Eraviperoor’s Millet Cafe and Farming Drive Promote Local Superfoods

The village of Eraviperoor in Pathanamthitta is embracing Kerala’s millet revolution by growing and promoting these nutritious grains. Local farmers have been successfully cultivating ragi, sorghum, and pearl millet, which grow quickly and are essential to a healthy diet. Encouraged by their success, the community is now working to make millet-based foods popular among the public.

To support this effort, Nutrihub Millet Café has opened in the village, making it the second millet café in Kerala. This café, set up under a government scheme, is jointly managed by the Agriculture Department, Koipuram block panchayat, and Eraviperoor grama panchayat. The project was implemented at a cost of ₹3 lakh, with an additional ₹2.12 lakh from the local panchayat. The café offers a variety of millet-based dishes at affordable prices, including traditional snacks like kozhukatta and ilayada, as well as modern options like millet pasta and noodles. It is open from 9a.m. to 6p.m., Monday to Saturday, making healthy food easily accessible to the community.

In addition to the café, the panchayat is actively encouraging millet farming by providing free ragi, sorghum, and pearl millet seeds to local farmers. “We have allocated ₹1 lakh for this project, while the Agriculture Department provides a subsidy of ₹20,000 per hectare for millet cultivation. Currently, 20-30 farmers are growing millets on small plots of land,” said K.B. Shashidharan Pillai, the panchayat president. A nearby shop also sells high-quality millet products, ensuring that nutritious, locally grown food is available to all. Through these efforts, Eraviperoor is leading the way in promoting healthy eating and sustainable farming.

Latest Millets News