no machine available for making round cotton wick for small scale production or for cottage industries. Conventionally, it is being made manually as a household activity by women in rural and urban areas during their spare time to generate additional income to support their family. The local traders provide raw cotton and buy back cotton wicks from the women giving them compensation in the range Rs. 60 – Rs. 300 per kg, depending upon the size, shape and quality of the wicks.
Innovators have developed a machine to automate the process of making round cotton wicks, which has achieved production of 20 – 25 wicks/min and fetches highest quality of round cotton wick compared to manual process by which one can make only 8 – 10 wicks per minute. It increases the production efficiency of users by 150%. By adopting this machine, one can easily earn Rs. 100 to Rs 250 per day.
