Cassava flour has long given farmers in Pema Gatshel an extra source of income. Now, one farm group in Chhoekhorling Gewog is adding value to that flour by turning it into cookies and cakes. The move is helping the group diversify its income and creating a wider market for the farmers who supply its cassava.
The Cassava Green Hill Farm Group has six members. They buy cassava from local farmers and process it with machines that chop, dry and grind it into flour. For almost a decade, the group sold only cassava flour.
Last month, however, the members trained in baking. They learnt to make several varieties of cookies and other products from the flour.
They put that learning to work straight away, displaying and selling their new products for the first time at the second Bathing Carnival in Telung.
The members say a wider range of products will give them more options in the market. It will also protect them if demand for cassava flour falls.
Kinley Zangmo, a member of the group, said the training has given them new skills and knowledge. “Our trainers taught us how to bake different varieties of cookies and cakes using cassava flour,” she said. The group also prepared baked products for the Telung event and now plans to bake more.
Another member, Karma Chophel, said the group focused only on cassava flour before the training because they had no baking skills. “Selling cassava flour alone does not generate enough income, so we hope to diversify our products and increase our earnings,” he said.
The group is facing a shortage of manpower and plans to recruit more people to expand production.
The group pays farmers Nu 13 per kilogram for fresh cassava and Nu 30 per kilogram for dried cassava. This year alone, it has bought more than 1,000 kilograms of dried cassava.
Chhoekhorling Tshogpa Kezang Tashi said farmers in the gewog have planted cassava on around 50 acres of land. “They had no other source of income, but now, with cassava production, they have started earning,” he said. According to him, farmers earn between Nu 20,000 and Nu 50,000 a year.
The district administration organised the baking training, with support from the Department of Agricultural Marketing and Cooperatives.
With new skills, new products and plans to recruit more hands, the group hopes cassava will bring farmers in Chhoekhorling a steadier income.
Sonam Dargay, Trashigang
Edited by Sangay Chezom
