KANNUR: The people of Kannapuram village in Kannur have taken their love for the king of fruits to another level. For the village nurtures over 200 indigenous varieties of mangoes.This incredible journey of mango lovers began five years ago. Ten families came together and realised that there are over 107 varieties of the fruit within a 200-metre radius in their panchayat alone. They promptly took up the task of protecting and propagating the indigenous mango varieties. Led by Shyju Machathi, a farmer, the group ‘Nattu Manchottil’ is now planning to launch a Heritage Walk next year.
Shyju said it all began when a 200-year old Vellathan tree, which is a rare variety of mango not found in any other region of the state, was cut down. “It was the only tree in our panchayat and we felt the need to protect it and regrow it. We gathered the logs and grafted it with the help of officials from the Department of Agriculture.”
Gradually more villagers joined Shyju and the effort turned out to be an achievement for Kannapuram villagers. Today, the village has over 200 varieties of mango trees. It also bagged the tag of ‘Indigenous Mango Heritage Area’ on July 22, 2020, from Kerala State Biodiversity Board.
“It was surprising to find such varieties of mangoes from a small village. We don’t know the root of it. No study has been conducted to understand the availability of so many varieties in our village. Therefore, we request the authorities to arrange research into these mangoes as we are unaware of the health benefits of it,” said Shyju. The efforts to preserve the indigenous varieties of mangoes caught the attention of Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar and has promised to send 100 types of saplings from Kannapuram to 100 villages of the state next month. “If the project comes to execution, Kerala will be the first state to have 100 centres with 100 mango trees in the country,” said Shyju.