PATHANAMTHITTA: Soon, the much-sought-after honey gooseberry (then nellikka) made by the tribal people of Ranni will be available throughout the state. Commercially developed by the Malavedan tribals of Olikallu hamlet, in Chittar, the product will be marketed by the forest department.
Olikallu Vana Samrakshana Samithi (VSS), under the Chittar Forest Station, in Ranni, is driving the initiative.
“We started the initiative around three months ago. The tribal people collect wild gooseberries and honey from the Ranni forest and prepare the product in their hamlet. This is then handed over to the secretary of Olikallu VSS,” said Chittar deputy range officer Shiju S V Nair.
“It takes at least 40 days to make one jar of honey gooseberry. The wild gooseberries collected from the forest are first boiled to remove moisture. They are then moved into a vessel with wild honey. Ten kilos of wild gooseberries need at least 7.5kg of honey. After nearly 20 days, the gooseberries are drained out and placed in another vessel with fresh honey for another 20 days. The readied product is moved into glass jars with metallic caps. We sell a 300g jar for Rs 350,” said Olikallu VSS secretary Soumya V P.
Many fake honey gooseberry products are available in the market that are prepared in sugar solution. “Our products are made by the tribal people using wild honey collected from the forest,” she said. The initiative is being run under the Union government’s Van Dhan Yojana, which offers tribal gatherers a livelihood by transforming them into entrepreneurs.
A community-managed Van Dhan Vikas Kendra (VDVK) — named Vana Jyothi VDVK — has been set up in Ranni. The honey gooseberry prepared here will be sold under the Vana Jyothi VDVK brand name.
Multiple self-help groups (SHGs) have been formed under the Ranni VDVK for developing and marketing value-added products.
“Currently, the product is made solely with wild gooseberries collected from the Ranni forest. They are sold through forest department outlets. We are planning to sell the product throughout the state. But, wild gooseberries available in the Ranni forest will not be sufficient to meet this demand. So, we are planning to also source them from other areas, such as Wayanad and Marayoor. The project is helping the tribal community of Olikallu find decent income. Through the initiative, they get a good price for their product. It also helps avoid their exploitation by middlemen,” Shiju added.