“Pani Ghatta” (traditional water mill )

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The “Pani Ghatta”  traditional water mill has been used over the ages to grind flour. A traditional ghatta: The wooden ‘turbines’ are fashioned by local carpenters, which drive the grinding stone are used to grind corn, wheat, and other grains for the local agricultural community. 

The fundamentals of a ghatta are fairly basic. Water is diverted from a stream or river and flows down a chute towards the ghatta’s turbine. The vertical shaft of the turbine runs up through the floor of the ghatta house and turns the top stone of a pair of grinding stones. Grain is stored above the stone in a suspended woven basket. It slowly falls out through a feeder mechanism at the bottom of the basket. The top stone has a hole carved in its center all the way through it. Grain from the feeder mechanism falls down through this hole, and is then ground between the pair of stones.

Ghattas are made from local materials, so naturally each is to some extent unique. Although they have the features outlined above, the sizes or materials can significantly vary from location to location. The grinding stones can come in many different sizes, for example. Their diameters generally range from 24 to 34 inches, and the thickness can range from 3 to 10 inches (although we’ve heard of stones