Tura: A dynamic and emergent sector of the economy, the juice market in India has grown at a rapid pace in recent years.
The juice market is dominated by the fruit drinks segment that currently accounts for the lion’s share of sales, followed by fruits juices and nectars categories. With newer brands and variants being introduced at frequent intervals, the growth in the Indian juice market has been truly dynamic.
Banking on rich variety of fruits available in the area, people of a remote village in West Garo Hills have come up their own brand of fruit juice — Chengga.
The different variety of seasonal fruits and wild berries are being used to produce the juice, which has become popular instantly in Garo Hills market.
The villagers of Rangmangre under Gambegre development block conceptualized the idea of producing the juice in 2010.
The village, about 50 km from Tura, along India – Bangladesh border has 55 households.
It is a project village under Ministry of DoNER’s North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Project for Upland Areas (NERCOMP).
Rozillar M. Marak, a member of Natural Resource Management Group (NaRM-G) and under whose guidance villagers decided to join the juice market, said, “We have a vast area under orange and pineapple cultivation. We felt that if we could start processing juices, it will be viable and mooted the idea to NERCOMP. They provided us the technical assistance and we started the juice processing unit”.
It is a small unit run by NaRM-G and women self help group (SHG) in the village. The unit produces about 1500 litres of juices every month.
“In different seasons, we produce different varieties. The juices are made from available fruits in the village. We also produce juice out of wild berries, like mulberry”, he added.
He explained that juice of Indian gooseberries is a hot favourite in the market, as it has medicinal value.
“Over the years, we have been able to reach out to almost all markets of Garo Hills”, he quipped.
The NaRM-G of Rangmangre manages a sustained income by selling the juices in the local market.
A 500 ml bottle of juice is priced at Rs. 100 in the local market.
Though the management of the juice production is handled by NaRM-G, the women SHGs makes an extra income by selling the juice.
“We get Rs. 20 as commission on sale of each bottle”, said a member of women SHG.
The juice processing unit has given the villagers a reason to smile. It is their sheer willingness, which has given them a space of its own. Their brand is also being promoted and marketed by NERCORMP as “Neat Chengga Juice”, which is now going beyond Garo Hills.