For generations, indigenous communities in Arunachal Pradesh had been using a spice in their food for its citrusy, tongue-tingling flavour. The native plant was a part of their world and that’s all they knew. But today, the small spice is helping 200 families gain a livelihood while also protecting agricultural land.On autumn mornings, residents of Arunachal Pradesh’s West Kameng district head into the forest with baskets, looking for a thorny shrub that has shaped local food, medicine and trade for generations. Known locally as Khagi, Erma, Shyein or Yarma, depending on the tribe and the region, Zanthoxylum is a wild Himalayan spice whose tiny fruits release a sharp citrus aroma and a tingling numbness on the tongue that is extremely flavourful.
