International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD)

Volume 9 Issue 2, Mar-Apr 2025 Available Online: www.ijtsrd.com e-ISSN: 2456 – 6470

Jute Stick Management in Assam: Unveiling Traditional

Knowledge Systems for Sustainable Development
Munmee Charingia1, Dhiren Tamuli2
1
Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam, India
2
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, DKD College, Dergaon, Assam, India

ABSTRACT How to cite this paper: Munmee

Self-dependent India or Atmanivar Bharat is one the most upcoming Charingia | Dhiren Tamuli "Jute Stick
policies to sketch India's future. Most of the traditional knowledge Management in Assam: Unveiling
followed by the rural people are becoming very relevant nowadays. Traditional Knowledge Systems for
Such ITK (Indigenous Traditional Knowledge) can shape a new Sustainable Development" Published in
International Journal
nation from different angles like economic, environmental, social and of Trend in
cultural. The Assam by its favourable climatic conditions with Scientific Research
abundant annual rainfall and a good amount of alluvial soil in the and Development
riverine tracts offers excellent scope for cultivation of jute. The area (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-
under jute during 1951-52 was 1.23 lakh has which was only 4 per 6470, Volume-9 |
cent of the gross sown area of Assam. After extraction of fibre, the Issue-2, April 2025, IJTSRD76309
left over is called jute stick which have multipurpose use. The main pp.255-259, URL:
objectives of this paper are to examine the traditional use of jute www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd76309.pdf
stick) in their day-to-day life. The information regarding jute stick
management was collected from different jute growing zones of Copyright © 2025 by author (s) and
International Journal of Trend in
Assam through personnel interview etc. jute crop is mostly grown in Scientific Research and Development
Brahmaputra valley of Assam. Farmers use the sticks as staking Journal. This is an
material in vegetable field, as fencing, as a wall in houses, as ceiling Open Access article
material and most importantly as fuel wood. It is estimated that about distributed under the
4 to 5 tons of jute sticks per hectare is produced from jute cultivation. terms of the Creative Commons
There is also a scope of innovative use of jute sticks such as bricks, Attribution License (CC BY 4.0)
crockery, cutlery and dinnerware. In addition, jute sticks are potential (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
raw materials for production of particle board, and paper boards.
However, in Assam this process is not adopted commercially. There KEYWORDS: Ceiling, Diversified,
is a scope for commercial use of jute sticks with innovative ideas. Eco-friendly, ITK, Livelihood, Self-
This will create diversified demand for raw jute and enable farmers to reliance
earn extra income.

In India, cotton, jute and mesta are the major fibre jute industry occupies an important place in India’s
crops grown extensively traditionally as well as national economy. It is one of the major industries in
commercially. Jute is also an important cash crop the eastern region, particularly in West Bengal. Jute,
grown extensively in various parts of the country. the golden fibre, meets all the standards for ‘safe’
India is the largest producer of jute in the world, packaging given being a natural, renewable, bio-
followed by Bangladesh. However, Bangladesh degradable and eco-friendly product. In recent days,
produces better quality raw jute and is a bigger player due to bio-degradable and eco-friendly nature of jute
than India in the export market of jute and jute fibre products, people have shifted their alertness from
products. According to Ministry of Agriculture and plastic products to jute fibre products. Now a day’s
Farmers Welfare, principal species of jute cultivated plastic products are becoming a great threat to the
in India are tossa (Corchorus olitorius) around 94 per environment. In the context of global awareness for
cent, white jute (Corchorus capsularis) only 3 per cent environmental concerns, as an eco-friendly packaging
and mesta accounts for around 3-4 per cent of materials jute and allied fibres, are in the centre stage
production. Jute is a crop of hot and humid climate. It as against synthetic fibres, which are pollutant by
requires high temperature varying from 24°C to 35°C nature. Although, the topography of Assam and its
and heavy rainfall of 120 to 150 cm for proper growth climate is favourable mostly for paddy cultivation, the
of the plant till the arrival of the proper monsoon. The farmers also give emphasis in cultivating other food

