There are experiences, and then there are experiences. Like traveling
through Europe as a student. Like going to Morocco on a hastily made plan (visa
rejection notwithstanding). Like trekking through an unbelievable Himalayan
landscape to get to Roopkund! And then there is this.
First some background. My family belongs to Goa, both mom and dad. Usually that makes people go "Wow, that's awesome! Do you have a house there?” Unfortunately my ties to Goa are more tenuous than that. My grandparents moved to Bombay in the 1950s. In fact my mother was born and raised in Bombay. As a consequence I have no immediate family in Goa. In fact, the closest relatives there are mom's cousins and dad's. Which is why my trips to Goa are like those of any other tourist. Is there an ancestral village house to go to? Well on dad's side, it no longer exists, everything has been sold off long back. On mom's side though, the story is a bit different, and that's where it gets interesting.
Premanand Mahambare is my mother's cousin. My mother's father and his father were brothers. He lives on Chorao Island in North Goa which is mom's ancestral village. He and his wife were teachers at Dayanand High School on the island, where he was also the principal. In addition, he was also the Sarpanch of his village panchayat for 15 years. The interesting bit is that he continued to cultivate the ancestral land through all this. The rice fields were too much work so they were converted into a coconut grove more than 20 years back. But horticulture continued and in addition to the existing mango and cashew trees, Premanand mama planted several different fruit and vegetable trees over the years and made sure the orchard did not fall into decay.
A milestone was reached in early 2008 when a group of farmers on the island approached mama with the idea of forming a farmers' club to improve profitability of their agricultural activities and to have better access to government schemes. The project was called 'Chorao-Madel Farmers' Club' and was started with the support of NABARD, Central Bank of India and TERI. The first product to be sold through the club was milled red kernel rice cultivated organically by farmers on the island. It was made available at several supermarkets in North Goa under the 'Chorao Island Farmers' Club' brand. The response was phenomenal and the rice continues to be produced and marketed till date. Next came Goa's favorite variety of mangoes - the Mancurad. Chorao is famous for growing these and mama has several trees in his own orchard. In the 2010 mango season, Mancurad mangoes harvested on the island were marketed by the club under the brand 'Aamcho Chorao Mancurad' ('Aamcho' means our/ours in Konkani and the pun is obviously intended). The success of this product came as no surprise - Mancurad mangoes are very popular in Goa - and the profitability of direct marketing was a revelation. The 'Aamcho Chorao Mancurad' brand today is the flagship of the Chorao-Madel farmers club.
More products were marketed as time went by, and with the help of the supporting agencies, new techniques of organic farming were introduced to the island's farmers. The club went from strength to strength and its success was rewarded in 2010 when NABARD recognized it as 'Goa's Best Farmers' Club' for 2009-2010. Recognition of success came from beyond Goa as well with mama bagging an award from the Ministry of Agriculture in New Delhi in 2010 for his efforts with the club! He was also featured in a coffee table book published by the ministry called 'Harvest of Hope'.
I had been to Chorao a few times before, but never during the mango season. I had also never stayed there. So, while I knew how awesome the place was and how gorgeous it looked, I had never quite had the experience of a summer harvest. The time when you can pick mangoes off the trees to eat, the time when the jackfruit and cashew trees also bear fruit. So, after years of hearing about mama's exploits and even reading about it online, this summer was when I finally decided to do this. Spend three days in the ancestral village picking mangoes, roam in the orchard and generally have an awesome time.
So on a hot May afternoon, I finally got off a taxi from Goa airport at Ribandar and met Premanand Mahambare at the jetty. Chorao is an island in the Mandovi river and to get to it, one has to take the ferry. It can also be reached by road but that's a much longer route. As you approach the island, the sight of dense mangroves greets you. That's the 'Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary'. It gets a lot of migratory birds in the winter and morning boat tours are quite popular with birdwatchers! After the ferry ride, it's a 15 minute drive and we reached just in time for lunch. Smita Mahambare (my mami) is a very good cook and I ate my fill. Before I could get off the table, a plate with 4 mangoes was put in front of me. I looked at my cousins who were already smiling, then at mami. And she says, "You came to eat mangoes rite?" The plate looked like a challenge at first, but not when I dug in. These Mancurads can send any Alphonso packing! This is what they looked like.
