Traditional aalemanes get new look, produce chemical-free jaggery

Reviving practices

With emerging competition and owing to growing demand for modern consumerism, traditional indigenous products and skills are taking a back seat in the recent past. Despite several health and social benefits, many traditional items have already moved out of market, due to various reasons.

In order to revive the Indian traditional products and to upgrade skills, a commerce platform eSamudaay and JSS Rural Incubation Skill and Development Centre (JSS RISDC), Chamarajanagar, have joined hands. As a first step, they have launched a jaggery producer circle in Chamarajanagar, to restore and digitise traditional aalemanes and to produce healthy, chemical-free jaggery.

eSamudaay and JSS RISDC, through this jaggery producer circle, aim to restore the aalemanes to build a demand for chemical-free jaggery in the market, to introduce the best practices and to help the producers to connect with wholesalers and retailers.

The initiative is a ray of hope for the farmers, who are under stress due to unscientific pricing and lack of demand for jaggery. Nagendra, a jaggery producer of Chamrajnagar, said that the farmers want to give the best produce to the consumers.

“We were in search of the processes and markets, which can help produce good quality jaggery and the right market to sell our produce. JSS RISDC and eSamudaay have arrived at the right time, for us, to give better quality jaggery, with the best practices, and market access. We hope this collaboration will help us generate more income and support us to produce chemical-free jaggery," he said.

Chief executive of JSS RISDC B Shivashankar said that the new initiative is to build good practices, to get a better product out in the market, without affecting or disturbing the existing functioning of the jaggery processes. "The idea is to increase the market demand for chemical-free jaggery, even for small quantities. Besides, the cost should be matched with the existing cost of the jaggery in the market," he said.

According to him, the biggest challenge is creating a market. "Thus, we are developing a marketplace through eSamudaay circles, deploying a direct consumer selling strategy, and we are also planning to sell through Business-to-Business (B2B) modes," he said.

“We believe reviving and modernising traditional aalemanes can, not only help in producing high-quality products, but also attract better talent and widen livelihood opportunities in the community. Through our holistic intervention, we want to bring women into this business, who can truly add a lot of value and strengthen each aalemane,” he said.

“The goal of the producer-centred initiative is to improve old practices, from the health, hygiene and holistic perspective, while retaining the traditional goodness and benefits that are intrinsic to the product. The aim is also to enrich the life of the people and the community that depends on this product," said Ravi Haldipur, co-founder and CBO, eSamudaay.

eSamudaay and JSS RISDC also have plans to work on more such producer circles of jackfruit, arecanut and fish in the next 12 months.