A schoolteacher popularises Central Travancore jaggery, and triggers a sweet revolution

Sugarcane grown on the flooded river banks of the Pampa, Manimala, Achankovil and Meenachil yields sweet organic jaggery with a distinctive taste

Two days ago, I received by post two packs of honey-coloured organic jaggery. Sweetened by the sun and the rich riverine soil, it narrates a sweet story of the revival of sugarcane cultivation in Central Travancore, comprising Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts and Chengannur taluk of Alappuzha district. The jaggery was made from sugarcane grown by Jose Kuncharakattil Abraham at Arumanoor, a village on the banks of the Meenachil in Ayarkunnam panchayat, about 13 kilometres from Kottayam. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, the 61-year-old former Physics teacher resumed sugarcane cultivation after he retired from St Sebastian Higher Secondary School at Ayarkunnam.