In the evening, it was time to go pick some mangoes. This is what I came here to do after all. So me, mama and my cousin Ankita set off with these improvised contraptions. They are long bamboo poles with baskets (similar to basketball baskets) attached at the end. The orchard is pretty big and in addition to the Mancurad, there are other varieties of mango and a very long list of other trees. Let me try to summarize all that is grown on the property. I will probably leave something out, but here goes.
- Jackfruit
- Cashew
- Jamuns (don't know what they're called in English)
- Guava
- Coconut
- Breadfruit
- Lemon
- Starfruit
- Tamarind
- Kokum (that's what is used to make the Goan solkadi)
- Pepper
- Pineapple
- Banana
Picking the mangoes was fun, but it does get tiring hauling that tool after a while. Here is me doing it.
Some of the trees in the orchard are very old. One in particular stands out for being the largest and oldest on the property. It is said that when my grandfather and his brothers were growing up here, the tree was as big as it is now, which means its approximate age is 150! It has a fallen branch and still produces huge quantities of mango every year. Here's me and my cousin Ankita with 'Big Daddy'.
After an hour's work in the orchard, here is what we managed. Mouth-watering?
The reason why these are so good is that cultivation is as organic as possible. While some fertilizer is definitely used, no artificial insecticide is sprayed on the fruit. Instead, pheromone traps are used to get rid of the fruit flies. No other bullshit like ripening agent or coloring agent is used either. The ripening process is totally natural. So none of the artificial/chemical taste one gets from mangoes bought in city markets these days.
The mangoes, once picked, are stored in the attic on the top floor of the house, and once ripe enough, are packed in boxes bearing the farmers' club brand name and shipped off for sale.
The evening was spent in the open space at the back of the house, devouring some of the 'harvest'. In addition to the mangoes, we had also picked some cashews and one of the locals helped bring down a couple of jackfruits (these are heavy and it's quite a task).
Let me stop here for some well-deserved praise for the quality of the produce. Chorao is, even in this day and age, a fairly isolated location. Being an island, it has remained protected, not from every development (there are all the comforts of banks, ATMs, electricity, paved roads and even internet) but from industrialization and heavy vehicular traffic at least. That has kept pollution of the air, water and soil away. Add to this the years of hard work that people like Premanand mama and other farmers on the island have put in and the organic farming techniques. No surprise then, that every piece of fruit that I dug into was fit for a regal dining table.
The next day saw some guests from the other side of mama's family and they are very fond of what we call jamuns (not sure what the English word is for that). So off we went into the orchard again. The jamuns are picked in a different way. The trees are pretty tall and the fruits grow high up in the branches. A long bamboo pole with a hook is latched to a branch and you then give it a vigorous shake. And then it just rains jamuns!! Picking the fallen jamuns from the ground is less than fun, with the red ants crawling on one's hands and feet. But when this is what you've got to show for it, who's complaining?
Over the next two days, I basically struggled to keep track of how much of the produce from the orchard ended up in my plate and in what form. The breadfruit from the tree outside the balcony was used to make chips that were served at lunch. The seeds from the jackfruit we devoured appeared in a curry. Juice from the cashew fruit called 'neera' (this is later fermented and distilled to get feni) came in a big bottle one evening. And the list goes on.
Three days are not enough to be able to fully absorb all the sights and sounds and tastes of a place like this. I tried to experience as much of it as I could. And I have splendid memories and a really awesome Instagram album to show for it. Not to mention the box of Mancurad mangoes that I brought back and am still enjoying!
This post would not be complete without thanking the people who made this trip memorable by being such great hosts. Mama and his family made this an unforgettable experience and it's all down to their enthusiasm - in the middle of entertaining several other guests and right in the middle of mango season and all the business of it. Here they are!
Clockwise from top left - Premanand Mahambare (uncle), Aditi Prabhu (cousin), Pramila Mahambare (grand aunt), Smita Mahambare (aunt), Ankita Mahambare (cousin) and yours truly.
