NELLORE: The Van Dhan Scheme, implemented by the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation (TRIFED), has not just helped tribals earn a living, but has also turned them into entrepreneurs. Under the initiative, the tribals form self-help groups, collect minor forest produce (MFP) and sell it. Further, they also undergo training to add value to the forest produce to enhance their income and create jobs.
Elaborating on the scheme, ITDA (Yanadis) project officer Dr Rani Manda said, “Van Dhan is an initiative targeting livelihood generation for tribals by harnessing the wealth of forest. The programme aims to tap into traditional knowledge and skill sets of tribals through technology to upgrade it at each stage and convert tribal wisdom into a viable economic activity. Accordingly, one Vandhan Vikas Yojana Kendra (VDVK) has been established at Rapur mandal. This VDVK consists of 15 self-help groups (SHG) with 15-20 members each.”
Nearly 275 members of the SHGs in Nellore reside close to Veligonda forest. On an average each of these tribesmen used to make Rs 250 per day by selling the forest produce.Van Dhan Scheme has helped enhance their revenue by over 60% as they earn at least Rs 400 per day.
Formed in 2022, the VDVK members collect Indian gooseberry (Amla) and soap nuts from Veligonda forest. They collect 20 tonnes of Indian gooseberry from January to March every year. One kg of the berries is sold to traders for Rs 30. The profit is then divided among the members after selling the produce.Further, the collected forest produce is also processed and branded. For instance, the tribals prepare candies with gooseberries.
Around 30 trained members of the group are involved in manufacturing the candies. One kg of the candy rakes in Rs 500 in the open market.“Majority of the tribal families in Rapur mandal have been making a living through Van Dhan Yojana. Officials of the Integrated Tribal Development programme (ITDA), District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) and Girijan Cooperative Corporation have been training tribals in processing and branding forest produce,” said Gali Srinivasulu, secretary of the SHG.
Similarly, tribals also collect ‘maredu’ (Indian bael) roots, used for making Sharbat (sweet syrup to make a beverage). They gather nearly 13-15 tonnes of maredu roots from the forest.Price of one kg maredu root is around Rs 400 in the open market.Around 30 members of the group, including Gali Venkateswarlu, Gali Srinivasulu, V Subbaiah, Y Jayaramaiah, Narayana, N Siva and others, have been trained in making Sharbat.
They manufacture the syrup from January to June every year and sell one litre for Rs 160 to the traders.
“The government has also released Rs 6.95 lakh towards training the VDVK members for adding value to the MFP. We have trained 90 SHG members of VDVK on value addition of MFP and also conducted second spell training to the remaining 186 SHG members,” Rani Manda explained. Further, the group is also planning to sell their products under the ‘Penchalakona Natural Food Products’ brand.
Tapping into tribals’ wisdom
Launched to generate targeting livelihood for tribals by harnessing forest’s wealth, Van Dhan aims to tap into tribals’ traditional knowledge & skill sets to convert their wisdom into a viable economic activity