A green movement in Kerala's capital for the future, by the future
Family heirlooms are thus protected. But increasingly, at least a few among the older generation — sensitive to the rapid environmental shifts around them — are asking: what kind of world will their children inherit?
'This question struck me hard recently as I watched an advertisement on ecology. It showed a future family of four, worn out and short of breath, ordering oxygen masks online, much like we order personal accessories now. This got me thinking... is this the world my kids or their kids are growing up to?' wonders Minnie Jose, a mother and interior designer, who has ensured her house in Thiruvananthapuram is a haven of all things green.
The Breakthrough Science Society (BSS), a non-profit aiming to promote science awareness among the masses, is acting on such concerns. Its latest initiative, Green Voices, targets school and college students, encouraging them to reflect on the world they inhabit from an ecological perspective.
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Pakistan's top brewery is betting on soft drinks
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'Even I tell my staff of about 2,200 that we cannot sit on our laurels by selling alcohol,' said Bandhara, the third generation of his family to run the 165-year-old business that was founded by the British. 'It's a restricted market, so we have to rely and focus more on the non-alcoholic side. That's where I think I would like to flex my muscles and take credit, rather than being a liquor baron.' The brewery already manufactures energy drinks, juices and malted beverages, but they are not as well known as products from big international brands. However, this part of the business is registering double-digit growth, and Bandhara wants to cash in on the country's youth bulge. Around 64% of the population is under 30. Pakistan's government determines the brewery's alcohol prices, points of sale and customer base. Last year it took $35 million from the brewery's revenue in taxes. The company cannot advertise its alcoholic beverages or expand that part of the business inside Pakistan. Online shopping is unavailable. The brewery is permitted to export beer to countries outside the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a 57-member bloc, even though there is a 'big demand for liquor and beer' in Muslim-majority countries, Bandhara said. Meanwhile, more Pakistanis drink far more sodas and juices, with billions of dollars in sales every year. PepsiCo and Coca-Cola dominate, but there are also homegrown brands. 'The multinationals are thriving in Pakistan,' Bandhara said. 'It's a rewarding market. There might be less money (in non-alcoholic drinks), but it's more secure.' Murree Brewery's malted drinks line is packaged in a way that strongly resembles its beery counterparts. The taste, while not unpleasant, is distinctive, sweet and slightly yeasty. Alcohol is a niche item in Pakistan. Even cooking ingredients like red wine vinegar, and buying essentials like cough medicine, is hard because of their alcohol content, however minuscule. Five-star hotels slip a drinks list into the in-room dining menu or decant alcohol into a more discreet vessel, like a teapot. Some restaurants, usually upscale, allow diners to bring a bottle but seat them away from others or shield the pour from prying eyes. There is often a windowless, joyless bar in major Pakistani cities. Non-Muslims — nationals and foreigners — can get a liquor permit allowing them to buy limited amounts of alcohol. Diplomats and the elite are a rich source of booze, with well-stocked cabinets and sometimes entire rooms dedicated to drinks. There are also wine shops, but only in some provinces and run by non-Muslims. Some wine shops deliver to customers waiting in their cars, for discretion. Home delivery is also available. 'It's not expensive to buy beer,' said Faisal, a Pakistani Muslim drinker who is in his 30s and lives in the province of Sindh. He only gave his first name because he is breaking the law. 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Bandhara, who is Parsi, is one of the brewery's leading tasters. Only non-Muslims can sample the company's alcoholic products. 'We can't just force someone to drink an inferior drink, so it has to be quality,' Bandhara said. 'If the German Embassy, the Chinese Embassy and a lot of European embassies are my customers for beer, I'm comfortable on my quality.' Hundreds of Pakistani distilleries produce the intoxicating agent ethanol, which is mostly exported. Home brewers are another source of alcoholic beverages. But homemade liquor containing poisonous methanol has proved fatal, and dozens of people have died over the years. Murree Brewery's closest competition for alcohol is the Chinese-run Hui Coastal Brewery and Distillery Limited, which began making beer in southwestern Balochistan in 2021, largely for the thousands of Chinese workers there. Nobody from Hui was available to comment. The granting of a licence to Hui in conservative Balochistan took Bandhara aback. He said he was unafraid of competition but wanted a level playing field. Decades ago, his family wanted to set up a brewery in Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province. Bandhara said authorities told the family to keep their heads down because they were in a Muslim country. 'If the Islamic lecture is for me, why was the license given to the Chinese brewery?" he asked. "We are a liquor company, and we are the easiest to throw stones at and to criticize.'
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The city of Nanjo in Okinawa Prefecture decided on Tuesday to submit an application for special zone status to produce awamori, a type of shōchū liquor. The city plans to send the application jointly with the Okinawa Prefectural Government to the central government. Since the special zone designation system for shōchū production was introduced in 2017, five municipalities have been designated, including the village of Mishima, Kagoshima Prefecture. Nanjo would be the sixth such zone and the first for awamori production. If designated, small businesses in the city would be able to produce awamori, using locally grown rice, while being exempt from the legal requirement of producing at least 10 kiloliters, or some 14,000 720-milliliter bottles, annually. Currently, most awamori is made from rice from Thailand. Nanjo, said to be the place where rice production in Okinawa started, hopes to make awamori from locally grown rice. A Nanjo official expressed hope that a special zone designation would give a boost to the city. In Nanjo, a plan to launch a new awamori maker is under discussion. "We want to deliver to consumers awamori made in the birthplace of rice production in Okinawa using only locally grown rice," a person involved in the plan said.
