This spell of rain came as a blessing for the people of Tharparkar, unlike the rest of Sindh where floods ravaged districts, leaving people homeless.
The downpours started from the end of June and continued till mid-September, allowing residents of the desert district to cultivate traditional crops like pearl millet, melon, watermelon, apple gourd (tinda),sesame and wild fruits.
People were actually seen on roadsides and at makeshift markets selling fruit and making enough money to support their families for weeks.
Veal village on Islamkot-Nagarparkar Road near Veerawah was the first spot where a makeshift market was set up this year to sell the melon, mushrooms and vegetables like guar and tindas. Farmers and tillers wasted no time cultivating their traditional crops and sowing fruit seeds around their fields. For the past two months, farmers have not only been selling their products but also buying them from other farmers from different areas of Thar.
One said they sell melons at Rs10 to Rs15 per kg at their outlets but when they are exported to big cities they fetch handsome amounts for them, adding that they now found big markets all over Sindh and beyond with the help of trucks and other vehicles.
“We are also buying Thari products from other farmers living in remote villages off the roads,” said farmer Sawan. He said they did not use fertilisers or pesticides and were solely dependent on rainfall for three months with intervals of 10 to 15 days. This year’s showers brought them enough to eat and sell in tonnes.
He said farmers in the region only use local methods, starting from ploughing the lands to harvesting and picking the fruit, so they don’t spend too much money.
Raju Meghwar, who has been selling fruits and medicinal herbs at a famous temple in Kasbo village, complained that people prefer to listen to the songs of Ustad Mohammad Yousaf Fakeer, the known blind singer of this village, instead of buying her melons.
“If people do not purchase my melons I will be forced to extend my hands before the people visiting here,” she warned. She said women in Thar were at the forefront in cultivating fruits, vegetables and traditional crops.
Another farmer Raja said every farmer used to cultivate these fruits in their fields along with their traditional crops for their family and friends. “With the construction of roads and huge turnout of the tourists in hilly areas of Tharparkar, farmers started cultivating and subsequently selling them on roadsides. This has become a lucrative business for the past few years and the per acre yield during heavy rains like this year and in 2019 is always beyond any estimate they can make.
He said selling melons and vegetables was considered to be a cruel joke with their rich old traditions of hospitality a few years back but now with the promotion of tourism, the construction of roads is paying them back. He said now they were sending trucks of melons to big cities like Karachi and earning enough for them and others who had access to their little market.
If someone goes off the roads with their family they may be treated as a guest and be given fruit for free, he said. But the healthy practice of marketing and selling their products instead of giving them away would really change their lifestyle, he said.
Raja, who is in his early 20s, praised the role of social media for doing a great job showing the beautiful aspects of Thar. Sajan, who started selling mushrooms and raw melons from early July at the same point, said after sowing the crops, his family helped him pick them and he started to sell them on the roadsides. He said raw melons and watermelon are also used in savoury dishes and curries.
Sajan said if it rains a lot, September and October are ideal seasons for ripe melons of different sizes and colours to grow. Parkash in Nagarparkar was also happy to sell his melons and said he would not have to migrate to barrage areas for the rice harvesting season to earn money for his family since he had enough stock left on his small piece of land. He said earlier, children from his village picked mushrooms till August but this year they were busy picking and selling melons and other vegetables and fruits.
Similar stalls have also been set up in Islamkot and Mithi along Karachi road where farmers as well as the dealers sell several hundred maunds of melons, watermelons, and vegetables. Shop owners said they would continue selling them and earn till December since produce from some areas started coming in a few weeks earlier due to delayed rains, unlike in the Parkar region.
Riaz Rajar, a Thari activist told SAMAA Digital that there is need to further promote healthy activities like these in Thar. “They are happy this year after finding enough cultivated crops with a lot of fruits,” he said. He added that if these fruit and vegetables were properly marketed, they could bring a revolution in the life of Tharis since tonnes of fruits always get wasted without any proper use and preservation.
He said Thari women are experts in preserving fruit and vegetables by drying them and using them for foods in droughts years.
Advocate Veerji Kolhi, a special assistant to the Sindh chief minister on human rights who also hails from the Parkar region of Thar, hoped the day was soon that these fruits and vegetables would find markets in the whole country and fetch enough for the people of the desert to survive. He said the PPP government was trying its best to encourage activities by Tharis. He asked people touring Thar to buy fruit instead doling out their charities and alms to kids selling these products at the road sides. He said Thar was now fast transforming into a green oasis in the wake of massive tourism and some mega projects being launched by the Sindh government.
All photos are by the author
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