This tribal family turns stone into iron, now India International Science Festival will show its skills in 2023
A tribal family of Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh can turn pieces of stone into iron. This is not a miracle nor does this family have any supernatural powers to do this. They use the art taught by their forefathers and make this unique work. They completely convert the stone pieces into iron by a scientific process. No machine of any kind is used in this. For this process they only depend on nature and collect the raw material from forests. Now the whole world will see the workmanship of this family. The family has decided to participate in the India International Science Festival 2023 to be held in the premises of Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology. The family will showcase their skills in this festival. To reach here, 7 members of the family have covered a distance of 460 km. The four-day science festival has started from Saturday (January 21).
Claim to make rust free iron
Moti Singh Maravi, a member of the Agaria tribe found in the state’s Mandla, Dindori, Balaghat and Sidhi districts, said, “The iron we make is rust-free.” Regarding the process of turning stones into iron, he said, “They prepare an earthen furnace in which they put stones with coal.” These people call this stone as liver stone.
Iron is prepared with great effort
He said “After this we fire the furnace and pump air into the furnace through a bellows. We run this bellows with our feet. This process lasts for four hours. About 200 grams of iron is available from 7 kg of stone. He told that about 21 kg of coal is used in this process. “We get raw material from the forests,” he said.
The aim is to keep the tradition alive
Maravi said that making stones in this way is his family business. They have been doing this work for centuries. He said that I have been doing this since childhood. Our forefathers started it. He told the purpose behind doing this work is to keep his tradition alive.
Make tools for farmers
He said that the iron that comes out through this process depends on the quality of the stones. Maravi said, “This iron is used to make various traditional tools like axe, sickle, plough, chisel, hammer and tongs.” Indravati Maravi, a woman from the family, told ANI news agency, “Our forefathers used to go to the forests in search of liver stone. We have learned the art of making iron from stone from our forefathers.
Supply iron here
Santu Maravi, another member of the family, said, “We make tools for farmers and also supply iron to Vigyan Bhavan, tribal museum and other places. We also make iron on demand.
He said, “We bring raw material from the forests. Coal is also prepared by burning wood and it is used in the manufacture of iron. We use 21 kg of charcoal to make about 200 grams of iron from about seven kg of stone.”
