Harvested straight from the hives, ‘Achankovil Honey’ has a unique taste and texture. Though the brand was launched in 2020, the supply chain has been in disarray due to the COVID-19-induced delays and disruptions.
More than 70% of the tribespeople in the Achencoil region, especially the Malampandarams, depend on the collection and sale of minor forest produce (MPF), and now efforts are on to revive the sale of wild honey. The Forest department is setting up an electric processing unit that can process 100 litres at a time so that the division can directly market the brand.
“We are relaunching the brand and the plant will be operational from next week. Tribal communities usually do not travel after procurement and they sell the honey locally. The previous season they had to sell the honey at a very low rate to agents from other States as they could not go home with unsold produce. We are setting up a stronger and more integrated supply chain so that the tribespeople are not exploited,” says a Forest department officer.
Extracting wild honey from tree tops and rock roofs is a challenging task and the tribespeople use their indigenous knowledge, passed down from one generation to another, for that. The honey harvesting season starts in April and the tribespeople start identifying trees and cavities from the first week. Collective expeditions to the forest with bamboo poles and baskets last at least a week.
Tedious task
“Some trees will be steady sources, but at times we will have to look for new hives. There are families that enter the forest and stay inside during the entire season. It is a very tedious effort and we brave many difficulties during honey hunting trips,” says Santhosh, a member of the tribal community.
While men make preparations during the day, honey is extracted at night. “We suffered substantial losses as we were unable to sell the produce procured with great difficulty.”
Each season the tribes collect around 1,500 litres of honey and with the new machinery in place, the forest division will attain self-sufficiency in direct marketing.
Top quality
“Achankovil Honey is a top quality product with medicinal values. It has a particular aroma and when we sold it through Horticorp, the brand had huge demand. With continued efforts, we are planning to make the brand popular and protect the livelihood of several tribal families,” adds the official.
