‘Saahas Dobasu’ is a project that seeks to leverage a traditional technique, available in Uttarakhand, that harnesses nature for producing energy. Gharat is a water turbine used for making flour that is found in the hills, specially in the Himalayan region. The water source for running the gharats are glaciers, perennial streams and rivulets. Gharat is an indigenous technology that converts the potential and kinetic energy of water into mechanical energy.
The uses of gharats in Uttarakhand are varied. While crushing/pounding grains into flour is the most common usage, they also come handy in shaping timber, textile, and metals. The utility and scale of gharats depend upon the force with which water can either naturally pass through it or is diverted towards it.
In Uttarakhand, Gharats are a traditional representation of typical mountain-life inter-dependencies, community bonds, of diverse cultures and their coexistence. It is an integral part of an ecosystem which is of enormous value to community life in the hills where accessibility and logistics are an everyday challenge to making a living. A functional Gharat is capable of producing and supplying electricity to approximately ten village households.
Gharat in the hills are now on the decline, even as some of them are being upgraded to run on electrical motor equipment. Traditionally, a Gharat is meant to run on the natural force of water, thereby preempting the generation of heat, specially during the grinding process. This had the advantage of retaining the nutritional value of the grain.
Contemporary economic pressures are one of the major reasons for gharats either becoming extinct or being ‘upgraded’ through electrification.
‘Saahas Dobasu’ is an initiative of the Saahas Foundation which works towards restoration and revival of gharats as well as promoting use of consumables resulting from it. In our reckoning this is taking a step forward towards a healthy lifestyle and the creation of a source of livelihood in the hills.
At this time, we are restoring a Gharat in the Dubra village and reviving the economics of one in village Dobasu, both in Tehri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand.