Farmer Thakur Sapkota in Chitwan has successfully diversified his banana cultivation by producing wine and brandy from the fruit.
Thakur Sapkota, a dedicated farmer from Jirauna in Ratnanagar Municipality-12, Chitwan, has been growing bananas commercially for the past 15 years. Now, he has achieved a new milestone by successfully creating alcoholic beverages, specifically wine and brandy, from bananas. This innovative step is a result of his efforts to diversify banana products.
About a year ago, Mr. Sapkota began experimental research and studies focused on producing various by-products from bananas. His main goal was to connect the area’s productive agricultural system with local industry. Running the A & B Banana Farm on approximately 12 bigha of land, he found that many bananas would spoil on the plants due to strong winds, lack of market access, and other technical issues. He realised he could use these otherwise wasted bananas as raw material for making alcoholic drinks.
With support, technical equipment, and encouragement from the Agricultural Development Office in Bharatpur, his research on making banana wine has been fully successful. He also informed that research into producing brandy is now in a very advanced stage.
Mr. Sapkota shared that when processing 500 kilograms of ripe bananas, around 200 liters of wine can be produced. Similarly, about 120 to 130 liters of brandy is made from 300 kilograms of bananas. He explained that this entire process relies on the natural sugar found in fully ripe bananas, which undergoes fermentation.
Instead of setting up a large distillery, Sapkota is moving ahead with registering his venture as a ‘micro-distillery,’ a small-scale liquor industry operating at the local level. He stressed the importance of branding Chitwan’s bananas through local laws and procedures, similar to how Gandaki Rural Municipality and Khotang’s local governments branded their millet products.
“We are not aiming to be a large distillery; we are moving forward with registration as a local micro-distillery,” he said. “If Chitwan’s bananas can get their own brand, just like Gandaki Rural Municipality or Khotang did with millet, it will greatly help promote agri-tourism. This could also become excellent souvenir for both local and international tourists who visit Chitwan.”
Around one thousand people have tasted the banana-based beverages during a trial period, and the feedback has been very positive. Sapkota mentioned that commercial production and market expansion are planned for the upcoming fiscal year. Currently, in this testing phase, eight to nine people, including family members, are directly involved in managing the production and market.
Furthermore, to promote various banana-based dishes, a special outlet has been opened at Bakulahar Chowk in Tandi Bazaar, Ratnanagar. This outlet offers a variety of items such as banana momo, chips, pakoda, choila, banana chili, and pickles, which are proving popular among local consumers and tourists.
“After many years of commercial banana farming, I faced significant problems with marketing and natural disasters,” Sapkota shared. “This idea came to me when I was thinking about how to best use bananas that ripened and went to waste right in the field.”
His vision is to establish bananas as a unique identity for Chitwan through diversification and to strengthen the local agricultural economy by expanding this business.
AI Disclaimer: This article was originally published on https://bajarkochirfar.com. It has been translated with the help of AI. For the best understanding and accurate facts, we recommend reading the original Nepali version.
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