The story of the cardamom

Source:Kantipur Daily 2068/04/30

In 1997 B.S,Mr.Damber Bahadur Rai of Surkhim VDC of Taplejung,the district joining the border with India ,brought the saplings of cardamom when he return back to home in his holidays. He was the army of Gorkha battalion in India .he got that saplings as present from his commander for his good job in the army. To show the family, he planted those cardamom near by the house and he returned back to the battalion . thereafter his parents spread the cardamom all over the village.

A 75 years old Mr. Gopi Paudel from Sikaicha worked in the cardamom orchard in his young days in Sikkim,  which was owned by one of the Lepcha Merchant of  Sikkim .he worked there for 2 years and returned with the bag full of cardamom  saplings.

According to district agriculture development office ,it was believed that cardamom was first entered in Ilam from Sikkim.In fiscal year 2064/65 there was export of 1 thousand 9 hundred  and 92 Mt. cardamom from the Taplejung district .but the data is different from that of FNCCI Taplejung as they have recorded 3 thousand 5 hundred Mt.

Nepal is number one producer of cardamom in the world where as Taplejung is the highest producer with in the country.

Prosperity by cardamom

Mr.Shiva Gurung, local cardamom producer imagined that he may be digging roads or working as potter or may be in any Arab nations as labor if he had not planted the cardamom.

Because of cardamom he has better life now. He has invested his earnings from cardamom in more than half dozens of other industry. He had invested at least 7 lakh in Radio Taplejung and Kanchanjanga  cooperatives. His children  are in private schools and he has built his house by cultivation of cardamom.