A kilogram of Pollachi mace sells for around $50 — more costly than mace from India's lead producer, Kerala, which sells for $35 per kilogram, and the US, at $9 per kilogram. So what makes Pollachi's nutmeg and mace so special? And why are they so expensive?
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00:00 This alien-like red membrane is the spice, mace.
00:07 When removed, it reveals another spice, nutmeg.
00:13 These twins come from a single fruit, but mace is five times as expensive and a lot
00:19 more fragile.
00:22 If it breaks while being separated from the nutmeg, it'll sell for much less than a
00:26 whole one.
00:27 And if the fruit is picked even one day late, both spices can easily be ruined by fungus.
00:35 Pickers also have to deal with aggressive pests.
00:39 Here in the town of Pulachi, India, farmers harvest a special hybrid variety of the dual
00:44 spice.
00:46 That means Pulachi farmers can sell their mace for $50 per kilogram, compared to the
00:51 country's lead producing city, Kerala, which sells mace for $35.
00:58 Both are still far more expensive than US mace, selling at $9 per kilo.
01:05 And while farmers often don't reap the major profits from what they harvest, in Pulachi,
01:10 they've successfully cut out all middlemen to gain back control of their spices.
01:18 So what makes their nutmeg and mace so different from the rest?
01:23 And why are they so expensive?
01:30 It's early morning and Kokila is getting ready to harvest the spices.
01:39 It's monsoon season and afternoons are usually pouring with rain.
01:44 So Kokila needs to harvest quickly.
01:48 While nutmeg needs good rain to grow, dry mornings like today are perfect for picking.
01:56 Kokila is one of four female pickers who live on the farm and will pick today.
02:01 During peak season, there can be 10 pickers at one time, but today it's nearing the end
02:07 of the season and the yield will be lower.
02:12 They expect to pick 800 to 1,000 fruits.
02:19 They use aluminium and bamboo poles to pick.
02:23 Some trees grow up to 50 feet high, so those can only be reached with the taller bamboo
02:28 poles.
02:31 Using these heavy poles while constantly looking up can leave the pickers with neck and shoulder
02:36 pain.
02:37 The nutmeg and mace grow together inside a yellow fruit on the Myristica fragrance tree.
02:50 Once it splits, it's ready to be harvested.
03:02 If they leave it for any longer, even one additional day, it will quickly gather mould
03:07 and be considered second class at about half the price.
03:12 So during harvest season, pickers need to check the fruits on the trees every day, especially
03:18 during the rainy season.
03:21 Another stressor for Kokila and the other pickers are red ants, also known as fire ants,
03:26 which nest in these trees.
03:34 In small trees, the nests can be easier to detect and manage.
03:39 But when they're higher up, the entire nest can fall on them.
03:48 The
04:06 purpose of washing is not solely for insects.
04:09 It also helps to extract the mace from the fruit.
04:15 The women first remove the outer yellow fruit shell.
04:19 The fruit shells are cleaned and later sold.
04:23 Fresh shells are edible and can be made into jams or jellies.
04:27 Dried fruit can be blended with nutmeg powder to be sold as a cheaper alternative.
04:33 They then separate the good from the rotten ones.
04:37 The good fruits are placed in water, rinsed and soaked for at least 15 minutes.
04:44 Once they have soaked long enough, the mace covering will noticeably shrink and become
04:48 much looser.
04:51 This is the most time-consuming and delicate stage, separating the mace from the nutmeg
04:57 without damaging it.
04:59 They put their fingers in carefully to grasp the nut, then twist slightly and gently and
05:06 it snaps out.
05:07 They must do it slowly.
05:37 Today, it will take these women about four hours to finish plucking the mace and nutmeg,
05:53 which is about 100 fruits per hour.
05:57 The ones that have already fallen to the ground on their own do not need the same careful
06:02 plucking.
06:03 They're much looser and easier to separate because of the fungus they've developed.
06:08 These will be half the price of the other fungus-free, fresher nutmegs.
06:13 Gokula and the others have successfully cleaned all the flowers without breaking any of them.
06:24 After the nutmeg and mace are separated, both spices need to be dried in the open sun.
06:31 If the heat is too intense, the nut can crack, so after one day, farmers move it to the shade.
06:39 Shade drying also preserves the aroma.
