Archive · 16 Nov 2025
Sal Seed Butter Project Empowers Tribal Families in Junglemahal
Imagine finding a special treasure on the forest floor – that's what fallen sal seeds are for some families near the Junglemahal forests.
Scientists have started a project to turn these seeds into a special kind of butter.
This butter can be used to make food, cosmetics, and even medicines.
The tribal men and women collect the seeds, and a special machine at a lab helps take out the valuable oil and butter.
This new job helps them earn money and take care of their families.
It's like turning a forgotten part of the forest into a helpful resource for the people living there.
This project is helping to make life better for many families in these villages.
A project by CMERI in Durgapur is enabling tribal families in Junglemahal to earn a livelihood by collecting and processing sal seeds.
The collected sal seeds are used to extract butter, which has applications in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries.
The initiative, launched in March 2022 with a budget of Rs 62.85 lakh, aims to empower rural communities by establishing a Science and Technology Hub.
A plant with a seed roller, oil expeller, and filter presses has been set up, becoming operational in late September.
While India has a large potential for sal fat production, current output is limited due to procurement policies and lack of technical support.
- Who
- Marginalised tribal families in Junglemahal and CMERI scientists
- What
- A project to extract butter from sal seeds, providing a new livelihood.
- When
- Project launched in March 2022, plant became operational in the last week of September.
- Where
- Molandighi area, Kanksa, within the Junglemahal forests.
- Why
- To empower rural communities and improve the economic conditions of marginalised people.
- Project Initiator
- Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI), Durgapur
- Project Launch Date
- March 2022
- Project Budget
- Rs 62.85 lakh
- Focus Area
- Molandighi area, Kanksa, Junglemahal forests
- Yield per kg of seeds
- Around 250 grams of oil
- Oil extraction capacity
- About 40 litres per 8-hour shift