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Under the UNDP's Medicinal Plant Conservation Project, Sawarna village in Nashik, Maharashtra, has learnt to produce and market products such as Nirgudi oil and Trifala churna. These traditional products have transformed the livelihoods of these Warli families
A three-hour drive through the hills of Maharashtra's Nashik district brings you to the tiny hamlet of Sawarna, nestled amidst lush green deciduous forests, 5-10 km from the Gujarat border. Sawarna lies in the Peith range area of the west Nashik forest division and is home to 97 families belonging to the Warli tribal community. This little community has lost and found its traditional knowledge of medicinal plants. In the last three years, they have learnt to produce and market Nirgudi oil, Trifala churna, Ayurvedic tea and Berry pickles. And these traditional products have transformed the livelihoods of these Warli families. Most of Sawarna's inhabitants are now members of the village's local management committee (LMC), formed in 2001 as part of the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) Medicinal Plant Conservation Project, implemented with assistance from the Rural Communes (RC) and the Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT), Bangalore, which has successfully implemented similar programmes in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka (see Saving medicinal plants and biodiversity for more information). Sawarna's local management committee comprises a range forest officer (RFO), an elected president from the community and other inhabitants of the village. Three women representatives are required on the committee. Chabbu Tai, sarpanch of the village, proudly announces that there are three active Women's Self-Help Groups (WSHGs) in Sawarna -- Ahilya, Alka and Vaishali. At workshops conducted in Narangi, Pune and Amboli, members of the WSHGs were taught how to use raw materials from the forests to make pickle, oil, herbal tea powder and bamboo products that suit contemporary markets. "Once the women realised the programme not only offered them financial independence but also built confidence and self-esteem, more women joined the SHG," says Chabbu Tai. The women's enthusiasm has prompted the UNDP to offer the local management committee Rs 10,000, which was handed over to a WSHG that used the money to produce simple medicinal products like nirgudi oil, trifala churna, ayurvedic tea and berry pickle. After selling these in Nashik, Borivli and Pune, through exhibitions and at sale-counters, the group earned a neat profit of Rs 23,740. Within a year, the WSHG was able to return the amount loaned from the LMC, along with Rs 2,000 as interest. On the evening we visit, the committee meeting begins with a round of discussions on the medicinal plant project. Devram, senior member of the LMC, updates the group on the activities of the various self-help groups and profits earned from the sale of medicinal products made by these groups. It is the women's self-help groups in Sawarna that took the initiative in the conservation effort. Chabbu Tai, leader of one of the SHGs, explains that when the project was conceptualised three years ago, the men were reluctant to learn about the importance of medicinal plants and their uses. "In the beginning, the women were not confident. After constantly telling them about the importance of keeping the environment healthy and explaining the benefits of using raw materials found in their own backyards, a few women came forward and were willing to venture out into neighbouring cities for proper training," says Chabbu Tai proudly. The success of the WSHGs inspired young people in the village to form their own self-help groups. Three groups -- Sanjeevani, Vanraj and Navjeevan -- were loaned Rs 9,000 by the WSHG to start their own production units. "Once the medicinal plants became popular and the work done by the WSHGs became recognised, the DRDA (district rural development authority) took notice and sanctioned a sum of Rs 3.5 lakh to construct a shed to house the machinery required to make, package and bottle various products. Earlier, all this was being done manually, which was time-consuming and less efficient," says ex-president of the LMC Patil Bhau, who is also Chabbu Tai's husband and an active supporter of WSHGs. Besides becoming economically stronger, this project has made the villagers realise the importance of conservation and biodiversity. The raw materials they gather are from the forest department permitted areas. The LMC has decided that nothing must be removed from the no-harvest zone areas. Forest officials encourage of shramdaan (voluntary labour) for the cultivation of medicinal plants on forestland. The villagers have stopped cutting down trees. "The forest here is rich in teak wood. Earlier, there were many instances of teak wood being smuggled across the border to Gujarat. Now the villagers form groups and patrol the forests. They also work as informers for the forest department and come in handy when there are forest fires," says Gite, a forester in Sawarna. Though women have, to a large extent, been the driving force behind the programme and its implementation, it is true that most of the beneficiaries seem to be men. Apart from women like Chabbu Tai or Kashi Tai, very few women actually know or are able to handle financial transactions. They are involved in making the products; the male LMC members mostly go out and sell them. But that's a minor setback, says Vijay Ajanikar, field coordinator of the Rural Communes Medicinal Plant Conservation Centre (RCMPCC), who has been working with the Warli community for the past three years. "Making the women come out of their homes and voice their opinions was the first hurdle we encountered. Today, they are confident enough to sit for the meetings. Our vision is to eventually encourage them to go out and sell the products they manufacture themselves. This will take some time as they need to grow out of their inhibitions." Every year, Sawarna's inhabitants face extreme water shortages during the summer months; they are excessively dependent on agriculture. Acute poverty leads to mass migration to Gujarat and Nashik in search of alternative livelihoods. Still, they are a resilient people, and optimistic. Says one senior member of the Warli tribe: "Our dream is for 100% employment generated in the village itself. We have all the raw materials at our doorstep. The need is for the people to realise the value of what nature has bestowed on us and utilise it, while making sure we don't overstep the boundaries." Contact: Medicinal Plant Conservation Centre
F-3, Radhakrisha Apartments
Second Floor, 425/84
Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth Colony
Mukundnagar, Pune 411037
Tel: 24266629/24270216
Email:
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--Durga Chandran InfoChange News & Features, July 2004
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