There are opportunities galore for the tribal people of Amad village, located in the core area of the Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve in Gariaband district of Chhattisgarh, to make a quick buck during the mahua season. The wealth of individuals in the village is determined by the number of mahua trees they possess; the more trees one has, the richer they are. For instance, Dhaneshwar, who harvests around 20-25 quintals of mahua from his 60 trees, becomes a millionaire during this season.
This village, with about 240 families, has an average of 5-6 members per family. Some families have as many as 20 members. In the village, a large family means more hands for collecting mahua and more income.
Ganesh Ram Yadav, the head of the village’s forest resource management committee, states that 70-75 per cent of families have mahua trees. The village jurisdiction covers approximately 1,517 hectares of forest, where mahua trees are abundant. Those 20-25 per cent of families who do not have mahua trees become completely dependent on the forest during this season.
Yadav added that those who have more trees and are unable to gather the entire mahua, allow families who are deprived of mahua trees to collect it.
In this way, every family in the village collects at least five quintals of mahua in a season. According to Yadav, there is no limit to the maximum collection. A family of 15-20 members can easily collect up to 20 quintals of mahua from the forest and private trees, generating an income of about Rs 1 lakh.
Due to being a core area village, the plucking and sale of tendu leaves is restricted in Amaad, increasing the importance of mahua here. Yadav explained that no forest product can compete with mahua in terms of profitability. The livelihood of the entire village is completely centered around mahua during this season. He added that by selling the flowers, the tribals prepare for the kharif season while also managing their family expenses.
Karan Singh Nag, who lives in the village of Karaljhar near Amaad, said that hunger is non-existent in the household that has mahua trees. The flowers are useful as medicine, food, and liquor. He explained that during times of food scarcity, mahua was the go-to resource. However, the public distribution system has significantly reduced dependence on mahua. According to Nag, as mahua has declined in the diets of tribals, they have increasingly fallen sick due to various illnesses.