Lhawang Driden Incense factory is an incense manufacturing house based in Wangdue Photdrang district. Sonam Tobden is the person behind the incense factory which was started by his father. Lhawang Driden means "Pure and good fragrance" in Dzongkha.The incense is produced under the strict Buddhist traditional method and in the most hygienic techniques.The incense uses a variety of Rhododendrons, nutmeg, cinnamon, honey, tree resins (Poe Kar), Ruda Plant, Gooseberry, Saffron, and Juniper as the main base. They even use natural dyes for the coloration of incense sticks. Altogether, around 35 different raw materials are used to manufacture the sticks.
Bhutanese incense sticks are divided into three kinds. Vegetarian, Non-Vegetarian, and the Black incense. The only difference between Veg- and Non-Veg incense is the use of Naki(seafood) for the non-veg incense sticks.
The black incense on the other hand is considered a highly sacred incense and it is burnt during sacred rituals and pujas only. This kind of incense sticks is produced once a year by the factory.
