Till a number of years back, 47-year-old Dharmadurai and others in Koovagam tribal town in Ariyalur district utilized to capture snakes from habitation locations and launch them into forests, besides working as casual labourers in farming fields and cashew plantations near their hamlet.
But today, Dharmadurai is amongst 100 individuals from the town who call themselves as happy farmers after they persuaded federal government authorities to set aside a cashew plantation system to them by supplying a seed quantity of Rs 5 lakh with no interest.
In November in 2015, the villagers who come from the Irula people made “cool profits” of Rs 3.5 lakh after spending for all expenditures sustained for taking the cashew system on lease and growing. The 100 individuals who come from 80 households shared the earnings amongst themselves.
Also Read | Tripura tribals pin hope on Tipra Motha ahead of surveys
Buoyed by the success of the design which has actually empowered individuals from the Irular neighborhood, the district administration has actually now pitched to help another 810 individuals from 537 households in 9 towns to take as numerous cashew obstructs on lease in the district. Dharmadurai’s town has actually likewise been set aside the very same cashew block after it provided abundant dividends in 2022.
These blocks are owned by Tamil Nadu Forest Plantation Corporation Limited (TAFCORN), a PSU of the state Forest Department, which strolled the additional mile to take the 10 systems off the open tender and allocate them to the villagers. TAFCORN has actually set aside Rs 86.13 lakhs for the villagers to perform the cashew plantation.
“We never expected that we would cultivate cashews in the same farm where we worked as labourers long ago. We approached government authorities to allot us one unit. When we were successful in just about a year, we asked for the inclusion of others from our community into the scheme to empower them as well,” Dharmadurai informed DH over the phone.
Dharmadurai, who now heads the Irular Tribe Development Group an organisation that was established to combine 617 households including 890 members from 10 tribal towns in Ariyalur, said the cashew farms have actually offered a brand-new lease of life to them.
Also Read | Govt requires to do more to safeguard rights of tribal ladies
“Since cashew farming takes just about six months, we carry on with our regular work as labourers as well. The income from cashew farming has improved our economic condition significantly. Like us, the remaining nine villagers will also share the profits among themselves,” Dharmadurai said.
Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary (Environment and Forests), informed DH that the villagers are now gathering the cashews from the fruits, drying the cashew nuts, and offering them to personal business individuals. The cashew block set aside to Mudu Kulam town has an optimum of 123 members, while Kodukur Idayakurichi has 60 members, which is the least.
“The cashew units are generally allotted to people by open tender. But the Irula tribal people were not able to participate in the open tender. We then relaxed our rules and allotted units to them,” Sahu included.
