Initially started as a vegetable group, a collective in Tali village, Zhemgang, has now switched to producing flattened corn, locally known as Geyzasip. This year, a group of women in Nangkor Gewog’s Tali village began cultivating maize for commercial purposes. They made the switch after wild animals frequently destroyed their vegetable crops, whereas maize proved more resilient.
A group of seven women cultivated maize on land owned by one of their members. Recently, they harvested the maize and processed it into flattened corn.
They began maize cultivation this year because maize plants suffered less damage compared to other vegetables, and they actively guard the crops until harvest season.
Previously, maize was typically grown for self-consumption.
Ugyen Choden, Chairperson of Tali Women Group said “initially, we began with group vegetable cultivation, but the solar fencing got damaged after a few years. So, we had to stop cultivation due to human-wildlife conflict. Now, we have shifted our focus to mustard oil and maize cultivation for both summer and winter seasons. Currently, it is time for maize harvest and made flattened corn, hoping to generate income through the sale of our produce.”
Kinzang Dekar, Tali Women Group member said “if we have our pounding machine and chain-link fencing around our fields, we can produce more. Right now, we face challenges as wild animals are destroying our fields. Otherwise, everything grows well here.”
Kinley Wangmo, another member said “in the past, flattened corn was only used for self-consumption. However, our group is planning to sell it in the market. Producing flattened corn is a tiring task because we had to guard the maize from wild boars.”
Currently, they are producing flattened corn on a small scale. They plan to increase production based on market demand.
Ugyen Choden added that “the market would be a problem because we cannot take it to distant areas. Additionally, we do not have a vehicle as we are all farmers. However, in this ICT era, we have social media such as Facebook and WeChat, through which we can connect with our customers. Thus, if they are interested, we can send the flattened corn to Zhemgang, Thimphu and Gelephu using public transportation.”
This time, they have about 500 kilogrammes of beaten corn that will be transported to Thimphu and neighbouring districts.
Farmers of Zhemgang cultivate maize two times a year.
Pema Samdrup, Zhemgang
Edited by Tshering Zam
