Jimbu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jimbu is an herb belonging to the onion family, used extensively in some regions of Nepal and in some central Himalayan states of India, such as Uttarakhand, where it is called jamboo or faran. It is composed of two species of Allium, A. hypsistum and A. przewalskianum.[1] The herb, which has a taste in between onion and chives, is most commonly used dried. In the Mustang district of Nepal and Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, it is used to flavor vegetables, pickles, and meat. In the rest of Nepal it is most commonly used to flavor urad dal or lentils. The dried leaves are fried in ghee to develop their flavor.[2] After harvest, people store jimbu dried for later use since it is a seasonal herb (main harvest between June and September).[3]
The above ground parts of these plants are used for traditional medicine.[3] The use of the spice is primarily for flavoring and seasoning, although it is considered nutritious by people in the Upper Mustang region.[3] Almost all (90%) households in the Upper Mustang region use jimbu as a spice in curries, soups, pickles, and meat items.[3] Populations throughout the rest of Nepal and parts of Northern India like Uttarakhand use the herb extensively in their cuisine and for medicinal purposes.[4] Jimbu is also considered to be a high value medicinal plant collected from Nepalese hillside pastures.[5] In Upper Mustang and other North-Central parts of Nepal, households use jimbu for various illnesses such as flu, cough, and stomach pain.[5] This could be related to the isolated nature of these villages, which lack basic health facilities.
In a 2006 study:[1]
- 95% of households in the Upper Mustang region of Nepal use jimbu in cooking, mostly in curries to make the temper because this is a flavoring agent.
- 38% of households use jimbu as medicine (mostly as a treatment believed to help flu).
- 52% of households report having been involved in jimbu collection (and this percentage varies wildly by household size, with vastly more jimbu collection in households of size 5–6 people, with much less jimbu collection in sizes larger or smaller than that number.
Economic benefits
After collection, the jimbu plant is dried in a closed area, such as a shed, for several days before it is completely air-dried.[3] About 3288 kilograms of air dried jimbu was estimated to be collected in Upper Mustang during 2004, and almost all of that was used to sell.[3] Most household income in alpine regions of Nepal is from collection and trade in medicinal plants.[6] In the Upper Mustang Region of Central Nepal, agriculture, wild-plant collection, and seasonal trading are the most important economic activities for local livelihoods.[6] Most households in the Upper Mustang region are involved in the collection of wild jimbu.[3] The sale of jimbu makes a significant (10%) contribution to the annual household income in Upper Mustang.[3] The income derived from jimbu is significantly influenced by the involvement of a household in the seasonal trade.[3] On average, the annual income from jimbu sale for households involved in the trade was about $70 USD in 2003 and 2004.[3] People usually act as both the collectors and traders of jimbu in order to maximize profits earned.[3] The primary mode of trade for jimbu was door-to-door selling, although it is common for traders to travel to Kathmandu and other parts of Nepal and India to take part in seasonal trade.[3] This means that people involved in the jimbu trade are currently looking for consumer markets to sell to, and would benefit from supplying to foreign markets. Furthermore, spices such as jimbu can be “high value, low volume cash crops”, and international trade in this product can enhance rural Nepalese incomes and livelihoods.[7]