Cassava feeds people around the world, and the starch of the nutty tuber, known as tapioca, is made into breads, desserts, and the celebrated pearls in bubble tea. But in the Himalayan region of Dzongu, in Sikkim, India, the Indigenous Lepcha tribe ferments tapioca into alcohol. “There are around 7,000 Lepchas living in Dzongu,” says Tempa Lepcha, a Lepcha language teacher and curator of the community’s fast-fading traditional practices. “The community has been practicing this art of fermenting and brewing tapioca alcohol for at least a few centuries, if not…
