Nigeria · Food / Tobacco / Drink Processing
Onye ngwo (raffia-palm tapper, Igbo); onye nkwu (oil-palm tapper, Igbo); the climbing rope belt is called akpaka; a Yoruba sap-collection container is called agbe; a specific fermented Igbo palm wine variant is called Nkwu Enu
The climbing, incision, and sap-collection craft producing palm wine from oil palm and raffia palm trees, practiced across southern and eastern Nigeria among the Yoruba, Igbo, Ijaw, and other ethnic groups. A skilled tapper climbs the palm — sometimes over 30 feet high — secured by a woven rope-and-belt system (akpaka), trims a flower stalk at the crown, and binds it so sap drips steadily into a fastened container; the fresh sap is sweet and non-alcoholic, transforming through natural fermentation over hours into the mildly alcoholic beverage. Peak production occurs during March-April and October-November, timed to optimal male-inflorescence blooming, with skilled tappers working several weeks of daily thin-slice re-tapping per tree before yield stops. Despite booming urban demand, the craft is documented as declining due to deforestation, palm-tree loss to competing land uses, and younger generations' preference for urban employment over the physically demanding, injury-risk trade.
Risk level: Vulnerable · Not independently inscribed
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