Bandha Tola: Dependent on the forest for their day-to-day needs, women of Bandha Tola faced an uncertain future when their whole village, along with hundreds of other such Baiga tribal villages, was moved out of their traditional habitat in the jungles of this famous tiger reserve in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state.
But today they feel empowered and foresee a bright future for their forest-dependent tribe and cherish the fact that, despite being relocated, their culture and traditions are alive and flourishing. Their confidence stems from a small but powerful initiative to market the rare tribal jewellery, handmade by Baiga women, outside this tribal belt for the first time in history.
A brainchild of the Kanha Tiger Reserve’s administration and the Last Wilderness Foundation (LWF), this initiative is not only improving the lives of one of the poorest tribes of India and giving them confidence to compete with others, but it has also brought tribal jewellery into homes of people who have started appreciating the dying art.
“The response is outstanding as people love it and the demand has increased,” say the forest officials. Sunita Dhurve, a 25-year-old mother of one, says she had no idea that people from big cities would like their work. “It’s as if they liked our culture.”
“We (Baiga) make our own jewellery. It hardly takes a few hours to make these necklaces. If we work as labourers, it gets us Rs 100 for an entire day’s work, time and energy; beside there is no honour as those contractors and other people from big cities look down upon us. But to make necklaces is something we can do at home while doing other household chores,” Dhurve told IANS.
She makes necklaces and bracelets from the material provided by the Last Wilderness Foundation, which also collects the artefacts from her to sell them at souvenir shops and e-marketplaces.
Started in October 2017 with just one Baiga woman, the project has gained momentum over the last year and currently around 50 women from three different villages — all situated less than 10 km from the forest’s core area — make colourful bracelets and necklaces, earning their own livelihood.
Even as women feel empowered just by doing what they had always loved to do, a new sense of awakening is evident as they now think of future in terms of more wages for their craftsmanship and entrepreneurship.
For the foundation and the forest department, the initiative is aimed at preserving the Baiga culture and to reduce their dependence on the forests by empowering them and giving them confidence to start their own entrepreneurial ventures, says S.K. Khare, assistant director of Kanha Tiger Reserve. (IANS)
