Winter has not yet fully set in, but the sap tappers of Chuadanga, known locally as shiuli or gachhi, are already preparing date palms to collect sap, a long-standing tradition of rural Bengal.

This year the district has set a target of producing 2,700 tonnes of molasses (gur) from 271,960 trees. The tasty gur meets local demand and is also supplied across the country. Tappers get about 10 kg of molasses from each tree.

In almost every village of the district, tappers are busy readying the trees, and sap collection will begin within a few days. The district is famous for its date palm sap and molasses.

A tapper named Jomir Ali said: "Cutting a date palm is not easy. Often it is hard just to keep your balance while up the tree. If we can collect sap at the start of winter and save a little for the family, the hardship is worth it."

Saddam Hossain of Dinnathpur village in Sadar upazila said: "Clearing and scraping the branches is done. I have kept up my father's trade. I have finished peeling 80 trees; next the tapping cuts will be made. I own 40 trees on the ridges of my land and have taken another 40 on lease. If prices are good this winter, I will be able to sell about Tk 2 lakh worth of molasses from these trees."

Khalilur Rahman of Makhaldanga union said: "Because it is our trade, we lease date palms for four months almost every year. Depending on the tree, we have to give the owners 2 kg of molasses and Tk 250 each. This year too I have made agreements with owners for about 100 trees. I have not given up my father's and grandfather's trade; I keep it for a living."

Masudur Rahman Sarkar, deputy director of the district Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), said: "This year there are 271,960 date palms in the four upazilas: 98,500 in Sadar, 45,410 in Alamdanga, 90,200 in Damurhuda and 37,850 in Jibannagar. Molasses production could exceed 2,700 tonnes this year."

He added: "In the past, more sap was collected in the district in winter. Because the trees are used as fuel in brick kilns, their number is falling day by day. People still come from the towns to the villages in winter to drink date palm sap. The season brings sap, molasses, pitha, puli and payesh. Attractive, sturdy mats are also made from date palm leaves."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.