Through the UNEP-GEF tropical fruit tree project, Bioversity International and LifeTrust have been engaging in participatory gender-responsive research in the community of Kalagadde-Kanchigadde in the Western Ghats (India) to build on local knowledge for sustainable forest management and to increase their income from the fruits they gather. A documentary has recently been produced that shows the results of this research from the perspective of two women in the community.
Yenki Siddhi describes how it is mostly women that climb trees to gather wild fruits. Kokum (Garcinia indica), mangoes (Mangifera sp.), monkey jack (Artocarpus lakoocha), wild nutmeg (Myristica marabarica) and soap nut (Sapindus sp) are some of the species they collect from the forest. They normally dry and slice the fruit for the market.
Nagaveni Hegde describes how the project brought together men and women of different ages and ethnicities for social learning on sustainable harvesting and processing of wild fruits and to engage in collective action for value chain enhancement. The Matrabhoomi women’s self help group was formed for community members to work together in producing Kokum fruit juice for the market. Researchers brought community members to shops to observe how products are packaged and labelled and to do some investigation into the most attractive label styles and bottle sizes. The project also facilitated training on juice production from the fruit. In addition to the juice, the self-help group makes papaya and pinneaple jams, papads and chips.
Bringing together people of different backgrounds resulted in a rich knowledge exchange and built a sense of unity among the community. Some collectors realized that it is not a sustainable practice to cut the trees and that it is better to leave some fruits so that the population can regenerate. Narasimha Hegde (LifeTrust) recounts how a lot of information was gained by the participation of women from ethnic groups that would normally be overlooked. He believes the participatory gender-responsive approach taken in the project gives a richer and more complete picture of forest resources and reveals more options for their sustainable management.
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The full documentary (10 minutes) can be viewed on youtube (by this link). There is also a shorter version (5 minutes) that focuses on the livelihood contribution of the fruit trees and the value chain improvements (by this link).
The film was produced by Bioversity International researchers Marlène Elias, Maria Fernandez, Ewa Hermanowicz, Riina Jalonen, Hugo Lamers, Barbara Vinceti and the Project Coordinator from LifeTrust Narasimha Hegde. It was edited by Peio Madrid, who has also been involved in designing some changes to the NUS Community webpage.
The documentary will be shown this week in Brussels in a meeting entitled “The Role of Community Owned Solutions in Sustainable Environmental Management and Governance in the Global South”. It has also been submitted to the ‘2015 Films for the Forest’ competition and the World Forestry Congress 2015 that will take place in Durban, South Africa. It has already been shown at the COBRA Indigenous Participatory Film Festival “Community-owned Solutions for Social-Ecological Challenges” that took place in Guyana on 15 September 2014 with warm reception.
“I must say that your film generated much interest from the participants and they wanted more. ..Not only did the film address issues of food security and well-being, but also the male-female work dynamic that we encounter in life.” - Odacy Davis, Project manager, COBRA
Links to the Video
- Participatory research for social learning and conservation of forest fruit trees. (10 minutes)
- Climbing to Survive. (5 minutes)
Related Resources
- Press Release for the film on the Bioversity International Webpage
- A holistic approach to enhance the use of neglected and underutilized species: the case of Andean grains in Bolivia and Peru. Padulosi et al 2014
- Collective action and marketing of underutilized plant species: The case of minor millets in Kolli Hills. Gruère et al 2006.
- Promoting Value Chains of Neglected and Underutilized Species for Pro-Poor Growth and Biodiversity Conservation. Will 2008
- TFT Project Website