Many scholars believe
that 'kerala’ owe thanks to the coconut palms (kera or kalpa vrsksham)
for its name, yes kerala is the land of keras (coconuts palms). Mass
cultivation of coconut is a unique feature of this south Indian state.
It is cultivated
throughout the length and breadth of this 'god's own land’. Coconut
palm tops paint the mountains, hills, low lands, plains and every other
geographical parts in lush green which makes this land a should visit site
in world tourist map. Coconut palms have their roots deep in the culture and
daily life of the citizens of this state. It forms a vital element in their
religious believes, their food culture and their economical situations, the
majority farmers of the state cultivate coconuts as their primary crop.
Coconut palm’s popularity is based on the
fact that every part of this tree is useful: its nut (coconut), leaves,
flowers, tree trunk, the tender core and also its roots. Raw coconut, tender
coconut, dry coconut and coconut oil are an unavoidable ingredient in
typical kerala dishes.
Coconut palm leaves have been sheltering
the Keralites for centuries, it is used to cover the roofs for decades,
though clay tiles and cement concrete has taken its place recently you still
can find a fair number of thawed houses in the rural areas.. The coconut
tree trunk is a great source of wood, and many of its parts (such as its
flowers & buds) are inevitable ingredients in many ayurveda medicines too.
There are number of industries that depend
on the palm such as coir industry, copra (dried coconut), toddy industry
etc. What makes these industries special is the fact that these are
specialist areas and hence its workers have transformed into a special
community specializing in these areas over generations.
But as many other agricultural products,
coconut has now become an unprofitable crop due to many reasons such as;
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High labour cost : The gulf
boom and the high educational average has increased the cost of living which
has in turn increased the labour cost to a very high rate which has made our
cost of production to sore up to the sky.
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Unable to fix a competitive
price;
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High production cost has made
it impossible to fix a price, which cant stand the competition from other
states
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Labor oriented system is
followed, which obviously increases the cost of production.
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Introduction of other
profitable crops such as rubber, vanilla, mulberry etc has lead to the
decline of coconut cultivation.
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Non availability of manual
workers : The high education average and de-glorification of manual works
makes the young to opt other works other than manual.
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The high content of harmful
cholesterol in the coconut oils made it unadvisable for cooking.
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But against all these problems, a faint ray
of hope can be seen now a days. The coir products are getting international
acclaim. Tinned toddy is being exported and also has found a good number of
admirers. The introduction of the technology for the production of virgin
coconut oil that has literally no harmful cholesterol is a major
development. The increase in the tourist inflow has lead to the increase in
demand for tender coconut, which is considered as tourist ambassador
itself.
Lets hope our land will be capable of
calling ‘kera’ l am for ever.
- Girish Raghavan for CalicutNet
