Cashew Nuts in Krabi

The humble cashew nut. We’ve all seen them in supermarkets or adorning the top of cakes and pastries. But did you ever wonder where they come from and how they ended up on the market shelf? Well we did, and thanks to our ever-knowledgeable friends, Elizabeth and Sun (and little man Noah) from Andaman Camp and Cruise, we got a chance to go and see the whole process for ourselves.

We drove for about 30 mins, towards the locality of Nua Klong just outside Krabi, and pulled up outside the most wonderfully smelling building I have ever been to. The source of the delicious aroma was soon apparent as we jumped out of the van and were faced with thousands of cashews drying in the sun. We were introduced to Ja Dee, the owner of the business here, and through Elizabeth and Sun’s kind translation, we learned a lot about how the nuts are processed.

First of all, the nuts are separated from their fruit and laid on the mats to dry. The actual nut itself is encased in a very hard outer shell that is poisonous if eaten. So after drying, they are taken to a large furnace like pit and the casing is burned. The case is filled with a hard oily substance which fuels the fire to a tremendous temperature, but ultimately leaves it weakened enough to be cracked open.

We were shown to a ‘cracking station’, which consisted of around a dozen local villagers banging away at the blackened nuts with short iron bars to extract the nut inside. Even more interesting than the actual process itself, were the people doing it. Ja Dee told us that the locals all came here to work when they wanted to, not because they were under any obligation. They are paid by the kilo, so the more they work, the more they earn. Even more interesting was the sight of a couple of very young children working. They had to be no more than 8 years old, and we were told that some kids as young as 5 come here to work. Now some might say this is not right, but if you think about it, they aren’t being forced to do it, and they get paid, for an 8 year old, reasonably well! They get to learn the value of their money, we were told. If they want to buy 100 Baht of sweets at the local shop, then they have to earn that money. It was strange to see, but it is important to remember that this culture is a very different one to ours in the West, and the children begin to work at a much younger age than what we are perhaps used to.  But they were happy and laughing along with us (or at us, more likely!) and were surrounded by their family.

After they are shelled, the nuts then get roasted in large Gas fired ovens. They are sifted in wooden bowls to separate them into different sizes. Whole cashews are more expensive than the split ones, for example. They can be processed again to remove every trace of the papery outer skin that clings to the nut. The finished article can then be sold wholesale in large sacks to resellers, or to passing customers in smaller plastic bags.

The whole process takes around 4 days, from when the raw plant arrives, to being ready for sale, and they are distributed all over the region – sometimes as far as Chiang Mai. The reason for this is that cashew nuts only grow here in the South of Thailand. Krabi has some plantations, but a lot come from places such as Ranong and Nakon Si Thammarat. In Krabi there are 12 processing places such as the one owned by Ja Dee, and she started up here 12 years ago from nothing.

The season for picking the nuts is relatively short – with March and April being the busiest times. So the nuts are bought in bulk and stored in huge sacks to keep the workers going all through the year.

Our hosts were so friendly and accommodating, and we realized we were getting a glimpse of this part of Thailand not a lot of people get to see. The workers were simple, poor people who spoke no English and stared at our pale skin and blond hair. These people were a refreshing change from the Thais that work in places such as Ao Nang, who rely on tourists for their bread and butter, and were delighted to get their photo taken with us.

We noticed that there was not one item of machinery to be seen –the whole process from start to finish is done by hand

In true Thai hospitality, we were given a ton of still warm cashews to take away with us, and we left our new smiling friends, grateful to having been given this glimpse into their lives.