A dimension within Wildlife & Forest Resources
Exploring the rich diversity of food and resources found within the forest.
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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.

In remote mountain forests, a community navigates daily life, preserving ancient crops and adapting cultural traditions amidst evolving times.

Drawing strength from ancient customs and the jungle's bounty, our community thrives by living independently and preserving traditional foodways for future generations.

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.

Faced with the loss of their natural forest, a community took action to plant a new one specifically for medicinal herbs.
We get various types of fruits and roots from the forest.
— Laba Kumar sabar · Bada Baridi, Rayagada, Odisha
We get various greens and various fruits from the forest.
— Laba Kumar sabar · Bada Baridi, Rayagada, Odisha
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 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 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 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
From the forest, we also get many things as vegetables, such as
— Kekti Tekam
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
Obtaining food by hunting wild animals in the forest, eating fruits and flowers, and growing grains.
— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
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
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 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 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
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
In the past, various types of forest products, fruits, and roots were available, but now it requires effort.
— Padmalochan Majhi · Ratachua, Rayagada, Odisha
From the forest, we get leafy vegetables, tubers, mushrooms, and fruits. All these kinds of things are available.
— Laba Kumar sabar · Bada Baridi, Rayagada, Odisha
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
Grains and other food items are included from the forest.
— Sunita Kumari
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 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
We are getting all kinds of seasonal produce from the forest.
— Laba Kumar sabar · Lamingi, Rayagada, Odisha
In earlier times, we used to get medicine from the forest.
— Amar Lal Dhurwey · Mandla, 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
In ancient times, we easily survived on the fruits and medicinal properties found in the forests. However, if we look at today's situation, humans need financial support...
— Upendra Kumar Mahananda
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
Grains, food, and foodstuffs are included from the forest.
— Sunita Kumari
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
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
Forest products such as Jharakunduru, Pitalu Konda, and various other types of edible forest produce are available. These also serve as food for animals and birds, and consuming them provides nourishment.
— Anirudha Marai
The things found in the forest are fruits and roots, such as Kendu, Char, Mahua, and Amla.
— Laxmi Bagh · Subdega, Sundargarh, Odisha
In the forest, along with other bushes, edible bushes also used to have more charoli and temri.
— Surajsingh Parmar · Alirajpur, Madhya 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
Tribal people often live in forests and eat many things that we don't know.
— Chanda
From the forest, we bring mahua and mahua seeds.
— Kekti Tekam
In earlier times, medicinal fruits were found in the forest, but now those things are becoming extinct day by day.
— Amar Lal Dhurwey · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
In ancient times, our Aamli, Kuri, Vati, and Mal, the wood visible in this forest used to be cut, and then crops were sown, and that was...
— Mohan AHARI · Dabaycha, Udaipur, Rajasthan
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
In our forests, various edible fruits and flowers like Chhode ki Bhanji, Patari, Peepar, Katto, Laheren, Kotwal, Bhanji, Fisdi, Gadsukhadi, Banspihari, and many others are found.
— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
In the forest, we find greens, wild tubers, mushrooms, fruits, and roots of all kinds in every season.
— Laba Kumar sabar · Bada Baridi, Rayagada, Odisha
The edible items found in the forest are Kendu, Chaar, and Mahua, which
— Vijay Kumar bhardwaj · Kasdol, Baloda Bazar, Chhattisgarh