A dimension within Biodiversity & Forest Health
Centers on the traditional livelihoods and rights of tribal communities connected to forest resources.
150 voices speak to this
Positive
Overall Community Sentiment
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.
Drawing strength from ancient customs and the jungle's bounty, our community thrives by living independently and preserving traditional foodways for future generations.
In remote mountain forests, a community navigates daily life, preserving ancient crops and adapting cultural traditions amidst evolving times.
We are tribals who worship nature, depending on its plants for our health and sustenance, while maintaining traditional farming with zero irrigation.
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.
We tribal people bring herbs from the forest and treat ailments, which is very important for health.
— Ram Maravi · Dindori, Madhya Pradesh
We tribals cut down forests to build our homes and live in the forest itself. From the forest, we get roots, flowers, and delicious fruits, and we sustain our lives from them, and we also do farming.
— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
We tribal people bring herbs from the forest to treat many diseases, for the well-being of people.
— Ram Maravi · Dindori, Madhya Pradesh
Living in the forest and enduring hardships, whether it is building a home to use herbs for treating illnesses, or making a living by eating fruits and flowers, or for this.
— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Due to living in forests
— Sunita Kumari · Ghorawal, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
My name is Rina Kuonro. We are the tribal indigenous people. We produce food and collect from the forest, and we express our desire to live with the forest or with nature. This is a humble request to the government for us, and please pay attention to the forest-derived food that we can obtain.
— RITARANI PRADHAN · Raikia, Kandhamal, Odisha
By living in the forest
— अमर जीत · Ormaura, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
From living in the forest
— अमर जीत · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
We get treatment from the forest.
— Devisingh Solanki · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh
The heritage of the tribals was the forest.
— Amar Lal Dhurwey · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
We are tribals, we are nature worshippers. We always depend on trees and plants to live. We sustain our livelihood by eating its tubers, fruits, and roots.
— PRADEEP KUMAR KANHAR · Boudh, Odisha
We Adivasi communities are communities that depend on nature, collect roots and tubers from the forests, and use them as food, which is very nutritious and also serves as medicine.
— Ram Kumari
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
We get various types of fruits and roots from the forest.
— Laba Kumar sabar · Bada Baridi, Rayagada, Odisha
Our community lives by building homes in the forests, hunting wild animals, and sustaining themselves by eating tamarind, mango, guava, and other produce found in the forest. Thus, they belong to a different way of life.
— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Due to living in forest and hilly areas
— Sunita Kumari · Ghorawal, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
For our existence, forests, trees, and plants are essential.
— Sunita Kumari · Ghorawal, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Residents in the forest bushes have a business of various medicinal plants, and they benefit from it for food.
— Devisingh Solanki · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh
The Makadia tribe's life and livelihood depend on the forest. They live by gathering and selling fruits, flowers, roots, medicinal herbs, and mushrooms from the forest as food. They respect whatever their elders say. When food in one forest runs out, they move to another forest.
— Anirudha Marai
We tribals are completely different from other castes; our ancestors used to live in forests and sustained themselves by eating fruits, flowers, etc., from the forest.
— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
We get various greens and various fruits from the forest.
— Laba Kumar sabar · Bada Baridi, Rayagada, Odisha
Tribal people generally live in forests, live in hills, eat forest products, so they lead a different life from ordinary people.
— Kunakanta Behera · Dashapalla, Nayagarh, Odisha
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
Our diet. We are in a jungle area. The jungle's herbs and some of its air. Now, due to its influence, our diet is different. We remain healthy for this reason because we rely on herbs; when we wake up in the morning, it's the herbs...
— ANIL KUMAR · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Tribal people often live in forests and eat many things that we don't know.
— Chanda
My tribal people, living in the forest far from the city and making food from forest produce.
— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Herbs of the forest
— Vinita Singh Yadav · Dharura, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Tribal people used to build homes after cutting down forests and used herbs, fruits, and food from the forest. And they used to drink Chuwada water. That's why tribal people are different.
— Chanda
We really enjoy staying among the lush green trees and plants in the forest. We get pure air from those trees and plants, and by living in the forest, we get many types of medicinal herbs.
— Kamleah Kumar · Dalla, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
My name is Maneni Pradhan, from Raikakonda Malu. We, the indigenous original inhabitants, produce food from the forest and want to live with nature. We are expressing this desire. We are humbly requesting the government that all these efforts be made for us.
— RITARANI PRADHAN · Raikia, Kandhamal, Odisha
Seeds, forests, insects, and plants are very important for our well-being; only then can we remain well.
— Sunita Kumari · Ghorawal, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
We live in these forests, originating from our ancestral settlements.
— Kachala Choudhary
We can use muIdim found in the forest as traditional medicine.
— Anupama Mahanand · Sundargarh, Odisha
Our forests and traditional environment, and whatever forest products are obtained from them, whether it's seeds, saplings, or the peace of the forest – everything received from this kind of forest is from the forest.
— Mishra · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha
They go into the jungle, build houses and huts, hunt birds and wild animals for their food and survival, and they eat fruits and flowers.
— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
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
Water, forest, land are our existence, from which we are living.
— Ram Maravi · Dindori, Madhya Pradesh
The factors that define our tribe are mostly living around the forest, along with our dress and traditional attire.
— Sunil oraon · Ranchi, Jharkhand
From the forest, we also get many things as vegetables, such as
— Kekti Tekam
We, the tribal people, worship nature. We worship trees and plants. We are always with nature.
— PRADEEP KUMAR KANHAR · Boudh, Odisha
