Cow dung patties sells huge in India

With the holiday season in full swing,
Indians are flocking to the online marketplace in
droves. But there's one unusual item flying off the
virtual shelves: Online retailers say cow dung
patties are selling like hot cakes.
The patties — cow poop mixed with hay and dried
in the sun, made mainly by women in rural areas
and used to fuel fires — have long been available in
India's villages. But online retailers including
Amazon and eBay are now reaching out to the
country's ever-increasing urban population.
Some retailers say they're offering discounts for
large orders. Some customers are asking for gift
wrapping.
"Cow dung cakes have been listed by multiple
sellers on our platform since October and we have
received several customer orders" since then, said
Madhavi Kochar, an Amazon India spokeswoman.
The orders come mostly from cities where it would
be difficult to buy dung cakes, she said.
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In India, where Hindus have long worshipped cows
as sacred, cow dung cakes have been used for
centuries for fires, whether for heating, cooking or
Hindu rituals. Across rural India, piles of drying cow
dung are ubiquitous.
Radhika Agarwal of ShopClues, a major online
retailer in India, said demand for the cow dung
cakes spiked during the recent Diwali season, a
time when Hindus conduct prayer ceremonies at
their homes, factories and offices. On a recent day,
ShopClues' website showed that the patties had
sold out.
"Around Diwali, when people do a lot of pujas in
their homes and workplaces, there is a lot of
demand for cow dung cakes," said Agarwal,
referring to rituals performed during the popular
festival.
"Increasingly, in the cold weather, people are
keeping themselves warm by lighting fires" using
them, she said, adding that people who grew up in
rural areas find the peaty smell of dung fires
pleasant.
"It reminds them of the old days," she said.
The cakes are sold in packages that contain two to
eight pieces weighing 200 grams (7 ounces) each.
Prices range from 100 to 400 rupees ($1.50 to $6)
per package.
Dung cakes are also used as organic manure, and
some sellers are marketing them for use in kitchen
gardens.

Photo courtesy: shutterstock