Moongil Rice

MOONGIL RICE 

     Bamboo rice, collected from the seeds of flowered bamboos, has become a major source of income for tribals living in the interiors of Wayanad wildlife sanctuary in Kerala. The sanctuary, a rich abode of bamboo groves, has witnessed enormous flowering of the tropical tree this year. With this, the indigenous communities in the region, who earn daily bread by collecting and selling forest products, has got an unexpected harvest.Small tribal groups, mainly women and children collecting bamboo seeds, have become a common scene in the sprawling jungle fringes here. A tribal group, that collect bamboo seeds on regular basis, said they usually sell unprocessed seeds for Rs 50 to Rs 70 a kilogram at the local shops in Sulthan Bathery and Pulpalli near here. The processed bamboo rice would fetch Rs 100 per kilogram.But, in the open market, the price is up to Rs 200 per kilogram, says an NGO working among tribals here who help them to sell products in outside markets.With resemblence to paddy rice and wheat-like taste, bamboo rice is comparatively much richer in protein.Not only tribes but local people here also consider it as a good substitute for rice. A wide range of delicacies like payasam, unniyappam (sweet balls), uppumavu and puttu, made of bamboo rice, are high on demand in the tourists centres and homestays in Wayanad, a major highrange tourist hub in Kerala. “The nutrituous value of bamboo rice is very remarkable. It is more healthy to have bamboo rice than the rice from paddy,” a scientist with the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) said.According to forest department, a similar enormous flowering was reported in the district in 1911 and later in 1990. The recent continuous flowering of bamboo had started since 2005.Usually, bamboo groves flower once in 12 years. The flowering process within the sanctuary is almost at its last phase, local people said.