Chicle
Topic: Primary Activities: Gathering, Pastoralism, Agriculture and Mining · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Primary Activities"
Meaning
Chicle is the milky juice of the zapota (sapodilla) tree, which grows in the forests of Central America. People tap the trees and collect the juice. This makes chicle a product of commercial gathering, not of farming. It was the old base of chewing gum. Today most chewing gum uses a cheaper synthetic (factory-made) gum base. This shows why commercial gathering is shrinking.
Example
In the forests of Central America and the nearby Yucatán region of Mexico, workers have long cut zig-zag grooves into zapota trees. They then collect the chicle that drips out.