Turning Bullocks Into Business: Telangana Woman Entrepreneur Revives Traditional Ganuga Method To Produce Pure Oils
Bobbala Jyoti, from Nalgonda district said her business was inspired by digestive issues in her family prompting her to foray into the bullock business.
Published : June 16, 2025 at 1:16 PM IST
Ramulabanda (Nalgonda): In a world fast moving towards sophistication, a woman entrepreneur from rural Telangana is reviving the age-old practice of extracting oil using bullocks.
Bobbala Jyoti, a determined entrepreneur from Ramulabanda village in Nalgonda district is bringing back the age-old practice to create a sustainable and traditional business.
The idea born out of illness
Sharing her entrepreneurial journey, Jyoti said that despite eating home-grown vegetables and grains from her husband’s natural farming, she noticed her family was still facing digestive issues. The culprit, she realized, was refined cooking oil. That’s when she discovered Ganuga oil, the traditionally extracted oil believed to retain nutrients and promote good health. Jyoti didn’t stop at using it just for her family. She saw an opportunity to provide pure oil to others and earn a living in the process.
Ganuga oil the traditional way
Unlike machine-based oil mills, Jyoti chose the traditional path, wooden Ganugas powered by bullocks. She visited artisans and families still using this method and learned the process. With the help of a local carpenter, she crafted her own wooden Ganugas and rolls. The result? A natural, chemical-free oil extraction unit powered entirely by bullock rotation.
11 bullocks and a dream
From her farming background, Jyoti acquired 11 bullocks, using three at a time to power three Ganugas. The bullocks are rotated every hour to avoid fatigue, and they’re even fed the oil-rich residues of groundnut, sesame, and coconut providing healthy nourishment.
A day in Jyoti’s life
Jyoti hasn’t even completed her intermediate education, but that hasn’t stopped her from running a full-fledged operation. A mother of two, she wakes up at 4 AM, finishes household chores, and reaches the oil unit by 7 AM, where she works until evening. From feeding and cleaning the bullocks to extracting oil and bottling it, Jyoti is involved in every step.
Pain, perseverance, and profit
“For every 13 kg of groundnuts, we extract about 5.5 litres of oil. We then expose it to sunlight for three hours before bottling. In two hours, one bull circles the setup nearly a hundred times. I sit on the machine to guide it. There were days when the sun and the heat nearly knocked me out, but I slowly adapted,” she recalls.
Her venture, Jyoti Natural Farming, now produces a variety of oils including castor, safflower, sunflower, flaxseed, mustard, and both black and white sesame. The enterprise generates a revenue of ₹30 lakh annually and even employs local workers, offering livelihood opportunities to others in the village.
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