Air smells lemony in forestland

It’s the time when lemon grass oil is extracted in Idukki

January 26, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:44 am IST - MARAYUR (IDUKKI DISTRICT):

A Muthuvan tribal cutting lemon grass for extracting oil in the Kammalankudy forest area, Marayur, in Idukki district.—Photo: Giji K. Raman

A Muthuvan tribal cutting lemon grass for extracting oil in the Kammalankudy forest area, Marayur, in Idukki district.—Photo: Giji K. Raman

Come mid-January, and tribal settlements on the Marayur-Chinnar forest belt would be buzzing with activity. It is the season for processing lemon grass oil, and the area has the largest number of extracting units in the country.

There are hundreds of such units in the Muthuvan and Hill Pulaya settlements, where lemon grass is cultivated abundantly. Oil is extracted twice or thrice a year, with this season providing the highest yield. Lemon grass is usually dried under sun before the oil is extracted.

“Mist and rain could play spoilsport. Though oil can be extracted from fresh grass, it yields very less oil,” says Paramasivam of Kammalankudy. Lemon grass provides livelihood to 1,000-odd tribal families and the Forest Department encourages its cultivation as a means to prevent soil erosion and help soil regeneration.

Marayur Divisional Forest Officer Saby Varghese says that lemon grass, which has high citral and alkaloid content, is cultivated in almost 1,500 hectares of forestland.

There is much demand for the region’s lemon grass oil from pharmaceutical and detergent companies because of the superior quality of the product. The Forest Department purchases it at Rs.1,130 per kg.

Around 40 tribal settlements have lemon grass extracting units with an average of 10 to 30 in each ‘kudy’ (settlement), says M.G. Vinodkumar, Marayur Range Officer. The main settlements under lemon grass cultivation are Kammalankudy, Kuthukallukudy, Nellipettykudy, Thengaparakudy, Puravayal, Karpoorakudy, Theerthamala, Vannathurai, Palpettykudy, Pollavayal, Alampettykudy, Iruttala, Olikudy and Vellakalkudy.

The tribespeople have been extracting the oil for generations. They cut the grass during day and extract the oil at night. Though the Forest Department planned to set up a modern extracting unit to reduce the dependence on firewood and to improve the oil quality, it was put on hold since it would have disrupted the traditional extraction process, which is closely connected to the tribal lifestyle, says Mr. Varghese.

Burning firewood in the wintry cold is part of the tribespeople’s life. So is the fire in the extracting units. “Any intervention, however minor, in the processing could make them drift away from the industry. Let them extract the oil in their own way. It has a charm that cannot be easily gauged by others,” Mr. Varghese said.

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