Karnataka’s Kunbi ladies farmers hope to carry climate-resilient tubers to city eating tables

Within the lush forests of Kali river valley in North Karnataka, the Kunbi neighborhood has been cultivating tubers in Joida taluk for generations, with roughly 300 households rising about 40 varieties. The climate-resilient crop has been a staple meals for a number of forest-dependent communities and is essentially grown and offered by ladies. For the ladies, tuber cultivation isn’t just a livelihood, however a lifestyle deeply rooted of their tradition and heritage.

Namrata Derekar, a farmer from the Kunbi neighborhood, defined how her household has been rising tubers for so long as she will be able to bear in mind. “My grandmother and great-grandmother used to develop tubers, and it has been handed down for generations. It’s not only a crop for us; it’s part of our id,” she mentioned.

Nestled inside the buffer zone of the Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve and the Karwar Territorial Forest Division, the neighborhood cultivates a variety of tubers, together with indigenous varieties similar to Kunbi mudli and kone. Their dedication to preserving the biodiversity of tubers has earned them recognition prior to now, together with the celebrated Plant Genome Saviour Group Awards given by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.

“Centuries in the past, our ancestors migrated right here from Goa to flee spiritual and cultural persecution by the Portuguese and settled within the Western Ghats of Karnataka,” mentioned Jayanand Derekar, a member of the Kunbi neighborhood. “Farming was all they knew and tubers have been our staple meals for generations.”

P Sethuraman Sivakumar, principal scientist, ICAR – Central Tuber Crops Analysis Institute, Thiruvananthapuram, says that when his crew was surveying the farmers in Joida about 5 years in the past, they learnt that the crop was in a position to survive excessive environments and provides yield in an low season too. “Virtually each different Kunbi tribe family grows tubers as a result of additionally they maintain robust cultural roots with the crop; we even noticed cases of them worshipping the taro throughout festivals,” he mentioned.

Regardless of local weather change affecting different crops within the space, tubers have confirmed to be resilient. Nonetheless, the dearth of demand for tubers has offered a big problem for the neighborhood. Folks within the metropolis discover it troublesome to peel, prepare dinner and eat tubers and are unaware of the cooking strategies and recipes related to them.

“Farming alone doesn’t generate sufficient earnings for me, so I’ve one other job as an anganwadi trainer,” shared Namrata. The dearth of demand for tubers has compelled a number of villagers to journey lengthy distances for every day wage jobs in Goa, typically struggling to make ends meet. “Even now, it’s troublesome to promote them by the gram or kilo; individuals want shopping for one or two models, which considerably impacts our earnings,” she added.

Regardless of showcasing tubers and dishes made utilizing them on the annual mela in Kumbharwada village, a sustainable earnings for the neighborhood stays elusive. Residence chef Reshma Kamat recognises the necessity for a extra everlasting answer, saying, “We’d like one thing that may generate earnings all yr round.”

However there may be hope. Jayanand, a farmer and entrepreneur, established Kali Farmer Producer Firm to assist the farmers in Joida discover a marketplace for tuber crops. Along with Spudnik Farms — a collective of small holding natural farmers positioned round Bengaluru, Chikkaballapur and Joida — they hope to create value-added merchandise, similar to sandige or sun-dried wafers and different chips fabricated from tubers, to extend earnings year-round.

To spice up demand, a chef residency programme was held in Joida for 5 famend metropolis cooks this yr. Cooks Nayantara Menon Bagla, Anumitra Ghosh Dastidar, Shreya Gazmer, Karan Upmanyu, and Karan Thakker, dove headfirst into the world of farming practices and recipes from Joida’s dwelling cooks, studying as a lot as they might through the two-day residency. The consequence was a feast for the senses — a conventional yelle oota (banana leaf meal) that showcased native tuber dishes ready by the cooks and residential cooks of Joida, hosted at The Courtyard within the metropolis.

“The primary challenge right here is unfamiliarity. With chef residencies and internet hosting a meal for Bengalureans, we hope to serve tubers in a manner that’s acquainted to them, bridging the hole of unfamiliarity,” mentioned Sumeet Kaur, founder and CEO, Spudnik Farms.

When cooks and farmers be part of forces, it’s greater than only a assembly of minds. It may well truly change the way in which one thinks about meals, influencing what we eat and the way we purchase elements. By introducing indigenous elements into their menus, these cooks can create a bigger marketplace for native produce, and assist reshape our relationship with meals. It’s a phenomenon that’s been occurring for years — in any case, if it wasn’t for a sure Australian restaurateur, we would by no means have found the fun of smashed avocado on toast.

In accordance with chef Nayantara Menon Bagla, who can also be a nutritionist within the metropolis, it’s essential for cooks to endorse a round financial system by studying about elements which can be organically produced and have decrease environmental impacts, particularly on local weather and biodiversity. As a substitute of treating demand and provide points as daunting challenges, she believes that sourcing higher produce and educating ourselves in regards to the origin of indigenous elements may be the answer. “We should educate ourselves about the place these indigenous elements come from,” she mentioned, emphasising that cooks have an important function to play in selling sustainable and accountable sourcing.

Chef Anumitra, who has been serving tubers in her restaurant, Edible Archives, in Goa for 3 years now, believes that whereas they might not be well-liked in city areas, they’re broadly loved in Goa, Kerala and North Karnataka. To introduce the ingredient to her diners, she serves a maadi (taro root) cutlet made with kunbi mudli, which has develop into successful amongst her patrons.

Through the chef residency programme, she additionally learnt about efficient storage practices, similar to digging a pit within the floor to maintain the tubers recent for longer. As a chef, Anumitra acknowledges the problem of balancing the will to introduce new elements with the necessity to serve what sells. Nonetheless, she believes that cooks have a duty to popularise indigenous elements and contribute to a extra sustainable meals system. “What we eat now will decide what can be grown and that may decide what the planet will seem like in 10 years,” she provides.

Amongst tuber crops, cassava and candy potato are probably the most climate-resilient ones. Candy potato, one other tuber crop grown in Joida, is even recognised internationally as a “saviour crop” because it supplies a dependable earnings for farmers going through meals and earnings loss on account of erratic climate modifications.

The truth is, throughout his analysis, Sethuraman discovered that even when the tremendous cyclone hit Puri district, in Odisha in 1999, and all the opposite crops had been washed out and houses had been destroyed, the tubers had been in a position to survive and supplied a supply of sustenance for the affected communities.

“Therefore, it turns into crucial to offer area to such crops in occasions of local weather disaster and meals insecurity,” he emphasises.

The importance of tubers throughout a local weather disaster can’t be overstated. As we face a way forward for unsure climate patterns and meals insecurity, it’s communities just like the Kunbi who maintain the important thing to our survival. By supporting these farmers and their agricultural financial system, we aren’t solely making certain our meals safety but additionally preserving our tradition and constructing a extra sustainable and resilient meals system for the longer term.