Sudipto, Fatik, Jiban and Binod Sabar
We had planned that we would set up 2 nurseries under the Using Diversity project but currently we have decided to set up 2 large nurseries and one smaller one. In April 2021 Using Diversity fellows Jiban Hansda and Binod Sabar carried out a community meeting in Mirgichami village to discuss the status of forests and the need to establish nurseries of local tree and plant species. The focus of the discussion was how the forests and trees of the area are depleting largely due to the fact that effective protection and conservation is not being carried out. The Sabar receive numerous benefits from their forests which include a variety of wild foods like fruits, leafy vegetables, and tubers. In view of the tremendous benefits received from forests and the variety of wild food and other trees and plants there is an urgent need to protect and promote trees and forests. The villagers supported the fellows to prepare a list of different forest trees species seeds to be collected along with when the fruits of the respective tree species would ripen and the seeds would be available.
The fellows visited different forests areas like the forests of Amjhorna Pahar for seed collection from where they collected Kenda (Tendu) and Piyal (Chironji) between the 20th and 22nd of April. Subsequently Sabar villagers supported the fellows to collect and source a variety of other tree and plant seeds which included Kurchi, Chihar, Baola, Haritaki, Kurol, Sajna, Bhela, Amaltash, Mechara, Behara, Krishnachura.
Nursery preparation work commenced on the 27th of April 2021 in Mirgichami village. Locally sourced material like bamboo, rope, nails, branches of the Sal tree, used tyres, were used to prepare the shed for the nursery. Sabar villagers of all ages came together to support the UD fellows in preparing the beds and sowing the seeds.
From the 10th of May onwards women SHG members come together at Gholhura Sabar Para village to carry out soil preparation, shed construction and sowing of seeds. Subsequently a third nursery was also established in Salidih village.
