Sugarcane grown along the floodplains of Pampa, Manimala, Achankovil and Meenachil yields sweet organic jaggery with a distinctive taste.
Two days back, I received by post two packs of honey colored organic jaggery. Sweet with sun and rich riverine soil, it tells a lovely story of the revival of sugarcane cultivation in central Travancore, which includes Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts, and Chengannur taluk of Alappuzha district.
Jaggery was made from sugarcane grown by Jose Kuncharakatil Abraham in Arumanoor, a village on the banks of Meenachil in Ayarkunnam panchayat, about 13 km from Kottayam. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, the 61-year-old former physics teacher resumed sugarcane farming after retiring from St. Sebastian’s Higher Secondary School in Ayarkunnam.
Sugarcane grown by Jose Kuncharaktil Abraham in Arumanoor is crushed to extract the juice. It is used to make the famous Central Travancore Jaggery. photo Credit: special arrangement
Cultivation of sugarcane and making jaggery was common on the banks of Manimala, Achankovil, Pamba and Meenachil rivers. “Growing up, I remember the sugarcane fields in our neighbourhood. The sweet smell of making jaggery filled the air. By the time I was in my twenties, my family had stopped cultivating sugarcane. When I wanted to resume farming on my eight acres of land, I approached the Agricultural Research Station (ARS) at Kallunkal in Tiruvalla to buy the seeds,” he says.
In the early 20th century, sugarcane was cultivated on 8,000 hectares in central Travancore, says Dr VR Shajan, head of the ARS, which works under the Kerala Agricultural University. Travancore State Manual (Vol. III) Published by the Government of Kerala (1996 edition) talks about sugarcane cultivation and jaggery production in the erstwhile kingdom of Travancore. The value of jaggery exported during 1927-1936 ranged from ₹2.08 lakh to ₹11.36 lakh.
The sugarcane juice is heated until the amount of water evaporates and the sweet residue is poured into a flat pan to cool. The workers of Jose Kuncharaktil Abraham’s house in Arumanoor, pouring hot residue into flat pans. photo Credit: special arrangement
“Ibn Battuta wrote about the sugarcane of Kerala in the 14th century. It was grown in a continuous belt from Pathanamthitta to Tiruvalla and Kottayam. In 1946, the Pampa sugar mill was started at Valanjavattam, seven kilometers from Thiruvalla. Mannam Sugar mills were in Pandalam,” says Shajan.
Horticorp managing director, J Sanjeev, who was the former agriculture superintendent of the sugarcane seed farm under the agriculture department, says: “The state agriculture corporation sanctioned forest land for sugarcane cultivation for smooth functioning of two sugar mills. The Agriculture Department used to give licenses to about 75 to 100 units operating in the area.
The melted sweet residue of sugarcane juice is poured into the flat pan. When it cools, make balls of jaggery and roll them. photo Credit: special arrangement
However, the Gulf boom in the eighties changed the land use pattern. Many people stopped cultivating sugarcane because the labour-intensive work had become unprofitable. Gradually, the cultivation of sugarcane in this area almost disappeared. Sugar mills stopped functioning as enough sugarcane could not be procured for profitable operation of the mills. Cheap, adulterated jaggery from neighboring states made it difficult for farmers to find customers. This affected the manufacture of jaggery, although a handful of farmers continued to make it on a small scale.
resume production
Sanjeev, who joined the sugarcane seed farm in 2002, recalls that the 25 hectares owned by the farm used to cultivate sugarcane. Since the shutters of both the sugar mills were closed by then, sugarcane had to be sold at throwaway prices. “We decided to find out if there is any possibility of resuming the production of jaggery in the farm. We visited Pollachi and Theni in Tamil Nadu and recruited a family of Theni to work on a contract basis in Pandalam. The production of Pandalam jaggery at the seed farm started in 2007,” says Sajeev.
There was a huge demand for adulterated jaggery. “Jaggery made in these parts has a natural sweetness and colour. And unlike sugarcane grown in alkaline soil, jaggery does not have a salty taste,” says Sajeev.
Jaggery juice is made by crushing chopped sugarcane and heating it until the water content evaporates. It is then poured into flat containers and rolled into molasses balls or sold Read Sharka.
Central Travancore jaggery is being made in place of Jose Kuncharakatil Abraham in Arumanoor, a village on the banks of Meenachil in Ayarkunnam panchayat. photo Credit: special arrangement
Una Sharkara, Chukkunda, with flavors of cardamom, cumin and dried ginger, and Water There are some products made from sugarcane juice. Last year, ARS sales outlets sold 10 tonnes of jaggery at ₹150 per kg. in present, Read Sharkara, those Sharkara And Chukku Sharkara Sold at the outlet.
getting GI tag
ARS applied for GI tag for jaggery made in Central Travancore and got it in 2009. It was revived in 2019. Shajan explains that the unique taste of sugarcane is because it is grown on the banks of rivers which flood during floods. Monsoon. He says, “With river banks being submerged during monsoons, sugarcane is the best crop that can be grown in waterlogged soils. sweet semi-solid steps Jaggery has a deep amber color and is a specialty of the region. This is due to the rich micronutrients present in the soil.”
He adds: “Madhuri, a sugarcane variety, is the best for the fields here. It will be unprofitable to cultivate it in one or two acres. To make the jaggery production unit profitable, more land has to be cultivated. At present, sugarcane is cultivated in about 250 to 500 hectares. However, it is not a continuous belt like before.”
Jose Kuncharaktil Abraham sells handmade Central Travancore jaggery made from sugarcane he cultivated in Arumanoor, a village on the banks of Meenachil in Ayarakunnam panchayat. photo Credit: special arrangement
Due to the serrated leaves of sugarcane, it can paralyze the agricultural laborers. “It is difficult to find labor and we work with migrant labourers, although jaggery making is done by families in the area that my parents used to do during my time,” says Jose. They have two sales outlets and sell around 300 kgs in a day. Since jaggery is not treated with caustic soda and other chemicals, there is a constant demand for it, which has prompted many people to take up the cultivation of sugarcane again.
For example, Jose has taken 16 acres of land on lease for sugarcane cultivation. He laughs that every day there is a long queue at his sales centers to buy jaggery. He couriers it to the buyers all over India.
The hand crafted jaggery from Kuncharaktil Farm proves why there are jaggery pickers from Central Travancore across the country. as i turn chukkunda to make in syrup aval vilayichathuThe aroma of cardamom and ginger fills my home with the taste of Central Travancore Jaggery.
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