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 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
crops like pulses, oilseed, horticultural crops and non- Methodology
food crops like jute in different parts of the state in a The state of Assam has a total cropped area of around
scattered manner. Although, the topography of Assam 4.08 million hectares and total population around 31
and its climate is favourable mostly for paddy million (as per 2011 census). The state is situated in
cultivation, the farmers also give emphasis in the high rainfall zone with average rainfall of 2297.4
cultivating other food crops like pulses, oilseed, mm. The climate is humid with a sub-tropical nature
horticultural crops and non-food crops like jute in having warm humid summers and cool dry winters.
different parts of the state in a scattered manner. Jute Agriculture is mainly confined to Brahmaputra valley
stands on a unique position as an important of Assam. More than 85 per cent of total cropped area
commercial crop of Assam. In Assam, the main of Assam is contributed by Brahmaputra valley of
concentration of cultivation of jute is confined to Assam.
Brahmaputra valleys covering the districts of Dhubri,
The information regarding jute stick management was
Goalpara, Kamrup, Barpeta, Udalguri, Nagaon,
collected from different jute growing zones of Assam
Morigaon, Darrang, Bangaigaon, Sonitpur and some
through personnel interview etc. jute crop is mostly
parts of Jorhat district. The area under jute during
grown in Brahmaputra valley of Assam. For
1951-52 was 1.23 lakh has which was only 4 per cent
collecting information regarding the jute stick
of the gross sown area of Assam. This area was
management, three agro climatic zones from
gradually increasing to 1.30 lakh has during 1964-65.
Brahmaputra Valley namely Lower Brahmaputra
In 1951-52 the total jute production was 0.74 million
Valley Zone, Central Brahmaputra Valley Zone and
bales with an average yield of 1084 kg per ha. From
North Bank Plain Zone were purposively selected.
1951-52 to 1961-62 the area under jute increased by
From each zone two major jute growing districts were
9.03 per cent with production increased by 41.21 per
selected for the study. Likewise, Dhubri and Barpeta
cent. After that the area decreased by 0.47 per cent in
districts from Lower Brahmaputra Valley Zone,
1971-72 from 1961-62. As a result, a very minimal
Nagaon and Morigaon Districts from Central
increase in production was observed in 1971-72 to that
Brahmaputra Valley Zone and Darrang and Udalguri
of 1961-62 i.e. 1.35 per cent. From 1971-72 the area
from North Bank Plain Zone were selected for the
under jute cultivation showed a negative growth with
purpose. Form each district fifty jute growing farmers
gradual decrease in production till 2012-13. Due to
were selected for the study. A total of 300 sample
this negative growth, the production of jute had also
farmers were selected for collecting information from
shown negative growth till 2012-13. In 2013-14 the
the study area. The information received from the
area under jute had increased to 69822 has (6.50 %)
farmers were categorised in different sub headings
from 65560 has in 2011-12. During that time the
and reported in this article. The collection of
production increased by three times of the area
information was mainly focussed on the traditional
increase i.e. 17.97 per cent. In 2015-16, Assam
knowledge of jute stick management so that
occupied the third position in Jute production with an
researchers can find the scientific exploration for
area of 0.08 million has following West Bengal and
further application of jute stick in commercial use.
Bihar. Assam had shared 9.74 per cent of total jute
area in India after West Bengal (71.03 %) and Bihar Results and Discussion
(14.62%). During (2017-18), jute production in Assam The information collected from farmers as well as
has reached 0.84 million bales (8.26 per cent to total) from various literatures on Traditional methods of
following West Bengal with 7.64 million bales (75.35 management of jute stick in Assam is presented in
per cent to total) and Bihar with 1.45 million bales different headings.
(14.32 per cent to total) to contribute to 10.14 million After extraction of fibre, the left over is called jute
bales of total jute production in India. However, in stick which have multipurpose use. Farmers use these
2019-20, Assam became the second largest cultivator sticks as staking material in vegetable field, as
and producer of jute in the country after West Bengal fencing, as a wall in houses, as ceiling material and
with 64.25 thousand hectares area and 791.67 most importantly as fuel wood. It is estimated that
thousand bales of production of jute in the country. about 4 to 5 tons of jute sticks per hectare is produced
Based on the raw material, it is estimated that Assam from jute cultivation.
can alone run about 10-15 jute mills in the state.
As fuel wood
The main objectives of this paper are to examine the The most common and popular use of jute stick is as
traditional use of jute stick (the leftover stick after fuel wood material. Dried jute sticks catch fire very
extraction of jute fibre) in their day-to-day life. easily, because of which jute sticks are widely used in
households as fuel wood for cooking food. It is also
used as supporting material with other fuel wood

