Located in the dry scrublands of Niravi Pudhupatti village, about 45 kilometres from Tuticorin, is Ishka Farms—India’s only caper farm. Established in 2012 by Fiona Arakal and Srikant Suryanarayan, they primarily grow capers—a crop that isn’t native to India. In 2017, the duo began to retail their produce as brined capers, caper salt, sliced caperberries, and have added a range of innovative, organic caper-infused condiments such as sauces, spreads and seasonings over the years.
Today, restaurants, grocery stores, and small businesses across the country source products from Ishka Farms. The brand also exports its offerings to Russia, Spain, and the United States of America. However, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Ishka Farms. Twelve years ago, when Arakal and Suryanarayan acquired a 365-acre-large plot of land, they were unsure of how best to utilise it. They wanted to grow a crop that would help conserve groundwater, reduce the dependence on fossil fuels, and thrive in harsh sunny weather. But finding a crop that met all their criteria was a challenge, especially considering the stubborn quality of the black soil in the region.
This is where capers came in. Native to the African, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean regions, the caper bush grows up to six feet in height. It lives for decades, bearing flowers and fruits throughout its growing season, which, in India, is from March to October. Cultivating the crop in a new environment meant a process of experimenting, learning, and even making mistakes along the way.
Currently, Ishka Farms uses around 100 acres of the total land to grow capers. Since seed germination percentage is very poor, they propagate caper plants through tissue culture, which involves growing saplings from mother plants in a laboratory.
Initially, the local communities in Niravi Pudhupatti were apprehensive about Ishka’s presence in the village. Gaining their trust took time. It involved establishing an on-site factory, providing year-round employment, and finally, beginning to export products during the COVID-induced lockdown.
Ishka hopes to continue growing exceptional quality capers, and establish it as a staple crop within the region—all while learning and unlearning.
The Locavore Bite
TL Bite offers a glimpse into how a partner producer runs their operations, and reflects their core principles and values. The idea is to provide insights into their practices and highlight their positive efforts descriptively. We have identified seven key areas of assessment – origin and source of ingredients, composition and integrity of the products, workforce policies, production practices, community-related initiatives, approach towards preserving or celebrating traditional knowledge and the materials used in packaging. While this assessment may not be entirely comprehensive, we hope it helps you make an informed decision about why you might want to support them, and the ways in which to.
The information below offers you a snapshot of where Ishka Farms stands on these parameters. We have put this together based on several rounds of conversation with Ishka Farms’ director Fiona Arakal. Click on a piece of the pie below to find out more.
Why We Love Ishka Farms
- Transforming barren land – Years of neglect and extreme temperatures left the land in Niravi Pudhupatti barren. Ishka Farms’ decision to cultivate capers—which require little water—reflects their intention to transform the land into a lush green farm. They work with experts to take great care of the arid soil and are conscious of their groundwater use. They also envision that the local farmers will eventually start growing and selling capers on their own farms, in turn, impacting the region’s landscape and its water-use patterns.
- More power to local women – Over the years, Ishka Farms has helped instil a sense of independence among the women in the village. They offer year-round employment to women in the fields as well as the factory, and payments are credited to personal bank accounts, instead of cash. This helps them manage their finances on their own terms.
- Maximising available resources – Ishka Farms grows all of their capers on a single 100-acre plot. This gives them a uniform, high-quality product. They also use by-products from the brining process to reduce wastage. For instance, the leftover water from the re-brining process is used to make their tangy Kerala Hot Sauce.
How do you see capers becoming a part of the local community?
“We have provided dependable livelihood options for the local community across the spectrum of white- and blue-collar work. When Ishka Farms is able to demonstrate the long-term viability of the cultivation of high-quality capers along with the development of value-added products within the farming ecosystem, it will automatically be welcomed by the locals. Everyone eventually wants to secure and improve their economic standing; growing capers could possibly be the way for those who want to continue to farm. The aspirational milestones for Ishka Farms—tipping the scales in favour of local women’s employment, re-greening the land, bringing in biodiversity, recharging ground water, and placing India on the caper-export map of the world may not initially be attractive to the local community. However, securing livelihood is always a key attraction. At present, it is offered in terms of employment opportunities at Ishka. Over the years, I trust that the plant itself will be an intrinsic part of the community.”
— Fiona Arakal, Director, Ishka Farms
While women are largely employed in the factory, involved in the curing, processing, and packaging of capers, men are engaged as field managers, supervisors, and drivers.
Products We Recommend
Kerala
Hot Sauce
Organic Capers
Fines in Brine
How to Buy
If you would like to learn more about Ishka Farms or try their products, check out their website. If you’re interested in supporting them in other ways, please contact us at connect@thelocavore.in.
This is a paid partnership with Ishka Farms. We strive to keep the practices of a producer transparent and honest across all forms of partnerships.
