In less than a week, the festival of vibrant colours – Holi – will paint Goa in vibrant hues transforming the State into a party place. The festival holds different meanings for different individuals, but the act of throwing and smearing colours is what truly characterises the celebration.
With the growing promotion of Holi celebrations by clubs, hotels, and other establishments, the demand for organic colors is on the rise. Though the markets are filled with cheap, chemical-laden colours, Goa is beginning to look for organic options.
Over the last few years – spurred on by social media and the increasing awareness of organic colours – the concept of using organic Holi colours has gradually picked up.
The demand for such colours is being met by various groups and individuals, like Suryakant Gaonkar and women's self-help groups, who have been advocating the use of organic and chemical-free Holi gulaal.
Holi colours were organic and people used seeds, roots and other veggies to get their colours.
Suryakant Gaonkar
According to Suryakant, who has produced approximately 1,500 kg of gulaal in various shades such as orange, green, blue, and yellow, there is a growing preference among locals to utilise organic colors. "In the past, before the introduction of chemical-based colours, people relied on natural sources like seeds, roots, and vegetables to obtain their colours," he reminsces.
"These concentrated colours are later mixed with a base of flour, which helps in creating the quantity,” he adds. Suryakant makes sure that his entire family helps him to produce the gulaal.
Pernem-based Suryakant hopes to see a good sale for his organic colours this year. "We sell four colours and the base is made from cornflour. The green colour is made from palak, yellow from haldi, orange from a plant which is found in the forests of Goa, and blue from indigo. We have to source indigo from buyers,” he explains.
COLLEGE INITIATIVES
The faculty and students of Dnyanprassarak Mandal’s College and Research Centre, Assagao, began making eco-friendly herbal colours in 2022, using different parts of plants.
As a pilot project, around 10 to 20 kgs were produced and then distributed to people across the State.
“The following year, we prepared 1,000 kg of organic and non-toxic natural organic colours from flowers and herbs,” informed the college principal, D B Arolkar.
"During Holi, markets are flooded with highly toxic colours that contain dangerous metals like mercury, copper and cadmium,” he rues and urges people to refrain from buying them.
Keeping in tune its green initiative beyond the campus, the college has collaborated with the GoVan project of the Goa State Biodiversity Board. The project has been supported by the Department of Environment and Goa State Pollution Control Board.
“The faculty and students have also trained women’s self-help groups (SHG) in preparing the colours which will enable the women to earn an additional income during Holi,” the principal said.
The self-help groups have so far produced around 600 kg of colour, this year.
A workshop was also held for women from the GoVan Multiprocessing Centre of the Goa State Biodiversity Board, supported by the Department of Environment and Climate Change, Govt of Goa, in association with the Goa State Pollution Control Board.
From clubs and party organisers, most venues hosting Holi parties are promoting organic colours to attract more people.
With the help of social media in the last few years, this new trend has been observed among many and is definitely the way forward.
