Adivasi Women Train Youth on Forest Foods in India

The identification and consumption of wild foods has declined vastly among most populations, including the Adivasi populations that have knowledge about these foods, Their dependence on the market for most food stuff, including the foods supplied by the Public Distribution System, has left them vulnerable as well as unhealthy as most of these food are processed and/or refined, and with very narrow choices. This training intended to revive the knowledge still latent among the people - women and men in communities, increase the range of foods that are recognized as edible, discuss the reasons in their communities that lead to the decline in the consumption of such foods, and find ways to revive such traditions.

The essential purpose of the initial training was that of improving the basic and general understanding about wild foods and nursery techniques particularly among Adivasis and community resource people nearby the Adukkam Resource Centre - to initiate the forest foods field school project. The participants discussed seed collection and planting techniques, observation and identification of food plants through a forest walk, food gathering techniques and even some preparation and cooking techniques. 

The participants in the training were adivasi and rural people in the region belonging to Adukkam, Tamaraikulam, Panjamthangi odai, Genguvarpatti; some student-researchers were from Kanyakumari district; the resource people were from Kudhraiyar as well as from Genguvarpatti.  

A  feedback was that the tribals and school students can be given awareness on forest foods and its uses in order to make them into healthy citizens in future.  More field trainings on wild foods are expected in the future. 

We are pleased to share more about the initial training activity in our attached full report with photos. 

• Training_on_wild_foods_and_nursery_techniques__NTFPEP_v1.pdf (PDF)