Kithul from the edge of the rainforest.
Ecoroots makes pure kithul treacle, jaggery and flour from palms tapped by village families around Sinharaja, a UNESCO World Heritage forest, and exports them alongside Ceylon cinnamon and spices from the same region.
- Sourced from
- Villages around Sinharaja
- Made by
- Traditional kithul tappers
- Supplied as
- Bulk · Retail · Private label
Sinharaja Forest Reserve
Inscribed on the World Heritage List as Sri Lanka's last viable area of primary lowland tropical rainforest. A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1978.
Kithul tapping
Kithul Madeema, the traditional craft of tapping the kithul palm, inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Sri Lanka's rainforest sweetener.
Kithul (Caryota urens) is a tall palm of Sri Lanka's wet zone forests. Its sap, drawn by hand from the flower stalk, is slowly boiled over a wood fire into a dark, smoky, caramel-rich treacle.
For generations, kithul treacle and jaggery have been the sweetness of Sri Lankan village life: poured over buffalo curd, folded into festival sweets and stirred into tea. Outside Sri Lanka it is still almost unknown. We think that is about to change.
Made the way it always has been.
Tap
Tappers climb mature palms around Sinharaja and collect sap from the flower stalk twice a day.
Boil
The same day, the sap is filtered and slowly boiled over a wood fire, with nothing added.
Check
Every batch is checked for moisture and cane-sugar adulteration, and recorded by village and tapper.
Pack
Treacle is filtered and sealed; jaggery is set and wrapped, for retail, bulk or your own brand.
One palm, four products.
Kithul treacle
Sap slow-boiled into a pourable, smoky-caramel syrup. Our flagship, and the product buyers ask for first.
Curd · pancakes · coffee · baking · cocktails 02Kithul hakuruKithul jaggery
Treacle cooked further and set into soft, fudgy blocks with a deep, mineral sweetness.
Sweets · chocolate · curries · desserts 03Milled hakuruKithul granules
Jaggery dried and milled into a free-flowing sugar that measures like brown sugar.
Baking · beverages · manufacturing 04Kithul pitiKithul flour
A traditional starch from the pith of the palm, made in limited quantities.
Porridge · thickening · traditional sweetsEvery bottle pays a village family.
We buy directly from tappers in the villages around Sinharaja, with no collectors or middlemen in between. More of the price stays where the work is done.
Direct sourcing
Fair, prompt payment straight to the families who tap and process the sap.
Village jobs
Tapping, boiling, sorting and packing create work close to home, for men and women.
A living craft
Steady demand gives young people a reason to learn a skill that is disappearing.
A standing forest
Kithul pays only while the palms and the forest around them stay standing.
Sri Lanka's last great lowland rainforest.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988, where more than 60% of the trees are found nowhere else on earth. Our kithul comes from the villages on its edge, never from inside the reserve.
Sinharaja and our villagesCeylon cinnamon, spices and tea.
Ceylon cinnamon
True cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), native to Sri Lanka. Quills from Alba to H-grade, quillings, chips and powder.
Pepper, cloves & nutmeg
Grown in the mixed home gardens of the wet zone, often in the shade of the same trees as kithul.
Low-grown Ceylon tea
Dark, full-bodied teas from the hills around Sinharaja, and blends with our own cinnamon.
From Colombo to your door.
Europe & UK
Specialty importers, health-food and fine-food retail
North America
Natural-sweetener brands and South Asian grocers
Middle East
Distributors and Sri Lankan community retail
East Asia
Japan, Korea and specialty ingredient buyers
Australia & NZ
Wholefood retail and diaspora grocers
Anywhere else
Ask us. If there's a port, we can usually get there.
- Incoterms
- EXW · FOB Colombo · CFR · CIF · DAP
- Shipments
- Consolidated (LCL), 20 ft and 40 ft containers, air freight for samples
- Documents
- Certificate of origin, certificate of analysis, phytosanitary where required
- Correspondence
- English · replies within two working days
Ordering from Sri Lanka, made simple.
Short answers to what importers ask us most.
Can I get samples before ordering?
Yes. We send samples to trade buyers, usually by courier. Tick "send samples" on the enquiry form and tell us your delivery address.
What is your minimum order?
It depends on the product and pack format. Bulk orders can start below a full container; private-label runs need a minimum per design. We confirm MOQs in every quotation.
How do I know the kithul is genuine?
We buy directly from tappers we know, trace every batch to a village and family, and check each one for cane-sugar adulteration. A certificate of analysis comes with every lot.
Can you pack under our brand?
Yes. We offer private-label packing for kithul products and spices, and can help adapt label content for your market.
Bring genuine Sinharaja kithul to your market.
Tell us the product, pack format, volume and destination. We'll reply with a specification, availability and a quotation. Samples can be arranged for qualified buyers.