Famous 'Kawdari Hakh’ loses sheen as production declines by 40%

Constructions, reluctance from new generation takes serious toll on Hakh; Black soil, well water & its seeds make Kawdari collard special, say growers

There was a time when the collard (Hakh) grown in Kawdara area of Srinagar, known as ‘Kawdari Hakh’ was being exported to different districts and areas of Jammu & Kashmir, but everything from its prominence to production has changed with the local vegetable sellers claiming that the production in the past two-decades have declined by 40 per cent.

According to the local collard growers in the area, there are two major factors behind the decline in the production of ‘Kawdari Hakh’, saying that many among them have used their land for the construction purpose while a large chunk of youth—a new generation have showed reluctance to continue with their traditional work of growing the collard.

Talking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Fayaz Ahmad, one of the growers said that there was a time when the ‘Kawdari Hakh’ was being exported to different areas and districts of J&K, but now the production has declined by 40 per cent in the last 20 years.

He further stated that the production has declined to just 10 quintals only, adding that the production has declined especially from the last 10 years.

Ahmad also said that the ‘Kawdari Hakh’ is famous for a couple of things, which include the presence of black soil in the area, well water and its seeds.

“The collard is being grown at multiple places in Srinagar, but what makes Kawdari collard special is its soil, well water and the seeds. There is no place where you can find the collard being grown on the soil. The well water is being used for it unlike other places while its seeds are nowhere available in the market. These seeds are being grown by the growers themselves on their particular land and cannot be found in the markets,” Ahmad divulged.

“A huge chunk of land has been used for construction purpose and also the new generation are not willing to go ahead with the production as they believe the income generating from it is not upto the mark,” he added