Myagdi. Farmers from Gharap, Annapurna Rural Municipality-4 in the district are making extra income by making juice from unsold small-seeded oranges. Prem Tilija and Maina Tilija, a couple from Gharap, have earned Rs 200,000 this season by selling fresh orange juice to tourists traveling on the Mustang-Myagdi route of the Annapurna Cycle Trail.
‘We have kept the remaining small-seeded oranges on the tree after the traders bought the large seeds from the garden,’ Maina said. ‘Up to 50 tourists come here daily to drink the juice.’ She says that during the off-season, orange juice is sold at Rs 250 for a small glass and Rs 350 for a large glass.
Maina said that she has been selling the juice by picking 100 oranges from her garden and the remaining oranges from her neighbor’s trees, removing the peel, and using a device to extract the juice. “The device throws the seeds and pith to one side, while the juice is poured into a container,” she said.
Janardan Dev Pant of Kathmandu said that he had stopped at a house to enjoy fresh and delicious unseasonal orange juice after trekking through the grasslands of Mustang and arriving at the hot springs of Myagdi. Prem said that after starting to make juice, unsold oranges were consumed due to their small seeds.
Says that there is additional income from making juice from wasted oranges, and that even if oranges run out in other areas, small seeds will remain in the gardens here until Chaitra. Farmers in Gharap, who harvest large seeds in Magh, keep the small seeds until Chaitra to make juice.
Farmers here say that a humid house to store oranges, equipment to process and make juice, and skill-based training are needed. There are 20 families living in Gharap. Most of them have been engaged in orange farming.
49-year-old Prem and his wife Maina, who returned after spending two years in Malaysia for employment, have also run a restaurant and hotel in their home. Prem informed that the hotel, which is operated targeting tourists traveling to and from the Nnapurna base camp, Mustang and visiting Narchyang, has the capacity to accommodate up to 30 people daily.
The New Kaligandaki Restaurant and Lodge, run by the Tilija couple, offers a peaceful and secluded environment and serves dishes including local chicken, duck and pork, greens, orange juice, millet porridge. According to him, two people have also found employment in the hotel.
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