Kaju Stories
The Story of Conservation
Kaju (Cashew) Feni is made from the Cashew Apple, an underutilized and underappreciated commodity despite India and the Konkan region being one of the top producers of cashews. The nut that hangs at the bottom of the Cashew Apple is twisted and used, however, the Apple itself is left to fall and rot. Once it falls off the tree, it begins to ferment within 24 hours, and as the skin is delicate, it’s susceptible to abrasions. The lack of shelf life and the cost of labor involved in picking the fruit makes it unfeasible to harvest and sell.
Estimates are that 98% of the 40 lakh tonnes of apples produced end up as agricultural waste, even though some of it is used for Feni. Costa Rica, Brazil, parts of Africa, and Goa consume the rest as Niro — a juice made out of Cashew Apples.
Today, avid research is being conducted to analyze how to use this wasted product. Companies like Pepsi are now blending Cashew Apple juice into Tropicana’s Mixed Fruit Juice, replacing other flavors like pineapple and banana. A renewed interest in the fruit is generating higher income for farmers, who previously were limited to selling their produce for local liquor in Goa and Kerala.
States such as Kerala are working to support the local Cashew farmers. The Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC) is training farmers in practices to pick the fruit correctly, for which they will be paid Rs. 3 per fruit. The Cashew Apple will then be used to produce jams, juices, and a carbonated drink called Oceania. Initiatives like this pave the way for reducing agri-waste and providing farmers with more avenues to generate revenue from.
The Story of Survival
Feni is synonymous with the salty Goan air and the coconut trees swaying in the gentle wind. But the story of taking this feeling to the rest of the country is one full of bumps and hurdles.
The word feni is derived from the Sanskrit word phena (“froth”). While coconut feni has been around for centuries, the famous cashew feni was introduced when the Portuguese brought the tree from Brazil to hold the topsoil tight during fierce Goan monsoons.
In 2009, Feni was the first Indian liquor to be awarded a Geographical Indication (GI) tag. The conundrums that still existed were of regulating and policing the industry and allowing the final product to be sold across other Indian states. Other local liquors such as Mahua and Arrack still possess a ruinous reputation on account of rampant cases of alcohol poisoning. Feni was still a ‘Country Liquor’ back then, and unlike Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), couldn’t be sold outside Goa.
In 2016, Feni was classified into a category of its own, as a ‘Heritage Spirit’. However, standardization of distilling processes still remained a concern. In 2019, Goa Business School prepared a Draft Feni Policy that held high hopes but was opposed as it didn’t highlight appropriate agricultural practices that could enable quality raw materials or production processes, among others. Today, people in Mumbai can rejoice with the availability of certain Feni brands at liquor stores, however, many manufacturers still face monumental license fees that act as a barrier to them selling outside Goa.
With the COVID imposed lockdown in, the industry suffered further setbacks due to missed opportunities to pick the fruit that ripens shortly from March to May, and unlike wine in Maharashtra, the industry wasn’t allowed to operate as usual due to the lack of regulation.
With the Goans paving the road to legitimizing country liquor, Maharashtra is reassessing the earlier stand it took to oppose the production of Feni due to the competition it would serve to liquor made by sugarcane that benefits certain prominent politicians. While it could never be called ‘Feni’ due to the GI tag that Goa secured at the right time, the step could potentially benefit the residents of Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri.
I hope to see Feni and other indigenous liquors carving a path to responsible consumption, and them finding a place at special occasions and dining establishments. The act of legitimizing and regulating the industry is one that can significantly reduce the production of spurious alcohol, pervasive social problems like domestic abuse & alcohol poisoning, and can benefit the farmers and producers that are hoping to carry their culture and craft into the future.
