The history of tea plantations in Kerala is inextricably linked with colonialism. It was the British who heralded the tea-drinking culture which is so widespread across India today. Back in the day, the Chinese had a near-hegemony in cultivating and selling tea. The British Empire wanted to compete against them. That’s when they found the mountains of the western ghats in Kerala to be quite conducive to cultivating the crop. The rest is history that’s still being unfolded, more than seventy years since India gained her independence from the British. About seventy two percent of whole land area in Kerala where tea plants are grown are in the hills of Idukki. The other districts where you could find tea plantations include Kottayam, Wayanad, Trissur and Malappuram. But Idukki is where the major action is, so to speak.

Being the staple food of Kerala, rice holds a pride of place not just in the food plates but also in its culture. The songs that paddy cultivators sing in the farm, for instance, have a special resonance in the heart of the typical Malayali. Vibrantly green paddy fields are also a quintessential symbol of the Kerala landscape, found in many parts of the state. Rice is the third-most produced crop in Kerala, after coconut and rubber. Paddy fields often enrich the land it occupies and also the surrounding regions. A great example could be found in Kannur district’s Kattampally, where the paddy is cultivated on fields that are filled with saline water. Near to Kochi, you could find the Pokkali paddy fields where prawns and paddy are cultivated alternately, thereby enriching the soil even more. The districts where rice is cultivated the most are Alleppey and Palakkad. Alleppey’s Kuttanad is renowned for its large-scale paddy cultivation- with an extensive network of backwater channels to back the process.

Except for during the monsoon, Kerala has a humid atmosphere throughout the year. This, added with its tropical geography, is considered a key reason why the pineapples cultivated in the state have a special taste and flavor which make them a favorite not just across the nation, but also for global exports. About 550,000 tons of pineapples are cultivated in Kerala each year, which make up about four percent of India’s total annual pineapple production. Two key strains of the fruit are cultivated in Kerala. One is the variety that’s grown in Vazhakkulam near Ernakulam. It’s a Gi-tagged variant that is locally favored. However, it’s the second variant- the MD2 variety- which is usually more exported given it is more conducive to processing and boasts a longer shelf-life. The fields of Vazhakkulam, arguably are the best place to glimpse pineapple farmers in action. The small town boasts almost 3500 farmers who are actively engaged in cultivation of pineapples, in a collective area that’s around 8000 acres wide. The strain of the fruit grown in Vazhakkulam, called Kannarachakka has a distinct appearance- with a calloused pattern on its skin which look like eyes.

Growing tapioca is so common an activity in Kerala that you would find a few of the tuber roots growing in every other backyard. But despite its ubiquity, tapioca is not native to India. In fact, the tuber is a native of Brazil- a far away place from Kerala. So, then, how did tapioca become a staple in the Malayali’s diet? The answer lies in history. Precisely, in the history of the nineteenth century Kerala. A terrible famine ravaged the state during the late nineteenth century. Deaths by starvation due to lack of crops became as common as the air you breathe. At least, that’s what it felt like. But the king of Travancore, Ayilyam Thirunal Rama Varma took certain steps to ensure such a scenario wouldn’t arise again- one of these steps was to popularize tapioca, which could be grown easily in the soil of Kerala, even in dry weather. Given the ubiquity of the crop, you could find tapioca farms- both large and small- in almost all the districts of Kerala. More than 61000 hectares of land are dedicated to cultivating the crop in the state.

Given how the name Kerala is said to be derived from the Malayalam word for coconut- Keram, you could guess how culturally important the coconut palm is to the state. And as you may imagine, the coconut or parts of it form important ingredients in many dishes common in Kerala. The coconut palm is important also for the fact that no part of it is without use for humans- either in the preparation of food or to create furniture or other utilities. This being the case, growing coconut palms is widely practiced in Kerala. It’s estimated that coconut palms are grown in about 30 percent of Kerala’s cropped regions. However, an estimated ninety five percent of the total palms grown in Kerala are not cultivated in commercial farms but grown by householders in their own yards.

Spices - It’s only with slight exaggeration that Kerala is called as a spice garden. In just about all the fourteen districts, you would find spices being grown-if not commercially, then definitely in the backyards of households which use the spices plucked from their trees for their use. Among the most common variants of spices and herbs farmed in Kerala include pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla.

Rubber - The history of rubber plantations in Kerala goes all the way back to 1902 when the state’s first plantation was established in Thettakadu near Ernakulam. However, it was only in the 1940s that the crop began to be cultivated extensively. Today, about 5.51 lakh hectares of land are devoted to the cultivation of rubber. Its significance becomes clear when you see that the state contributes nearly 78 percent of India’s total rubber production. With almost equidistant planting of trees, and the requirement not to plant any other crops in a plantation, these plantations have an elegant symmetry which lend a quiet charm to the landscape. Perhaps, even more interesting is how the rubber sap is tapped by experts, by etching a groove in the bark of the tree when it’s time, so that the sap will drip into a dried coconut husk which is tied into the tree. Rubber plantations are a common sight in many places including Kottayam, Idukki and the Malanaadu and Idanaadu regions.