Name of Product: Jumla's Mixed Beans
Product Type: Staple food
MP Region: Asia and the Pacific
Country of origin: Nepal
Name of the Mountain Area: Sinja, Jumla District, Nepal
Altitude Range: Class 4: elevation 1 500-2 500 m and slope ≥ 2
Narrative label: Jumla’s Mixed Beans are a traditional mixture of beans from the Jumla District of Nepal in the Himalayan region. A mixture of black, red, yellow and spotted beans, this indigenous food has a unique taste and great nutritional value. These pulses are strongly linked to the local culture and religious festivities like “Janai purne”, the end of the rainy month and beginning of the cold season. On this day, Newari farmers worship and feed frogs - the emanation of the rain god - to bless their crops and they cook a typical mixed bean soup called “Kuwati”.

Producer
The Sinja Valley Group is a producers’ organization specialized in agroforestry mountain products. It is a partner of Organic World and Fair Future (OWF), an eco-social company that facilitates pro-poor inclusive value chain development for Nepali mountain products.

Production
Local farmers cultivate the beans manually and without mechanical inputs, resulting in high quality but low quantity production. Fields are free of chemicals and pesticides, in order to keep the soil healthy. In spite of their traditional and environmentally friendly production process, Jumla’s Mixed Beans are under the threat of being replaced by more productive crops.

Territory
Bhote Lama and Brhamin farmers grow Jumla’s Mixed Beans in the Sinja Valley, Jumla District, one of the most remote mountain areas in the north-western part of Nepal at 2 300 metres above sea level.

Consumption
Easy to cook, tasty and nutritious, Jumla’s Mixed Beans are ideal for preparing soups and legume salads.
Producer: Sinja Valley Group, Pvt. Ltd
Contact person: Umesh Kumar Lama, [email protected]
Labelled since: 13.04.2017
Label latest verification: 13.04.2017
Type of producer: Independent, Family farmer, Cooperative, Producers organization
Smallholder: yes
Size of company: 1-10 people
Distribution channel: Direct sale, Intermediary, Local market, Retailer
At risk of disappearing: Yes, the beans and the cultivation technique are at risk of disappearing due to lacking competitiveness, market linkages, promotional activities and technological skills.
Traditional product/production: Yes, these pulses are strongly linked to the local culture and to religious festivities such as “Janai purne”, the end of the rainy month and beginning of the cold season.
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