The Forest department has launched a project to restore the traditional tuber crop farming practices among tribal communities in the Marayur Sandalwood Division in Idukki.
Narum Nooru is a project aimed to revive the cultivation of purple yam (kachil), colocasia, elephant foot yam, nooron kizhangu, and other tuber crops. Officials say the project will also provide additional income to tribal farmers.
Marayur Divisional Forest Officer M.G. Vinod Kumar says tuber crops such as nooron kizhangu and purple yam were once staples in the diet of tribal communities but have gradually disappeared over time, with many of the seeds lost.
