A dimension within Forest Food & Rights
Exploring the rich traditions and food security derived from forest products and wild edibles.
149 voices speak to this
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Before, we used to eat saag roti, kurthi dal, urad dal, and mahua saag. Sometimes we would find amla and bael from the forest, and that's how we used to sustain our lives.
— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
We used to gather forest products like mahua, cook them, make cakes, and eat them in the forest. Even now, we will learn from our ancestors.
— Gitanjali Bhoi · Karamdihi, Sundargarh, Odisha
People will now bring and eat mahua char kendu found in the forests that they had lost in the past, preparing it as food.
— Priti Majhi
We are the people of earlier times who used to eat mahua from the forest, eat chakad shak, eat millet bread, eat corn bread. Now people eat good food, and because they eat good food, they catch so many diseases.
— Sunita Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
I remember we have been frying and eating Mahula, the food of the forest.
— Priti majhi
Yes, I remember we have been frying and eating mahua, the forest food.
— Priti majhi
People will now bring mahul char kendu found in the forests that they had lost in the past, prepare it as food, and eat it.
— Priti Majhi
Earlier, we used to eat gethi kanda, nekuwa kanda, sarai mahua lata, and all the mahua lata.
— Sunita Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
We used to eat sitha saga since ancient times. Even now we wish to eat sitha saga, and we will. The forest is being destroyed now.
— swornalata nayak · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha
We used to eat Mahua before, all kinds of Mahua, Rama Mahua. Because we ate all that, our body used to stay well. If you eat that, you too will stay well again.
— Laxmi Bagh · Sundargarh, Odisha
In our ST community, everything has changed for the people of this district. Before, we used to bring tamarind, mahua, and all kinds of forest products to eat and drink.
— Puspanjali Nag
Our people still want to eat the old food and forest products that were cooked, whether by forest dwellers or Mughals.
— Gitanjali Bhoi · Sundargarh, Odisha
In the olden days, our parents and we used to gather and eat a lot of Barada Saga (a type of leafy green) from the forest. But now, due to deforestation, we no longer find Barada Saga. We hope to eat Barada Saga again.
— swornalata nayak · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha
Yes, earlier, we used to eat various kinds of wild fruits and food from the forests. But now, nothing like that remains. The government some.
— Rakesh kumar Kumar
Earlier, a lot of edible items were found in the forests that could be eaten and added to midday meals, but now, due to damage to the forests, many things have become extinct.
— Kekti Tekam · Dindori, Madhya Pradesh
We get our nutritious diet from the forest, such as Mahua fruit Doli oil in the form of fat, Kodo, Bhaddi, Kulthia, Mahua flowers, Jamun, Mahua kheer, Bhaji, etc.
— Surajsingh Parmar · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh
In the past, we used to eat mahua, and also made four laddus by frying mahua. We would also cook rice with gulgi and eat it. Now, if Anganwadi...
— Anjana Khadia · Sundargarh, Odisha
Earlier, we used to eat mahua from the sarai in the jungle and sustain our lives. No fertilizer was used at all. Our bodies also remained healthy. Everyone used to be strong and robust, and lived for a long time.
— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
We have found Mahua. In ancient times, people used to boil and eat Lukra Mahua, and they used to get vitamins. In this era, if Mahua is eaten, the body remains healthy.
— Gitanjali Bhoi · Sundargarh, Odisha
In ancient times, in previous eras, people collected nutritious foods like ragi, millet, etc., from the forest, ate them to stay healthy and strong, and lived for a long time. If farmers or tribal community people cultivate those essential crops of those ancient times again, it will guide them towards the development of their life's values in the future.
— Dillip pujari · Phiringia, Kandhamal, Odisha
In ancient times, people used to boil and eat Mahua, but it is not seen much nowadays. If people still boil and eat it, their bodies will remain healthy.
— Gitanjali Bhoi · Sundargarh, Odisha
We can bring the native Kakada found in our forest, cook it, and eat it.
— SINESH PELMAL · SKIP NO LOCATION
We used to boil mahua and eat its cooked flowers, and our health remained good. Even now, if we could prepare and eat it, we would be healthy.