Thank you so much!!
p.s. For more information on the farmers' club and to order their mangoes (they deliver only within Goa), visit http://www.thechoraofarmers.com
First some background. My family belongs to Goa, both mom and dad. Usually that makes people go "Wow, that's awesome! Do you have a house there?” Unfortunately my ties to Goa are more tenuous than that. My grandparents moved to Bombay in the 1950s. In fact my mother was born and raised in Bombay. As a consequence I have no immediate family in Goa. In fact, the closest relatives there are mom's cousins and dad's. Which is why my trips to Goa are like those of any other tourist. Is there an ancestral village house to go to? Well on dad's side, it no longer exists, everything has been sold off long back. On mom's side though, the story is a bit different, and that's where it gets interesting.
Premanand Mahambare is my mother's cousin. My mother's father and his father were brothers. He lives on Chorao Island in North Goa which is mom's ancestral village. He and his wife were teachers at Dayanand High School on the island, where he was also the principal. In addition, he was also the Sarpanch of his village panchayat for 15 years. The interesting bit is that he continued to cultivate the ancestral land through all this. The rice fields were too much work so they were converted into a coconut grove more than 20 years back. But horticulture continued and in addition to the existing mango and cashew trees, Premanand mama planted several different fruit and vegetable trees over the years and made sure the orchard did not fall into decay.
A milestone was reached in early 2008 when a group of farmers on the island approached mama with the idea of forming a farmers' club to improve profitability of their agricultural activities and to have better access to government schemes. The project was called 'Chorao-Madel Farmers' Club' and was started with the support of NABARD, Central Bank of India and TERI. The first product to be sold through the club was milled red kernel rice cultivated organically by farmers on the island. It was made available at several supermarkets in North Goa under the 'Chorao Island Farmers' Club' brand. The response was phenomenal and the rice continues to be produced and marketed till date. Next came Goa's favorite variety of mangoes - the Mancurad. Chorao is famous for growing these and mama has several trees in his own orchard. In the 2010 mango season, Mancurad mangoes harvested on the island were marketed by the club under the brand 'Aamcho Chorao Mancurad' ('Aamcho' means our/ours in Konkani and the pun is obviously intended). The success of this product came as no surprise - Mancurad mangoes are very popular in Goa - and the profitability of direct marketing was a revelation. The 'Aamcho Chorao Mancurad' brand today is the flagship of the Chorao-Madel farmers club.
More products were marketed as time went by, and with the help of the supporting agencies, new techniques of organic farming were introduced to the island's farmers. The club went from strength to strength and its success was rewarded in 2010 when NABARD recognized it as 'Goa's Best Farmers' Club' for 2009-2010. Recognition of success came from beyond Goa as well with mama bagging an award from the Ministry of Agriculture in New Delhi in 2010 for his efforts with the club! He was also featured in a coffee table book published by the ministry called 'Harvest of Hope'.
I had been to Chorao a few times before, but never during the mango season. I had also never stayed there. So, while I knew how awesome the place was and how gorgeous it looked, I had never quite had the experience of a summer harvest. The time when you can pick mangoes off the trees to eat, the time when the jackfruit and cashew trees also bear fruit. So, after years of hearing about mama's exploits and even reading about it online, this summer was when I finally decided to do this. Spend three days in the ancestral village picking mangoes, roam in the orchard and generally have an awesome time.
So on a hot May afternoon, I finally got off a taxi from Goa airport at Ribandar and met Premanand Mahambare at the jetty. Chorao is an island in the Mandovi river and to get to it, one has to take the ferry. It can also be reached by road but that's a much longer route. As you approach the island, the sight of dense mangroves greets you. That's the 'Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary'. It gets a lot of migratory birds in the winter and morning boat tours are quite popular with birdwatchers! After the ferry ride, it's a 15 minute drive and we reached just in time for lunch. Smita Mahambare (my mami) is a very good cook and I ate my fill. Before I could get off the table, a plate with 4 mangoes was put in front of me. I looked at my cousins who were already smiling, then at mami. And she says, "You came to eat mangoes rite?" The plate looked like a challenge at first, but not when I dug in. These Mancurads can send any Alphonso packing! This is what they looked like.
