The Blue Plant in India

Masapalli Venkatesh is a farmer. He lives in India. His farm is in Kandukur. This is on the Deccan Plateau. The land is dry. Venkatesh grows tomatoes. He grows peanuts and corn. There is a spiky plant on his farm. It is the agave plant. In the past, this plant is a fence. It keeps wild animals away. It is a stubborn weed. Now, traders want this plant.

The agave plant makes a drink. It is a spirit. People in Mexico make tequila from blue agave. In India, the agave is wild. It is in many states. Venkatesh works with villagers. He finds many plants. He gets a high volume of plants. He sells the plants to factories. This is a source of extra income. People call it blue gold.

The heart of the plant is important. Workers call it the piña. It looks like a giant pineapple. Skilled workers use tools. They cut the spiky leaves. They find the white heart. The timing is very important. The plant wants to bloom. It makes a flower. But the sugar goes into the stalk. Then the heart is useless. Gatherers find the peak sugar capacity. They harvest the plant.

After the harvest, workers are fast. The plants go to a pressure cooker. This happens in twenty-four hours. Any transport delay is bad. The sugar rots. The flavour is bad. Suppliers are far away. There are many patches of agave. Distilleries use local villagers.

The demand for the drink is rising. The market grows fast. People like the new spirit. India is happy with the tequila bug. It is a new identity. It is early days for the business. But it is a big change.