Date: January 2019
Last Wilderness Foundation in association with the Forest Department, Kanha Tiger Reserve has initiated a Baiga livelihood project as an alternative source of livelihood that aims to work with the Baiga community members living in the buffer zone of Kanha Tiger Reserve. The Baiga women form an integral part of this project by making the traditional jewellery worn by the members as part of their culture, and this initiative aims to not only reduce the dependency of the community members on the forests and forest products, but to also help reduce the Human – Wildlife conflict by weaning the members away from the forest related activities like leaf collection (later sold as baskets or bowls) that tends to take up an entire day in the forest.
The Baiga livelihood initiative also aims at helping preserve the culture of the community by using their traditional skill sets. The payment is immediately made to the women as and when they hand over the finished products. As of now the project is being run in 4 village and boasts of a workforce of 40 women.
In order to further promote this initiative, Last Wilderness Foundation has partnered with Nature Works India (www.natureworksindia.com) as their online partner for a wider distribution & sale of these products. The products are also available at the 3 souvenir shops at Kanha.
To support this initiative, please log onto – www.natureworksindia.com to buy your own piece of Baiga jewellery.
Interested people (tour operators and people visiting Kanha) may also avail of a jewellery making workshop with the community members, wherein you can also interact with them. To organise a workshop, you can write to us at – conservation@thelastwilderness.org