Tubers, especially wild tubers, have been an integral part of the food basket of tribespeople for centuries. With a transition in their food habits, many tubers disappeared from their platter.
A tribal women’s collective , called “Noorangu”, from Vettakuruma tribal hamlet, in Irumbupalam near Kattikulam in the district, are pulling out all the stops to collect and conserve tuber varieties for the future generation. The name Noorangu traces its origin to a protein-rich wild tuber consumed by tribal communities of yesteryear.
They have conserved nearly 180 indigenous tuber varieties, including endangered ones collected from the wild. The project was started in 2022 under the Thirunelly Comprehensive Tribal Development programme of the National Rural Livelihood Mission being implemented through the Kudumbasree District mission.
It was during an interaction with the children of the tribal hamlet, as a part of the programme, that the Mission members learned that the children were not aware of their past culinary delights. Later, around 10 women members of the hamlet undertook the mission to sensitise their children and the public at large about the significance of conserving tubers.
They collected nearly 120 varieties of tubers and planted them on 70 cents of land provided by a member of the group. Nearly 60% of them were contributed by P.J. Manuel Pallikkamalil, a veteran farmer and a conservator of different kinds of tubers in Edavaka grama panchayat, says P.V. Saikrishnan, coordinator of the project.
They also set up a farm school to apread awareness about various varieties of tubers. Their collection includes tuber varieties such as yam, cassava, and taro, dioscorea, Mr. Saikrishnan said.
This year, the women folk added nearly 40 more tuber varieties to their collection. Though our community had been engaged in foraging wild edible plants and pottery making, most members were now dependent on MGNREGS works for their survival, says P. Sunitha, secretary of the collective.
Now, we are planning to identify tubers that have commercial value and sell them to the farming community. A processing centre to make value-added products from tuber is also on the anvil.
The State government has selected the hamlet as the best tribal hamlet in the State which conserves tuber varieties and propagates traditional farming.
