45360e09-b650-4d17-bdb7-8c63d446b4ac.png?sfvrsn=dabb57b5_1) | Black Pepper The Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve India |
Black Pepper is grown in the slopes of The Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve by Irula and Kurumba Indigenous Peoples. This mountainous area is located in Tamil Nadu state, south-eastern India. The word Nilgiri comes from Sanskrit word neela, meaning blue, and giri, meaning mountain, and it is often called the Blue Mountain. Some refer to the fact that mountains are near the horizon, appearing bluish when the sun is higher; others refer to the blue flowers of the plant Kurinji.
Tradition
Indigenous Peoples use traditional agricultural practices to grow and harvest the Black pepper. Organic inputs include Panchakaaviya and Poochiverati, a concoction used in pepper cultivation. The harvest is usually between March and June. The peppercorns are collected carefully by the communities and are then sun dried at their houses.
Producers
Black pepper is cultivated by Irula and Kurumba producers in an agroforestry model, as most of their farms are inside or close to the forest lands. They propagate pepper by planting silver oak trees as a climbing support for the pepper sapling. Producers are organic certified via a Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) and are shareholders of Aadhimalai Pazhangudiyinar Producer Company Ltd., where they are involved in fixing the price and share the profits.
Territory and processing
Black pepper is cultivated by farmers in The Nilgiris district. The pepper vines grow at an elevation of 3 500 feet above sea-level surrounded by silver oak trees and jack fruit trees, used by producers who climb those trees to collect the pepper. After the harvesting, the pepper is carefully stripped sun dried at the rooftops of producers' houses.
Further information
