Chhattisgarh: Brooms from Maoist-hit Abujhmad to clean Kejriwal’s Delhi

The collection and sale of these produce have been the source of income for tribal villagers inhabiting the region.

RAIPUR: In a boost to the livelihood of tribal gatherers of minor forest produce (MFP) inhabiting the Maoist-affected Abujhmad in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district, the womenfolk who live in the remote countryside and traditionally make brooms (Phool-Jhadu) gets bulk order for supplying to the national capital Delhi.

The forested terrain in Bastar is known for its rich presence of minor forest produce. The collection and sale of these produce have been the source of income for tribal villagers inhabiting the region. But for decades the Adivasis engaged in collecting MFP didn't get the fair and equitable deal on it — a fact the state government also acknowledges.

Despite the abundance of MFP in the region, the tribal population, especially the women, largely owing to the earlier indifferent attitude of the government agencies were left at the mercy of local weekly haat bazar. Realising the potential of the MFP, the Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce (Trading & Development) Co-operative Federation recently intervened to facilitate them for the marketing of the produces and their products.

The federation chose the self-help groups (SHG), engaged in the making of broom, and linked them to National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) in Delhi.  

“CM Bhupesh Baghel has instructed to ensure the forests including MFP should be the source of income for the local tribal inhabitants. Through NAFED a demand of 35 thousand brooms was received for Delhi at the price of Rs 11.90 lakh. The SHG were enthusiastic having earned Rs 5.79 lakh. The tribal women, who so far have made around 87,000 brooms, eagerly look forward to getting further marketing options that ensure favourable economic returns to these communities”, said Taran Prakash Sinha, Commissioner, Public Relations Department.

Chhattisgarh aims to strengthen the common haat bazars in tribal regions and enable better markets for varieties of MFP. “The state will facilitate value addition training and capacity building for MFP gatherers and improve their income level”, said Sinha, the government spokesperson.