06:43 Some farmers dry the nutmeg and mace in ovens, but Pulaji farmers prefer to dry it in gentler
06:49 conditions to preserve the structure.
06:52 All the best mace and nutmeg without any fungi are then placed in separate drums, where they
06:58 can remain in good condition for over a year.
07:04 Not all nutmeg and mace are the same.
07:07 The spices harvested in the West Indies, in places like Grenada, are lighter in colour
07:12 and have a milder flavour.
07:15 The more costly East Indian nutmeg and mace have a higher oil content, which gives the
07:20 spices a stronger aroma and flavour.
07:24 These spices from Pulaji and its main competitor, the Kerala district, both fall under the East
07:29 Indian category and can sell for double the price of other varieties.
07:34 Our mace is really thick.
07:37 It is in the shape of a lotus bud.
07:38 The shape itself is different.
07:39 Since it is very thick, it doesn't break very quickly.
07:43 This is Ranjith.
07:45 He is the owner of the nutmeg farm here in the Pulaji district.
07:50 Most of Ranjith's profit comes from the mace.
07:53 It makes about five times as much as the nutmeg.
07:57 Pulaji's yield is 40% less than the Kerala district, but it has an advantage.
08:03 The rains are less intense and less continuous, and low risk of fruit spoiling.
08:09 So these are the first class ones.
08:12 So if you cut open, it's free from molds and it has a good aroma and fragrance.
08:19 The spoiled ones will have a very foul smell.
08:21 These ones right now, they're costing around 480 rupees per kilo.
08:26 The Pulaji nuts, the nuts that are from Kerala, they're only costing around 320 rupees.
08:31 While Pulaji is already an ideal location to grow the spices, their high value is not
08:37 fully the result of where they are grown, but rather how.
08:42 Ranjith and other farmers have perfected the fruit to grow larger and thicker, more than
08:47 double the size of another mace in India.
08:51 It took Ranjith years to develop a hybrid variety that has given Pulaji its competitive
08:57 advantage.
09:00 He also has a nursery where they grow hybrid seedlings.
09:05 This is a good one, it succeeded.
09:07 See?
09:08 Oh, f**k!
09:09 Wait, what happened?
09:10 F**k!
09:11 F**k!
09:12 Come this way.
09:15 Ranjith also uses the farming technique of intercropping, which means two crops share
09:20 the soil to improve water retention in both.
09:24 The ideal intercrop for Ranjith's nutmeg trees are coconut plants because they also
09:29 provide the right amount of shade.
09:33 But this premium quality was not always recognised or consistent with each farmer in the region.
09:40 Whenever it came time to sell, Ranjith and the other Pulaji farmers grew frustrated.
09:45 They were dependent on the bigger cities' expertise and experience to help them sell
09:50 their product.
09:52 So Ranjith and the other farmers came up with a plan.
09:55 They would all follow similar techniques, separate the best quality, and set the price
10:00 themselves.
10:01 Two years ago, they formed a cooperative and used similar growing methods.
10:07 Collectively, they now grow about 500 acres of nutmeg and mace.
10:13 In the global food industry, this is significant because local farmers who make some of the
10:18 world's most expensive foods typically don't see the profits.
10:23 Whether it's other harvesters here in India who scour ponds for fox nuts, only to make
10:28 sense for every kilogram harvested, or small farmers harvesting green cardamom for hours
10:34 by hand, only to use most of their profits to cover production costs, or workers in Bolivia
10:40 fueling the global quinoa demand who can't afford to eat their own crop.
10:45 The success of the Pulaji cooperative has directly affected the quality of life for
10:50 farmers and workers here, like Kukila.
10:53 Recently, they achieved their highest rate for mace, selling to an Australian farmer.
11:00 Recently, they achieved their highest rate for mace, selling to an Australian farmer.
11:24 For the Pulaji farmers, the cooperative made a big difference.
11:37 They sell to buyers across the globe and recently sold 12 tonnes of nutmeg and mace to a Dutch
11:43 company.
11:44 Among ourselves, as a community, we had multiplied the best planting material and now it is literally
11:50 called the Pulaji variety.
11:51 When the local traders from Kerala come, they ask for Pulaji mace.
11:55 So it is doing very well for us.
11:56 [Music]
12:03 (gentle music)