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| A view of the greenhouse |
The tour started at the greenhouse, which was lush and the uniform green had a soothing effect on the eyes. As we wandered through the greenhouse and then to the farms, Inchara introduced me to a lot of new plants, not just by name, but also by taste. She kept feeding me leaves from various plants and I had to taste them and guess what it tasted like. She was also keenly watching my expressions, which I am sure was positively entertaining. I ate the leaves that tasted like Anise ( 'Saunf' ) and one that smelled like 'Vicks'. After a few more 'leaf tasting', we reached the young Noni trees, all having fruits in various sizes.
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Noni trees used to initially grow along the coastal areas and has now been propagated everywhere. This perennial fruit grows pretty well at all times other than when the temperature dips a bit. Then the yield reduces, albeit slightly. At other times Noni is harvested once in 45 days.
These trees are also survivors even under hostile conditions. Inchara mentioned as to how some of these trees got caught in a spreading fire and were burnt. But after some time started sprouting new leaves and were now back to being healthy trees again.
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| Flowers growing on the fruit |
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| Noni Fruit |
Noni is not an attractive fruit. Fruits and leaves grow on alternate nodes. The fruit is pretty much shapeless, has a slightly spiky exterior and weirdly the flowers sprout from the fruits instead of fruits coming from flowers. The fruit is full of seeds and to extract the juice from it is no mean task. Not to forget the foul smell and taste to match. What it lacks in looks and taste, it more than makes up in its properties.
It also brought me back to the lifelong question, why is everything that is good for health, bad in taste?
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| The farm with young trees |
Considering the delicate life cycle the fruit has and its tendency to rot in no time, I asked Inchara at what stage are the fruits plucked. The fruit is green when young, yellow when mature, white when over mature and black when it rots. The fruit is plucked and processed between the yellow to white stage. So processing time is highly limited. Inchara found a fruit in its white stage for me and asked with a twinkle in her eye whether I would like to taste it. My nostrils were already protesting against the smell. So after the leaf tasting I was nowhere ready for this challenge.
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So what makes this curious fruit such a champ in healing? It is said that Dr.Ralph Heinicke was researching for the presence of Xeronine in Bromelain, which is an enzyme in Pineapple. In the process he found that Noni not only contained Xeronine, but also its precursor Proxeronine in large quantities. The bottom line being, Xeronine helps the cells in our body repair themselves and hence helps and enhances the healing process of our body. Thus, helping the body recover from multiple ailments as it optimizes healing at a cellular level. It also works wonders in increasing immunity and improving general health. No wonder Noni is such an all-rounder.
Our ancestors did not know any of these fancy terms and words, but they knew the most important thing. This fruit had unmatched healing properties and was therefore valuable.
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| Crunchy Waterapples |
The tour ended with a snack of water apples, directly plucked from the plants. I felt like I had pretty much grazed through the farm.
Though I had used Noni earlier, I was unaware of this much of significance the fruit had. Now I have a new respect for this super fruit.
There are multiple companies these days who have recognized the value of this wonder fruit and making it available to consumers. Valyou Products is one of them and are always in the process of coming up with new Noni products. You can check their website here : Valyou Products.
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