HAND IN HAND – Achal / India

Vital energiser

The cashew tree (lat. Anacardium occidentale) belongs to the same family as mango trees or the pistachio tree. The main harvest time is from February until the end of April. An average of 12 to 15 kg of nuts are harvested per tree. 

Cashew nuts have many vital substances such as water-soluble vitamin B1 that is responsible for the carbohydrate metabolism. Many other substances such as unsaturated fatty acids, water, different, high-quality vegetable proteins, fats, usable carbohydrates, fibers, sodium, potassium, phosphorus and niacin are also found in the cashew nuts. 

Organic cultivation, careful processing

The cashew nuts (= seeds) grow as a single, small, kidney-shaped nut attached to the so-called cashew apple that is also edible. After the nuts have been harvested in ripe condition by the farmers and their families, they are transported to Achal for further processing.

At first, the nuts are dried. Afterwards, they are heated with steam so that the shell that harbors the sensitive kernel can be easily removed. Steam inactivates the strong acids in the shell without releasing toxic vapors. In the next step, the nuts are mechanically cracked and dried in a hot chamber. Finally, the nuts are skinned, sorted and packaged for transport.

HAND IN HAND partnership with Achal

The price Rapunzel pays for cashew nuts is higher than the current local market price. Therefore, special social benefits can be granted. The workers at Achal are employed throughout the entire year, they are entitled to vacation time and vacation pay and receive new clothes and shoes every year.

The workers´ children, up to an age of 5 years, are treasured in the company kindergarten where they can play and have beds for resting. Moreover, Achal workers get benefits for every school child so that they can buy needed school material.