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Nepalese Jand alcohol
In Nepal, there are alcohols produced from millet called Jand. These alcohols come in many different forms within Nepal as wine, beer, and a hard alcohol that is very strong. The process to produce these alcohols is to cook the whole grain millet and leave it to ferment in a mixture called “Murch” (which is yeast, molds, and bacteria. After approximately six months of fermenting, Jand is produced.

Background on Millet
Millet is a large group of small grained cereals that are produced from grasses, grown around the world as a staple food, a feed for animals and humans. Millets are produced in semi-arid tropics of Africa and Asia, and is mostly developed in developing countries, which is why there is a stigma of it being a poor man’s food. Millets are the fifth most important cereal group in the world after wheat, maize, rice, and Barley (Shayo et al., 2001)[4]. Within multiple areas of Asia and Africa, including Nepal, millet is malted and used within breweries to make malt alcohol that is consumed and traded internationally. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) is produced majorly in India, China, Uganda and Nepal, and has been estimated to have yields of 3.76 million metric tonnes (Karki and Kharel, 2012)[2]. Finger millet has proved, over the history of Nepal, as one of the most important crops within the hills of Nepal. The significance of millet within the agricultural sector of Nepal is that millet is grown where other crops cannot grow (Adikara, 2012)[1]. The drought tolerance of millet allows it to grow well in the high runoff areas of the Nepal hills, where technology of water retention is currently lacking. Millet, on top of being a staple food of many cultures in developing countries, has been ranked the number two malts to be brewed behind barley that is mostly used in beer (Karki and Kharel, 2012).

Possible Impacts of Millet Alcohol Production
This product provides women job opportunities within the sorting, fermenting, and production of Jand. Women currently play a significant role within the production, as they are the main producers of the actual fermented Jand, and also the makers of the tongba that has market potential. The production of this alcohol allows Nepal to also share their culture with the rest of the world. These alcohols are consumed at festivals, ceremonies, and many other celebrations (Karki and Kharel, 2012)[2].