Adivasi families living in northeastern Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district have employed a sustainable way of honey extraction that does not...
Adivasi families living in northeastern Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district have employed a sustainable way of honey extraction that does not harm the bees.
The families have been collecting honey from the surrounding dense forests for ages. But so far, their method involved the use of fire, which killed the honeybees. This in turn likely had a harmful impact on the local biodiversity since bees play important role in pollination. The quality of honey was also low and the families would not get fair remuneration because of this. With the new method, the quality of the honey remains intact and they get higher remuneration.
The district, which is close to the state border with Chhattisgarh, has been impacted by the Naxalite insurgency for years. Villages here have been trained in and adopted this new technique of honey extraction as a way of livelihood and self-reliance.
“Villagers see benefits in the new technique,” said Gopal Paliwal, who devised the sustainable honey extraction technique. “The most important part is they are getting fair remuneration. Many people from rural areas are being trained in this technique. We expect more people from tribal areas will get involved.”
The honey extraction kit is a mix of simple items and tools such as two...
