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Backyard Bazaars

Dried Oak Gall Ink Powder Maker

Collect oak galls from oak trees, crush them into tannic powder, and sell kits for brewing medieval iron gall calligraphy ink.

Startup Cost: £20 Location: Remote/Home Difficulty: Medium Potential repeatable business A few hours a week

Earning and time figures are our broad estimates, not guarantees — actual results depend on your area, your effort and demand.

Why it's left-field

Calligraphers buy powdered tree galls gathered from woods to brew historical black ink using medieval recipes.

How it works

  1. 1Collect fallen oak galls from oak trees in autumn and dry them thoroughly.
  2. 2Crush hard galls into fine tannic powder using a heavy iron mortar.
  3. 3Package gall powder into glass jars alongside historical ink brewing recipe cards.

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