JHARKHAND: Gloria from Thetaigangar block of Jharkhand’s Simdega district used to waste her time sitting idle before joining the Mahila Utpadak Samooh, a women’s cooperative involved in collection and selling of forest produce, especially medicinal plants and herbs.
Now, this gives her an additional earning of over Rs 4,000 every month. More than 12,500 rural women like Gloria are benefitting from the training programme of Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS) under Medicinal Plant Project of the Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana.
Under the project, women living in and around forests are trained in collection and processing of Kusum, Karanj, tamarind and other forest produce. They are also being provided market linkage through Palash Mart spread across the state. With this government initiative, tribal women are earning over Rs 4,000 every month. Moreover, about 300 farmers are also earning up to Rs 5,000 by working with rural service centres.
“Due to lack of knowledge about the importance of Kusum, Karanj, Imli, Harra, Behra and several other forest produce, these things used to get decomposed and wasted after dropping from the trees. When I joined the producers’ group, I started collecting these forest produce scientifically and processing and selling them,” said Gloria. Earlier, even if they collected these things from the jungles, middlemen forced them to sell to them at throwaway prices, she added.
Another woman associated with the group said middlemen have been completely removed from the supply chain. “After collecting these items, they are sold to the Gramin Seva Kendra in the village itself where they are processed and packaged properly before being supplied to the Palash Mart stores,” said Sushma Tirkey, who got associated with the group in 2017. Now, she is an Ajivika Vanopaj Mitra and provides guidance to other women.
According to JSLPS officials, Kusum and Karanj are found in abundance in the forests of Simdega, Khunti, Latehar, Gumla and Hazaribagh districts. “Kusum oil is mainly used in hair care, cooking and as a natural moisturiser. Karanj has insecticidal and antiseptic properties and cures eczema, skin irritation, dandruff, etc.,” said Kumar Vikash, programme manager (communications) at JSLPS. Both Kusum and Karanj are also used in soap making, he added.
JSLPS chief executive officer Nancy Sahay claimed that all efforts are being made to ensure that forest dwellers get the right price. “This scheme aims to take care of the forest produce, right from its collection, diversification and branding. Products which fall under the category of non-timber forest produce like lac, honey, tulsi, kusum, karanj etc. are being promoted. Proper branding is being done through Palash Brand, launched recently by the state government,” she said.