How Chakkakkoottam, a WhatsApp group-turned-company, is bringing about a jackfruit revolution in Kerala

chakkakkakkoottam a whatsapp group of jackfruit lovers is now a company chakkakkoottam international that is promoting the production of value-added products from jackfruit

“There is so much you can do with the jackfruit,” Bushra Faisal says. She is a member of Chalissery Chakkakkoottam, a collective of 15 homemakers who are into making value-added products from jackfruit.

A resident of Chavakkad in Thrissur district, Bushra travels 18 kilometres to Chalissery in nearby Palakkad district whenever there is a training session or to sell homemade products at ‘Chakka chantha’ (jackfruit market). Sahida Aboobacker, another member of the collective, points out that very bit of a jackfruit can be converted into a new product. “We enjoy that process though it is cumbersome,” she says.

Chalissery Chakkakkoottam was launched in December last year and the members are part of a WhatsApp group of nearly 500 members. This is among many such collectives in the State making a range of jackfruit treats, thanks to Chakkakkoottam, a WhatsApp group of jackfruit lovers, which was formed in 2019. This group registered as a company, Chakkakkoottam International Private Ltd, in 2021. The company, located at Pattimattam in Ernakulam district, markets different jackfruit-based products through supermarkets and e-commerce platforms.

“While there are seven common groups, 21 groups function in 14 districts with some of the districts having more than one WhatsApp group. In addition, there are WhatsApp groups in 941 panchayats, 87 municipalities and six Corporations,” says Anil Jose, founder-coordinator of Chakkakkoottam WhatsApp group and one of the six directors of the company.

He says Chakkakkoottam was born out of the need to find ways to make use of tonnes of jackfruit going to waste every year. The discussion started around the time when jackfruit was declared the official fruit of Kerala in 2018. Once the group was formed, word got around and there was an influx of fans of jackfruit — from those who love to binge on jackfruit to those selling saplings and value-added products from the fruit. This included those who loved eating jackfruit to those who sold jackfruit saplings and manufacturers of jackfruit-based products.

They were encouraged to form WhatsApp groups in their respective panchayats and once the number of members crossed 400, Chakkakkoottam trained members of these groups.

“Kerala is behind Karnataka, Assam and Orissa in jackfruit production. Even then around 60 crore jackfruits are produced here every year, of which less than 20 crore fruits are used. Over 100 products can be manufactured from the fruit. So the State can get a turnover of ₹1 lakh crore if we are able to make value-added products,” says Manu Chandran, managing director of Chakkakkoottam International.