TENKASI
A small group of 5 final year students from Government Forest College, Mettupalayam is giving unexpected dimension to the livelihood of mulberry and the sericulture farmers of the district, who are being trained in preparing value-added products with mulberry leaves and fruits.
Apart from using the mulberry leaves for feeding the silkworms, the leaves were not of any major use to the farmers till yesterday. “Now, they have been taught that the mulberry leaves, which are rich in antioxydants, can be consumed like tea if it is processed in a specific method, which has been patented by our professor A. Thangamalar three years ago,” says M. Shalini, final year sericulture student of Department of Sericulture, Government Forest College, who is training the farmers of Kadayanallur along with her classmates Sivaranjani, Samaya, Shweta and Yazhini.
The students prescribe that the ‘mulberry tea’, being sold in the market by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), is good for weight loss, thanks to the rich antioxidant content in the mulberry leaves.
Now, the farmers cultivating mulberry can sell the leaves for preparing mulberry tea or get license from Dr. Thangamalar and the TNAU for preparing mulberry tea, having huge demand.
“Since the mulberry trees grow well anywhere in Tamil Nadu withstanding the temperate climate and in any soil with the pH value from 6.20 to 6.50, anyone can cultivate it to sell its leaves for making mulberry tea,” Ms. Shalini says.
Another interesting value-addition introduced by the ‘Five Women Army’ to the mulberry farmers is the ‘mulberry jam’, a mixture of mulberry fruit and sugar. “Like the mixed fruit jam, the jam being prepared with mulberry fruits is so delicious. Since the farmers were not hitherto using the mulberry fruits for edible purposes, the culinary tips we’ve given them on preparing the jam with mulberry fruits will go a long way in augmenting their revenue,” says Ms. Shalini.
After training the farmers of Kadayanallur, the forest college students have also trained the agriculturists attached to the Krishi Vigyan Kendra at Velayuthapuram near Kadayanallur.
