Depending on the way you look, the report that Kerala’s toddy capital is staring at a drier future could lead to despair or opportunity. This newspaper noted that the Chittur region of Palakkad, which produces most of the state’s toddy, is finding it increasingly difficult to find enough tappers, the people who climb palm trees to indulge in the age-old craft of extracting their sweet sap. It reflects an inability of the planners to protect livelihoods in the face of changing dynamics of labour migration from neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Kerala also has award-winning startups which have engineered robotic devices that can do the tapping, the kind of machines widely used in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The decision lies in the balance between supporting one kind of livelihood and another.
