Palm wine, known by several local names, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm trees such as the palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and is common in various parts of Africa, the Caribbean, South America, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Micronesia. Palm wine production by smallholders and individual farmers may promote conservation as palm trees become a source of regular household income that may economically be worth more than the value of timber sold.
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Palm wine in the context of Coconut
The coconut (Cocos nucifera) is a member of the palm family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus Cocos. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can denote the whole coconut palm tree or the large hard fruit. Originally native to Central Indo-Pacific, they are ubiquitous in coastal tropical regions.
The coconut tree provides food, fuel, cosmetics, folk medicine and building materials. The inner flesh of the mature fruit forms a regular part of the diets of many people in the tropics and subtropics. Coconut endosperm contains a large quantity of a liquid, "coconut water". Mature coconuts can be processed for oil and coconut milk from the flesh, charcoal from the hard shell, and coir from the fibrous husk. Dried coconut flesh is called copra, and the oil and milk derived from it are commonly used in cooking and in soaps and cosmetics. Sweet coconut sap can be made into drinks or fermented into palm wine or coconut vinegar. The hard shells, fibrous husks and long pinnate leaves are used to make a products for furnishing and decoration.
View the full Wikipedia page for CoconutPalm wine in the context of Jola people
The Jola or Diola (endonym: Ajamat) are an ethnic group found in Senegal, the Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. Most Jola live in small villages scattered throughout southern Senegal, especially in the Lower Casamance region. The main dialect of the Jola language, Fogni, is one of the six national languages of Senegal.
Their economy has been based on wet rice cultivation for at least one thousand years. This system has been characterised "one of the most significant examples of 'agrarian civilizations' in West Africa". However, the Jola probably reached the Lower Casamance region in the 14th century, assimilating the previous Bainuk people and their rice tradition. In colonial times, the Jola began to cultivate peanuts as a cash crop in the drier forests. Other activities include palm wine tapping, honey collecting, livestock rearing and the production of other crops such as sweet potatoes, yams and watermelon.
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