Incense in The Wind: Cottage Industries

Saturday, 18 March 2023

Cottage Industries

Cottage Industries is part of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, India. The history of the Cottage Industries brand is that it was founded in 1949 by Mirra Alfassa, The Mother, to provide the ashram with incense. So the aim was for this to be a modest low cost product for their own use. Surplus was sold to visitors, and by 1973 was being exported. It is sold under the Cottage Industries brand name, though originally and for a while it was under the name of the ashram, Sri Aurobindo, and had a shop in Pondicherry. However, when it became a charity, it was not allowed to get directly involved in a commercial enterprise, so set up a separate trust, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Central Sales Organisation, to deal with incense and other sales through their online shop: Sacso-online.com,

The incense and the packaging are similar to Auroshika, and One Aromatics, and Meadows, and The Mother's, who all appear to be connected in some way with the ashram in Pondicherry and the community in Auroville, which was founded by The Mother. Though the companies operate in different places (Auroshika in America, and The Mother's in the UK, etc), the Cottage Industries brand is the original, and operates from Pondicherry.

They appear to have four main ranges: Classic - which splits into Heritage (the original range from 1949) and Amrita (a more modern, more economical range); Festive, which comes in Deluxe Box, Deluxe Cones, and Deluxe Packet versions; Pondicherry - a more expensive modern range in colourful packets; and the Special range of three scents celebrating Hindu gods, which is available in Economy Flat Packs and Special Boxes which are colourfully printed. They are sold in sizes ranging from 10g to 100g, with the Heritage range offering the most flexibility with 10, 50 and 100g sizes.

The packaging design is very basic and minimal, especially on the Classic ranges, and generally the only difference between packaging of the scents will be the name, and on the Classic range, a different colour for the packet size. The modern ranges, however, particularly the Special range, are more interesting, colourful, thoughtful, and attractive. The main point of incense is the scent, though wrapped around the scent are other aspects of the total experience, which includes the ethics of the company, and the thought and care given to the packaging, not just in sustainability, but in how the packet can inform and delight. While, like most people, I like the convenience and ease of an MP3 for obtaining, transporting, using, and sharing music, I do deeply love a vinyl album, not just for the warmth and depth of the sound, but also for the art and information on the album sleeve. Each to their own, but I warm to an incense which is in an attractively and thoughtfully designed packet, while I feel put off by a poorly designed packet, and am largely cold and indifferent to a packet that is rather plain and unimaginative.

The scents tend to be single note, aiming to replicate a known and popular incense scent such as amber, jasmine, sandalwood, myrrh, etc. Though modern scents are aiming to be more complex and interesting and unique - blending two or more scents.

On the whole I find the scents from Cottage Industries (as I do for most of the incenses from companies associated with the Pondicherry ashram) to be rather simple/essential, dry, sombre, and faint/subtle. I moderately like them, though they don't excite me or give me much pleasure. I don't find there's a lot going on, so for me they can be a little boring. I like the idea of the modern scents with their scent blends, such as the Special range, though as blending is not Cottage Industries speciality, I don't find them as interesting as I hoped.

All in all, this is an ethical, historic, interesting incense maker which I like the idea of more than I like the scents, which I find to be moderately likeable and average.