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 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
because of its high fire catching capacity. The jute
sticks are used as fuel wood in two ways. It is used
either in raw form or is covered with a layer of cow
dung and sundried. The earlier one is mostly used as
supporting material with other fuel wood and the later
one is used as fuel wood alone. The layer of cow dung
helps the jute sticks to burn for longer time (Fig. 1).
But the process generates lots of smoke while burning
not only creating environment pollution but also
health hazards.

Fig.2 Jute sticks used as stacking material in

vegetables
As fencing material
Jute sticks are commonly used as fencing material to
protect their houses and animal sheds. The sticks are
tied with the support of bamboo splits and bamboo or
wooden posts are used to support the wall (Fig. 4). But
this kind of fencing is not much protective and long
lasting as the jute sticks are easily broken in nature.

Fig.1 A farmer storing jute sticks for fuel

purpose
Wall construction material
Two types of wall are made using jute stick. First one
is made of jute sticks, mud, cow- dung and bamboo
splits. The first layer is made with jute stick tied with
cane or jute threads and is supported with bamboo
splits. The wall is plastered with mud and cow dung
mix from the outside. After drying the first layer, the
second layer is applied. The process is repeated 2 to 3
times until a smooth wall is made. The wall stands
with the support of bamboo post. (Fig 3b). The second
type of wall is made only with jute stick and bamboo
sticks. Traditional cane rope or jute threads are used as Fig.3a. Jute sticks used as wall
tying material. Jute sticks are tied in such a manner
As stacking material in vegetables
that they make a thick wall supported with bamboo
One of the most interesting and common use of jute
sticks from both the side and tied tightly. The wall
sticks is as stacking material in vegetables. The
stands with the support of bamboo post. (Fig. 3a) This
technique was found mostly in Barpeta and Dhubri
type of wall provides low cost structure to the rural
district. Farmers use the jute sticks as stacking
houses, however there is a chance of infestation by
material in vegetables like cucumber, ridge gourd,
rodents and mites.
beans etc. this technique reduces the cost of stacking
material in vegetable cultivation. After using as
stacking material, farmers reuse the jute sticks as fuel
wood for cooking and other purposes. (Fig. 2)

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As ceiling material
Jute sticks are commonly used as ceiling material in
many parts of the study area. It is believed that this
kind of ceiling provides a warm environment in winter
and a cooling environment in hot summer due to low
thermal conductivity of the ceiling material. It is a
common ceiling material in tin shed houses of the
study area. This type of ceiling material provides low
cost structure to the rural houses, however there is a
chance of infestation by rodents and mites. (Fig.5)

Fig.3b. Jute sticks used as wall with mud and

cow dung
As thatching material
Farmers of the study area use jute sticks as thatching
material too. The economically weak farmers from
the study area were found to use the jute sticks as
thatching material for their houses as well as for
animal shelter along with paddy straw. Jute sticks are
thickly layered approx. 4 to 5 cm covering from both
the side (inner and outer) with bamboo splits and
fastened with jute cane or steel strips to make a thick Fig.5 Jute sticks used as ceiling material
wall. This wall is then fixed with the support of
bamboo splits from below on top of the huts to make The advantages and disadvantages of traditional use of
a roof. Below the jute sticks plastic sheet is spread to jute stick are presented in Table 1. It is observed from
make a layer of roof. This thatched roof is replaced the table that although jute sticks are utilized by
once in 5 to 6 years depending upon the nature and farmers using their ITK, but there involved lots of
thickness of the thatch (Fig.6). disadvantages. Jute sticks burnt with cow dung
generate lots of smoke and carbon di oxide that not
only pollute environment but also increases health
hazards. Moreover, jute sticks catch fire easily which
a great threat of using this as construction material.
Moreover, there is a problem of pest infestation too.
As fencing material, jute sticks are not much
protective as it breaks easily.
Conclusion
After extraction of fiber, the left over is called jute
stick which have multipurpose use. Jute farmers
manages the jute straw in a traditional manner. It is
Fig.4 Jute sticks used as fencing material obvious from the fact that the farmers are rich in
traditional knowledge in utilizing the jute sticks which
in turn reduces the cost in many ways. It is estimated
that about 4 to 5 tons of jute sticks per hectare is
produced from jute cultivation every year. There is a
scope for innovative use of jute sticks such as bricks,
crockery, cutlery and dinnerware. In addition, jute
sticks are potential raw materials for production of
particle board, and paper boards. However, in study
area as well as in Assam this process is not adopted
commercially. There is a good opportunity for
commercial use of jute sticks with innovative ideas.
This will create diversified demand for eco-friendly
jute stick product whilst enabling farmers to earn extra
Fig.6 Jute sticks used as thatching material income. Moreover, jute diversified product has a

