The year is coming to an end, wanting to say a loud screamy good
bye to the year
But there is also a sense of gratitude, survival in tough times and people coming together to help the not so fortunate.
Last year when I was researching on various plantations in Nagaland #BlackCardamom kept popping and I was wondering why Black cardamom since Nagas don't use it in their cooking.
After researching through various papers on the spices and talking to officials in Nagaland, some spectacular facts came across.
Black Cardamom has been traditionally growing in Sikkim, the local Lepcha tribe of Sikkim also doesn't use it in cooking but for medicinal purpose and as a wild fruit.
I was aware that Black Cardamom is the fruit from Eastern Himalayas but God knows why on earth I never connected Sikkim to it.
Sikkim is the place where Black Cardamom grew wild and the cultivation spread in different parts of South Asia like Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar.
Nagaland being part of the eastern Himalayan belt also has similar climatic conditions.
In most villages in Nagaland as per my understanding, farmers don't grow commercial crops, they only grow food for their consumption or maximum little to be sold around other villages.
In recent times after Nagaland received the GI for Bhut Jholakia and Tree tomatoes the plantation of these two ingredients has increased at commercial level otherwise most farmers prefer to grow limited produce for self-sustenance.
Nagaland has also dealt with constant insurgency, especially in Mon district.
And the youth of the region suffered the most, many of them ended up picking weapons due to lack of zero awareness and support.
Also growing and smoking marijuana in many pockets of the region was rampant.
In order to distract the youth and supplement them with extra income Black Cardamom sampling was distributed in multiple villages.
Over the years the plan was successful, more and more farmers opted for growing Black Cardamom with the support of the local government which provided free saplings in the 1st stage of cultivation.
And today it's not restricted to only Mon but has spread over many regions of Nagaland.
If you travel between Dimapur and Kohima you will find massive land holdings growing cardamom.
Though getting a correct MSP is still a challenge for them...
A few months back I had reached out to people from the same media platform to buy Black Cardamom and saw so many people came forward to buy it from the farmers.
All I can say is thank you and big gratitude to everyone because I have heard happy calls from Nagaland from the farmers thanking me and hoping if next year again they can share their produce directly to the consumer.
So yes this year also has its share of gratitude list for me.
Comentarios