Sidheshwar Sardar
Chirugoda, Hari Tand Sabar Tola – 7th December 2020
A meeting was conducted with the Sabar villagers of Hari Tand Sabar Tola in Chirugoda village. The participants included 21 women and 13 men. A discussion on wild food was facilitated using books on wild food by from Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The villagers pointed out and identified several wild foods available in their forests that they consume.
There was also a discussion on setting up and strengthening kitchen gardens through the cultivation of a variety of different vegetable species. The meeting concluded with everyone coming together for a meal of Khichdi.
Galudih Tola and Lupung Goda Tola of Kodar Kochar village, Narada Panchayat – 14th December 2020
These two hamlets are home to 16 Sabar families and we met around 13 women, 17 men and 11 children. They shared the challenges they are facing with regards to water availability. They have two Jal Minars (water towers) provided by the government, but both towers have been out of operation for the last two months. The villagers depend on water from a Gaddha (pit) some distance from the village.
Despite this being their ancestaral land the Sabar are yet to receive Individual or Community Forest Rights titles. Only 5 families have ration cards and Aadhar cards. While toilet structures have been built, pans have not been provided and as a result they cannot be used. The promises of the government to provide a variety of facilities to Sabar villages continue to be largely on paper as reflected by the ground reality in Galudih and Lupung Goda. 5 families make and sell bamboo brooms while other families depend on wild food and forest resources for their survival.
Podsa Dhuma – 18th December 2020
Around 15 Sabar men and women participated in the meeting. A discussion on their principal sources of livelihood was facilitated. The villagers shared that they are dependent on the forests of the area and the sale of firewood is a major source of income. The Mahajan (traders) come to the village to purchase firewood and they don’t need to travel to the market to sell their firewood.
They also discussed the decline in the availability of wild food and also explored strategies to address this and protect and conserve their rich forest resources.
