Sri Lanka palm sap tappers gain momentum after UNESCO nod

February 10, 2026 / 12:09 PM

This photograph shows a kithul tapper serving freshly made jaggery from kithul sap in Sri Lanka.

Sharjah24 - AFP: A Sri Lankan mechanic who left his job in Kuwait to pursue traditional palm sweet production never expected the career change to earn international recognition. He returned home in 2008 and took up his family’s long-standing craft of tapping sap from kithul palms, becoming a fifth-generation practitioner of the trade, which is now recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

From tree sap to treacle and jaggery

The craft involves climbing Caryota urens trees at dawn and sunset to collect sweet sap that is boiled into treacle, a caramel-coloured syrup used in desserts. When boiled longer, it turns into jaggery — a mineral-rich palm sugar with a lower glycaemic index than refined white sugar. Output from a small number of trees is limited, so a wider network of tappers helps meet export demand to markets including Australia, Britain, New Zealand and the Middle East.

Industry challenges and adulteration risks

Producers say the sector faces major challenges, including labour shortages, declining sap supplies, and widespread product adulteration, with some sellers mixing sugar into kithul products due to high production costs. If sap is not processed quickly, it ferments into a strong alcoholic drink known as kithul toddy. In many households, men collect the sap while women handle the boiling and processing.

UNESCO status boosts a fragile rural sector

UNESCO’s recognition has increased global awareness of the craft, which remains socially undervalued despite its cultural importance. The palms grow naturally without fertiliser, but commercial cultivation efforts have largely failed. Authorities say about half of the country’s estimated kithul palms are currently tapped, highlighting both supply constraints and growth potential. A national development board is training more than a thousand new tappers to help preserve the centuries-old tradition and improve exports, which currently generate around $1 million annually.