Kerela’s Marayoor has one of the finest Jaggery, Marayoor is a place in the Idukki district of Kerala, towards north of Munnar. Best known for its extensive sugarcane cultivation, with more than 2500 acres of land under sugarcane cultivation. A product of such cultivation is the world famous delicacy called Marayoor Jaggery. Jaggery is manufactured by the farmers, who mostly belong to the Muthuva tribe. Marayoor Jaggery is sweetest of other Jaggery found; it has 97% sugar in it. Also it has a dark and dense caramel texture to it. High sweetness without salty taste, high content of iron, less sodium content, less insoluble impurities, organic method of production and dark brown colour are the unique properties of this traditional Jaggery.
Sugar based industries was one of the first industries known to man. The use and preparations from jaggery dates to Rig Veda. In the ancient medical treaties of Ayurveda the use of sugarcane juice, jaggery and sugar cubes are widely referred. In Kerala, Sugarcane is one of the most important commercial crops since ages. Till 1936 sugarcane was cultivated in Kerala chiefly for the production of jaggery. In Kerala, as early as the Vedic times sugar and jaggery were used for preserving and blending taste to foods as the accent was always on the preservation of good health through a well-adjusted diet. The production of sugar started in Kerala with the establishment of Travancore Sugars in 1937. The inception of the unit attracted many which started the introduction of a mass cultivation of sugarcane in Kerala. The period from 1960 to 1980 can be referred to as the golden age of sugar industry in Kerala. Sugar has served as one of the most important formative influences on Kerala’s socio-economic development. During the period of 1960-1980 sugarcane had a reverent place in the economy of Kerala.
The peculiar geographical location of Marayoor, which nestles amid the forests of the Western Ghats gives the sugar cane a distinct geographical identity. Marayoor falls in the rain shadow region and the quality of the molasses is attributed to the specialty in temperature and the ph value of the earth. Added to this, the age old specialized skill of the local people in making the jaggery in the farm itself, make it a unique product.
The production of jaggery is manual. The raw sugar is manually extracted from the freshly harvested canes using a diesel-run sugarcane roller until it is pulped into a fibrous residue. As the juice is extracted, the impurities are sieved simultaneously before it is boiled into a thick syrup on a large wok. Once the syrup thickens, the jaggery is poured into a trough. Before the mixture cools down, it is rolled into the Jaggery balls. The waste residue from the extraction – is used to fuel the wok.
The prices in sales of this high demand Marayoor Jaggery has been fluctuating, due to various external reasons affecting over 1000, small scale farmers. However to help the farmers the Intellectual Property cell under the Centre has completed the process to verify the purity of Marayoor. Enabling the High demand jaggery to receive Geographical Indication (GI tag), that will empower the natives of Marayoor. After the Tag only Marayoor natives can produce the Jaggery. This will eliminate all the external factors affecting the farmers.