In the evening, it was time to go pick some mangoes. This is what I came here to do after all. So me, mama and my cousin Ankita set off with these improvised contraptions. They are long bamboo poles with baskets (similar to basketball baskets) attached at the end. The orchard is pretty big and in addition to the Mancurad, there are other varieties of mango and a very long list of other trees. Let me try to summarize all that is grown on the property. I will probably leave something out, but here goes.
- Jackfruit
- Cashew
- Jamuns (don't know what they're called in English)
- Guava
- Coconut
- Breadfruit
- Lemon
- Starfruit
- Tamarind
- Kokum (that's what is used to make the Goan solkadi)
- Pepper
- Pineapple
- Banana
Picking the mangoes was fun, but it does get tiring hauling that tool after a while. Here is me doing it.
Some of the trees in the orchard are very old. One in particular stands out for being the largest and oldest on the property. It is said that when my grandfather and his brothers were growing up here, the tree was as big as it is now, which means its approximate age is 150! It has a fallen branch and still produces huge quantities of mango every year. Here's me and my cousin Ankita with 'Big Daddy'.
After an hour's work in the orchard, here is what we managed. Mouth-watering?
The reason why these are so good is that cultivation is as organic as possible. While some fertilizer is definitely used, no artificial insecticide is sprayed on the fruit. Instead, pheromone traps are used to get rid of the fruit flies. No other bullshit like ripening agent or coloring agent is used either. The ripening process is totally natural. So none of the artificial/chemical taste one gets from mangoes bought in city markets these days.
The mangoes, once picked, are stored in the attic on the top floor of the house, and once ripe enough, are packed in boxes bearing the farmers' club brand name and shipped off for sale.
The evening was spent in the open space at the back of the house, devouring some of the 'harvest'. In addition to the mangoes, we had also picked some cashews and one of the locals helped bring down a couple of jackfruits (these are heavy and it's quite a task).
Let me stop here for some well-deserved praise for the quality of the produce. Chorao is, even in this day and age, a fairly isolated location. Being an island, it has remained protected, not from every development (there are all the comforts of banks, ATMs, electricity, paved roads and even internet) but from industrialization and heavy vehicular traffic at least. That has kept pollution of the air, water and soil away. Add to this the years of hard work that people like Premanand mama and other farmers on the island have put in and the organic farming techniques. No surprise then, that every piece of fruit that I dug into was fit for a regal dining table.
The next day saw some guests from the other side of mama's family and they are very fond of what we call jamuns (not sure what the English word is for that). So off we went into the orchard again. The jamuns are picked in a different way. The trees are pretty tall and the fruits grow high up in the branches. A long bamboo pole with a hook is latched to a branch and you then give it a vigorous shake. And then it just rains jamuns!! Picking the fallen jamuns from the ground is less than fun, with the red ants crawling on one's hands and feet. But when this is what you've got to show for it, who's complaining?
Over the next two days, I basically struggled to keep track of how much of the produce from the orchard ended up in my plate and in what form. The breadfruit from the tree outside the balcony was used to make chips that were served at lunch. The seeds from the jackfruit we devoured appeared in a curry. Juice from the cashew fruit called 'neera' (this is later fermented and distilled to get feni) came in a big bottle one evening. And the list goes on.
Three days are not enough to be able to fully absorb all the sights and sounds and tastes of a place like this. I tried to experience as much of it as I could. And I have splendid memories and a really awesome Instagram album to show for it. Not to mention the box of Mancurad mangoes that I brought back and am still enjoying!
This post would not be complete without thanking the people who made this trip memorable by being such great hosts. Mama and his family made this an unforgettable experience and it's all down to their enthusiasm - in the middle of entertaining several other guests and right in the middle of mango season and all the business of it. Here they are!
Clockwise from top left - Premanand Mahambare (uncle), Aditi Prabhu (cousin), Pramila Mahambare (grand aunt), Smita Mahambare (aunt), Ankita Mahambare (cousin) and yours truly.
Thank you so much!!
p.s. For more information on the farmers' club and to order their mangoes (they deliver only within Goa), visit http://www.thechoraofarmers.com