— Gitanjali Bhoi
In the past, people used to boil and eat mahua from the village, which contained vitamins. Even now, if mahua is boiled and eaten, it will still be beneficial.
— Gitanjali Bhoi · Karamdihi, Sundargarh, Odisha
The edible items found in the forest are Kendu, Chaar, and Mahua, which
— Vijay Kumar bhardwaj · Kasdol, Baloda Bazar, Chhattisgarh
My name is Rashmita Pradhan. Just as our ancestors remained healthy by eating fruits and roots found in the forest, prepared without chemicals, we also wish to eat the same food now. We are from tribal-dominated areas. Our forest is our lifeline. Therefore, our ancient traditions should be restored, and our forest should not be destroyed. Thank you. Raika Kandhamal.
— RITARANI PRADHAN · Raikia, Kandhamal, Odisha
Currently, we are seeing that people are gradually obtaining the fruits, medicinal plants, greens, and nutritious food that were available in the forest.
— Ramadas Badanayak · Udulibeda, Malkangiri, Odisha
In ancient times, various types of forest products were available. And many rare fruits, that was very difficult, but now we also try.
— Padmalochan Majhi
We indigenous people used to eat roots and tubers from the forests and sustained ourselves with them. These also served as medicine, keeping our bodies healthy. Even today, we should use roots and tubers.
— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
We used to live in our nature with the forest, happily bringing forest produce. We would all eat and live together. You were climbing.
— sudhir gamanga · Gadiakhala, Ketalugurha, Rayagada
Our fathers and grandfathers were healthy and strong by eating plenty of nutritious food from the forest, such as Mahua, Tol, Bhadbhadiya Saag, Mamer Saag, Leper Saag, and Karadi.
— Paradeshi Mirdha · Sambalpur, Odisha
Mahua is a forest product. In the olden days, people used to boil and eat it. Even now, if boiled and eaten, it would be good, or if made into laddus and sold, it would sell.
— Gitanjali Bhoi · Sundargarh, Odisha
From the forest, we bring mahua and mahua seeds.
— Kekti Tekam
From the forest, we also get many things as vegetables, such as
— Kekti Tekam
Our tribe lives in the forest, far from villages and cities, and for food, they eat mahua, dori, koyna, this street, etcetera, kola.
— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
We get various types of fruits and roots from the forest.
— Laba Kumar sabar · Bada Baridi, Rayagada, Odisha
We all fill our stomachs by eating Mahua saag roti, which is our favorite food. Mahua is obtained from trees in the forests, and we also eat roti with bathua saag, which is our favorite food item and is very nutritious.
— Ram Kumari
We get various greens and various fruits from the forest.
— Laba Kumar sabar · Bada Baridi, Rayagada, Odisha
My name is Rukmini Pradhan. I wish that all the tubers, edible creepers, Amla, Baana (wild fruits/berries), and resin that we used to collect in the forest in ancient times, and by eating and drinking them, we used to live well. And currently, we were spending our lives eating food prepared without natural sustenance, without chemical fertilizers. Now we wish for all these things, and I am expressing my opinion about tubers/roots.
— RITARANI PRADHAN · Raikia, Kandhamal, Odisha
In the past, various types of forest products, fruits, and roots were available, but now it requires effort.
— Padmalochan Majhi · Ratachua, Rayagada, Odisha
AI-synthesised pieces woven from many community voices on this theme. They may contain errors or interpretation — they're a reflection of the stories, not a record of fact.
Remembering the wisdom of ancestors, we used to nourish ourselves with traditional staples like pakhaḷa, kañji, drumstick leaves, and small fish.
By cherishing and utilizing the traditional foods and herbs found in our forests and lands, we can sustain ourselves and combat malnutrition while preserving our natural heritage.
Drawing strength from ancient customs and the jungle's bounty, our community thrives by living independently and preserving traditional foodways for future generations.
Our ancestors lived long and healthy lives by cultivating traditional crops without chemicals and consuming nourishing forest roots, a practice many now wish to revive.
