‘Lipstick seeds’ grown by tribals in A.P.

But lack of organised trade for the non-carcinogenic seed affects growers. Lipstick is an important item on the vanity table of every woman. Available in various hues, women take pride in wearing it and making a style statement. But do they ever give a thought to how a lipstick is made?

Well, chances are that the coloured cosmetic that they adorn on their lips may have been manufactured from the non-carcinogenic lipstick seed cultivated in the backyard of Adivasi habitations in Rampachodavaram, Chaparai, and Maredumilli in Andhra Pradesh.

Regular income

Matla Adi Reddy, a 55-year-old tribal farmer from Maredumilli Agency area, has no clue about how Annatto / lipstick seeds are used. But he grows the plants in his backyard as they give him a regular income thrice in a year. To feed his family, Mr. Reddy cultivates millets on his three-acre extent of land.

“Jabra seeds, as Annatto is referred to in local parlance, can be harvested three times in a year. We sell the seeds to either the Girijan Cooperative Corporation (GCC) or businessmen, or exchange them in shandies for clothes and other cosmetics,” Mr. Reddy told The Hindu.

The seeds have a huge demand across the world as they are natural colour agents and are considered to be non-carcinogenic.

Healing properties

The seeds reportedly have healing properties and used in treating digestive disorders, weak bones, headache, neural tube defects, eye ailments and respiratory problems.

Mr. Reddy is not alone in growing the plant with spiky red and brown pods. Almost all households have it in their backyard.

Besides wild turmeric and tobacco, Annatto is the most common backyard plant in Maredumilli, Rampachodavaram, and Chaparai Agency areas, and in many parts of the Eastern Ghats.

Besides lipstick, the plant’s seed extract is used as a natural colouring agent in cheese, food preparations, bakery products and sweets across the world.

However, these rare seeds have no fixed price as there is no organised trade in the tribal areas. “Earlier, we used to sell the produce to the GCC, but they have stopped procuring it for reasons unknown. A few agents from far-off places come and buy the seeds for ₹80 to ₹100 a kg,” said 50-year-old Rudra, a small farmer near Chaparai, who also cultivates wild turmeric and tobacco. The seeds command much higher value in the international market. According to sources, about 250 tonnes of Annatto is exported from India every year, and it is mainly grown and marketed in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra, Odisha and Karnataka.