Home / Lifestyle / UNESCO Honors Sri Lanka's Ancient Art of Palm Sap Tapping
UNESCO Honors Sri Lanka's Ancient Art of Palm Sap Tapping
10 Feb
Summary
- Sarath Ananda returned from Kuwait to revive his family's palm sap tapping craft.
- The kithul palm sap tapping craft is now a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
- Labor shortages and adulteration threaten Sri Lanka's traditional palm sweet industry.
Sarath Ananda, a former mechanic, transitioned from a decade-long career in Kuwait back to Sri Lanka to pursue his family's generational craft of tapping sap from the kithul palm. This traditional practice, which yields sweet treacle and mineral-rich jaggery, has been honored by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Ananda, now a fifth-generation tapper, has expanded his operations by building a network of 55 suppliers to meet growing demand. His products are exported to Australia, Britain, New Zealand, and the Middle East. However, the industry grapples with critical issues such as a shortage of tappers, with younger generations showing little interest in the arduous work.
Adding to these concerns are rampant adulteration of products with cheaper sugar and the potential for sap to ferment into alcoholic toddy if not processed immediately. The Sri Lankan government, through the Kithul Development Board, is actively training new tappers to preserve this centuries-old art form, which is vital to the country's cultural identity and economy.
