Come summer, a group of women from Tirupani Chettikulam in Srivaikundam taluk of Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district will have a sweet beginning to look forward to. The more the greenish-white flowers that bloom on the moringa tree, the more reason they have to celebrate. The group is all set to harvest honey from the moringa flowers, a fragrant variety that is richer than the average honey with a distinct flavour imbibed to its thick texture. It is also considered to come with several medicinal benefits.
For now, the women are working towards the setting up of beehive boxes in about three acres of moringa aka drumstick tree farms in their village. The group of about 10 women belong to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Magalir Thaen Urpathiyalar Kootamaipu (Dr APJ Abdul Kalam women’s honey producers’ cooperative) and with help from Srinivasan Services Trust (SST), the CSR wing of TVS Motor and Sundaram Clayton, the women hope to generate revenue to sustain their families. SST also has honey harvesting projects in over 11 districts of Tamil Nadu-- including the Javadhu hills covering Vellore, Thiruvannamalai, Tirupattur districts and Harur in Dharmapuri district, to name a few.
Tamil Selvi, the women’s group leader, tells TNM that the income from harvesting, processing and selling moringa honey jars will hugely help the women in their group, and also their families. The 65-year-old who says, “My husband, who used to work in agricultural fields is unable to work anymore. I found the opportunity very interesting, when SST introduced the idea to us.” From single mothers to sole bread-winners, the group has women coming from different family backgrounds.
While this project kicked off in January last year, with the women testing waters and harvesting about 65 litres of honey, this year holds more hope for them. “We will be placing boxes in the two-acre farms that belong to a couple of our members. We have also leased out an additional acre for the same,” Tamil Selvi adds.
The moringa tree that is native to India, comes to flowering within five to six months of sowing, and blossoms especially during the summer months. Paramasivam, Community Development Officer from SST who has been associated with this initiative, explains, “The women were trained in beekeeping and we have procured loans for them from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). While this was supposed to have taken off last year, the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown and the subsequent heavy rainfall over the last couple of months have been the main challenges.”
The self-help group is expected to receive about 100 honey harvesting boxes during the second week of February at a subsidised price. What makes this venture even more special is that previously, the farm owners and the women in this village do not need to depend on beekeepers from nearby Marthandam in Nagercoil district for honey anymore. “In fact, Marthandam is well known for beekeepers and they have registered societies for it. Earlier, beekeepers from Marthandam would harvest honey from farms here in this village as well, since the people here did not have the knowledge on how to harvest it themselves. The women would procure the harvested honey from the Marthandam group of beekeepers for Rs 500, process it and then sell it for Rs 800, making a small margin of profit. Now, with their own harvesting methods, they’d be able to make good profit,” SST’s Paramasivam adds. This initiative will also make the women's group one among the first beekeepers in the region.
Tamil Selvi shares that they were able to see a very good reception for the 65 litres of honey harvested and sold so far, and is hopeful of the venture becoming a sweet success.