Pioneers Of Yacon In India
In 2013, Abhinandan returned from Tanzania, Africa, where ill health and a fund crunch made him abandon his dream of setting up an agro-based industry in Africa. Before leaving for Africa, in 2012, he had some experience in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. He visited rural areas and interacted with farmers. He learnt of the challenges and ways to overcome them. Sikkim shared those same challenges he saw in the Western Himalayan states of India. He thought of using his experience in Africa and Himalayas to start work in Sikkim.
He returned to Sikkim and along with his brother Abhimanyu decided to start Shoten Group with the vision of making a brand that works on Climate Action, Good Health and Well – Being, Responsible Consumption and Production and Decent Work and Economic Growth.
To get started we needed a Hero Product that would Kick – Start this vision. At this time, we discovered Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius).
Click on the button to read about our ideas that got us selected as a fellow of the prestigious Asia Pacific Youth Forum of the International Center For Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in 2016.
Yacon - A Transfomative Crop For Farmers
Yacon is a transformative product for the Himalayas. It is the answer to every woe a Himalayan farmer faces. It is also one of the answers to the rising vulnerability of people to lifestyle diseases, primarily, diabetes and poor gut health.
The Himalayan farmer benefits immensely with this crop. How? Let us understand this.
Yield
Yacon's yield is comparably much higher than the popular cash crops, Ginger, Potato & Turmeric.
Disease
Over a certain altitude, Yacon plants do not get bacterial and fungal disease.
Insects
With some precaution, using home made bio - pesticides, we can avoid attacks by ants on the roots and rhizomes.
Wildlife
Wildlife like bears, boars, deer, porcupine that are known to destroy crops in the Himalayas, do not attack this crop.
Fodder
The root, rhizome, stem and leaves can all be used as fodder. The fodder is known to increase the milk production of cows. This is not the case with other popular commercial crops like ginger and turmeric.
Post Harvest Storage
Long harvest season allows for delayed extraction, giving time for negotiating good price.
Planting Material
The rhizome and root is separate. Thus, there is no shortage of planting material and full stock can be sold.
For these reasons, farmers from higher Himalayan regions of Sikkim have benfitted immensely due to very low losses of crop, high yields and a good supportive partner in us. If you ever travel the Himalayas and understand the woes of the farmers, you would immediately feel what we feel. Yes, excited!
Earthier Is Born
On the farm side we knew that Yacon would easily be accepted. Challenge was to understand whether this root in its raw or processed form could have a market fit.
The International Clinical Trials and positive results for the management of lifestyle diseases, such as, diabetes and gut health made us understand that this product would work very well in India.
We just had to process it the right way!
It took us eighteen months to figure out the complete farming life cycle challenges, storing and processing of Yacon roots and the syrup. To meet the high standards we had set for ourselves, we needed the right set of machinery to process it.
We wanted to create a product where the nutritive quality of Yacon Syrup stayed intact. We did not want to use artificial additives and preservatives. This required a long drawn research on the development of the product. Matching the research with the machinery was another big challenge. We finally achieved this.
We also wanted to create a brand that resonated with what we were striving for. A brand that added value to peoples lives with least harm to mother Earth.
We are EARTHIER.
Earthier
Himalayan Yacon Syrup | Natural | Prebiotic | Vegan | Diabetes Friendly | Control Blood Sugar
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Yacon Syrup can be used in two ways. One as a supplement for gut health, blood sugar management and other lifestyle diseases. Click on the link below to read about Earthier Yacon Syrup.
People looking to adopt a healthy lifestyle are on the constant lookout for products that are natural, have a ton of health benefits and are preservatives and addtives free. Yacon Syrup fits that description. It's sweet taste is a great addition and now a replacement to sugar and honey. Click on the button below to check out amazing recipes.
Earthier
Himalayan Yacon Syrup | Natural | Prebiotic | Vegan | Diabetes Friendly | Control Blood Sugar
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The Taste Review
