00:00Kittu palms dot the landscape in the Sri Lankan village.
00:03Every day, Surat Dananda climbs to the top of these trees and taps them for their sap.
00:07His wife, Padmanandani Thibautua, then boils the sap, turning it into a sweet syrup that
00:12can be used in sweets and desserts.
00:14It's a small industry, with exports totaling only a million U.S. dollars last year.
00:19But in December, UNESCO labeled it an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
00:25The method of tapping the flowers is practiced only by us, which is why UNESCO recognized
00:30it.
00:31Ananda can collect about 200 liters of sap a day from his trees, but demand far outweighs
00:36supply.
00:36He has a network of 55 tappers that work together, enabling exports to markets like Australia
00:41and the U.K.
00:42But despite how good business is, it's not all smooth sailing.
00:46There are challenges for the Kittul industry.
00:49The extent of Kittul plantations is low.
00:52Very few people actually grow Kittul as a commercial crop.
00:55The palms grow wild, without fertilizer.
00:58Attempts to cultivate them commercially have repeatedly failed.
01:01The high price of pure Kittul sap means counterfeit or adulterated product is another concern.
01:06Kittul tapping is not considered a prestigious occupation, but there are hopes that recognition
01:10from UNESCO would boost its profile.
01:12Despite this, Ananda remains concerned about the practice's future.
01:18I am now a fifth generation tapper.
01:20When we get to the sixth generation, I don't think my son will want to climb trees.
01:25Fewer than half of the estimated half a million Kittul palms in Sri Lanka are tapped, according
01:29to estimates from the Kittul Development Board.
01:31That organization is training 1,300 new workers to take advantage of the sector's untapped potential.
01:37Whether or not the Kittul industry succeeds in turning over old ideas and bringing prosperity
01:41to Sri Lanka's rural areas is still up in the air.
01:44But people like Ananda and Tiputua are doing their best to push it forward.
01:48Justin Wu and Larry Ciano for Taiwan Plus.
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