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greater demand now a day. Thus, a further in-depth [4] Annual Report, 2019. ICAR-Central Research
study based on scientific knowledge and innovation is Institute for Jute and Allied Fiber.
required which may able to prove the actual
[5] Price Policy for Jute, 2016-17, Commission for
potentialities of use of jute stick. A big-push is Agricultural Cost and Prices, Directorate of
necessary in terms of investment, research and Economics and Statistics, Government of India.
extension so that the constraints could be removed.
[6] Price Policy for Jute, 2017-18, Commission for
Conflict of Interest Agricultural Cost and Prices, Directorate of
The authors have no conflict of interest. Economics and Statistics, Government of India.
Author’s contribution [7] Price Policy for Jute, 2018-19, Commission for
The authors have contributed equally in every aspect Agricultural Cost and Prices, Directorate of
of manuscript. Economics and Statistics, Government of India.
Acknowledgement [8] Price Policy for Jute, 2019-20, Commission for
The author thanks the anonymous referee for his Agricultural Cost and Prices, Directorate of
valuable suggestions. The author is also thankful to Economics and Statistics, Government of India.
the respondents for their help and cooperation while
collecting information. [9] Price Policy for Jute, 2020-21, Commission for
Agricultural Cost and Prices, Directorate of
References Economics and Statistics, Government of India.
[1] Bidyalakshmia, T., Bembema, K., Narsaiaha,
K., Singhb, H., & Singh, H. (2023, April). [10] Price Policy for Jute, 2021-22, Commission for
Traditional knowledge system on paddy straw Agricultural Cost and Prices, Directorate of
management in North-East India. Indian Economics and Statistics, Government of India.
Journal of Traditional Knowledge, 22(2), 255- [11] Sarker, S.K. (1986). The Fading Fabric-I Raw
263. doi:10.56042/ijtk.v22i2.49062 Jute Scenario. Econ. Pol. Weekly, 2140-2146
[2] Khongsai, L., & Manibabu, M. (2023, January). [12] Sumit, B. & Shil, P. (2014). Indian Jute
Traditional rice-husking technology of the Diversified Product in the Export Market, 2000-
Kukis of Manipur, India. Indian Journal of 01 to 2012-13: Pattern and Performance.
Traditional Knowledge, 22(1), 202-210. International Journal of Economic and
[3] Annual Report, 2018. ICAR-Central Research Business Review, 2(11), 181-187.
Institute for Jute and Allied Fiber.
Table1. Advantages and disadvantages of traditional use of jute sticks\
Application Advantages Disadvantages
Alternate source of fuelwood in Generates lots smoke and Carbon di oxide.
1. Fuel wood
rural areas environment pollution and health hazards
Can be easily damaged by rain due to
Wall
Low cost. Easy to made by local higher water absorption capacity. Threat of
2. construction
artisans, balanced temperature fire due to high fire catching capacity. Can
material
be easily infested by rodents and mites
As fencing Not much protective and long lasting as the
3. Low cost
material jute sticks are easily broken in nature.
As stacking
Cannot be used for heavy vegetables such
4. material in Low cost and easy to use
as pumpkin, bottle gourds, ash gourds etc.
vegetables
Low cost structure and can be
As thatching Not long lasting and need frequent
5. made easily by local artisans,
material replacement
temperature stability
As ceiling Low cost and balance temperature
6. Can be easily infested by rodents and mites
material both in summer and winter

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