Nipa Palm Forest

You can see a lot of Nipa palm thinning near the banks of rivers and creeks in Dawei Township.

Nipa palm thrives in swamps of fresh water and sea-water where there is the ebbing and swelling of the tide. Making Nipa palm sugar that boiled from Nipa palm juice is an interesting cottage industry in Dawei Township. Making Nipa palm sugar in the suburb of Dawei Township run a cottage industry.

The process of producing Nipa palm sugar is, first the ripe Nipa palm fruits are cut off and bamboo containers are hung under their stalks the whole night to gather Nipa palm juice. Then, close the hole with mud to be firm of Nipa palm stalk and bamboo container. Early next morning, the bamboo containers full of juice are collected. The Nipa palm juice is filtered and then boiled in the large pans. When it is boiled, the float is removed to make the juice cleaner. After about three hours of boiling, the saturated juice is allowed to cool, and thus Nipa palm sugar is obtained.

At the end of the process, the bamboo cubes are cleaned and fumigated by smoke for use in next day's palm juice collection. The above process is repeated everyday.

The Nipa palm sugar is very sweet therefore, it is useful in making various kinds of local snacks. The Nipa palm juice is a sweet drink in the morning, but in the late afternoon, it ferments into bitter juice, which is an intoxicant.

The bitter Nipa palm juice has the same potency as alcohol. It is stronger than the bitter toddy juice. Nipa palm juice turns into local drink called "Pa Ohn Ye" after two days storage in pots. It is used as vinegar in this region.

Nipa palm blossom jam is obtained when Nipa palm blossoms are plucked and cooked with Nipa palm sugar. The jam is served with green tea as a dessert. The Nipa palm products are useful for this region and those are the lucrative cottage industry.