Extracting oil the traditional way in Shidlaghatta

Traditional occupations and industry are slowly disappearing with the onslaught of modern technology.

The wooden oil presses are among those traditional occupations which are becoming extinct. Many of the oil presses in the taluk have become vestiges of the past. They are not able to compete with the modern oil mills.

The wooden oilpress run by using bullocks was a common sight in the past. But today, with the electrically operated oil mills becoming popular, the wooden oilpress has become a thing of past.

Traditionally, this trade was the monopoly of a certain community. In those days, it was considered prestigious to own a wooden oilpress.

There used to be oilpresses run by using both men and bullocks. The oil press located in the open is usually run by animals.

Much before the arrival of the mechanised oil mills, oil from various oils seed and copra were extracted by using this unique method.

In the olden days, Ayurvedic physicians preferred oil from this wooden oilpress for their medical preparations. These days wooden oilpresses are rare and almost extinct.

However, in Shettyhalli of Shidlaghatta taluk you still find some traditional oil presses and some people are dependent on them for their livelihood. Narayanappa of Shettyhalli is continuing his ancestral occupation.

Oil is extracted from copra, til (sesame), ground nut, castor and other oil seeds. This process was adopted for extracting juice from sugarcane for making jaggery.

The dry oil seeds are crushed in the morning and the oil is then squeezed from it. Fifty kilograms of oilseeds yield 10 kgs of oil and 30 kgs of oil cakes used as cattle feed and sometimes as manure depending on the variety of the oil seeds.

Oil sells at Rs 65 to 70 per kg while the oil cakes sells at Rs 16 per kg”, says Narayanappa .

“Oil extraction business runs only for three or four months during summer. Earlier there were eight oil mills in Shettyhalli. Now all of them have stopped extracting oil, Now some of them sell oil extracted in modern oil mills,” he added.