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Exotic and expensive pods
Despite being considered the Queen of Spices, Cardamom cultivation is not being treated royally, as cultivators lament over the lack of lands to cultivate this high-priced herb.
Pix and story by Indika Handuwala
Cardamom is no longer an affordable aromatic spice due to a spike in price. These dried seed pods sell at Rs 26,000 per kilo in the retail market.
Cardamom grows in Sri Lankan rainforests in the Matale, Kandy, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura Districts as well as some places in Galle.
A group of cardamom farmers from Ranamure in Laggala, Matale District ask that the government allocate them lands to cultivate cardamom, so that they can bring more income to the country through export.
‘Our fathers were successful cardamom cultivators; they used the income earned from cultivating over 50 acres to build roads and temples in the area. However, these were rainforests/protected state lands, therefore the cultivation is very much limited,” said Ekanayake Mudiyanselage Kapila Rathna Banda from Ranamure (64).
He said this cultivation is not healthy for the rainforest as the land is cleared to plant underground stems that spread on the forest floor limiting the growth of other fauna and flora in the rainforest.
Kapila Rathna Banda
Kiribanda
“We do not want to destroy our rainforests; hence our cultivation is very limited. If the government could provide us land in similar climate settings like Matale or Ratnapura, that has humid climate, rich soil and abundant rainfall, we can bring Sri Lanka green cardamom to global recognition next to tea and cinnamon,” he said.
He said about 700-800 families used to live on the income from cultivating spices especially cardamom and pepper.
“Of the country’s total demand, over 40 percent were supplied by cultivators in this area.
Unfortunately, most of the land we cultivated is now considered protected rainforest areas and no more cultivation is taking place,” said 94-year-old Kiribanda who once was a successful cardamom cultivator.
He said a letter was handed to President Rajapaksa to consider the plight of cardamom cultivators who have the potential to contribute significantly towards the country’s economy.
