The tribespeople of Chalakudy are trying out e-commerce to find better markets for their exclusive forest produce.
With the tribespeople resorting to e-trading, as many as 14 products including forest honey collected from the rain forests of Chalakudy, wild turmeric ( kasthoorimanjal ) and kallurvanchi, which is found on the rocky river banks in the interior rain forests of the Western Ghats, are expected to reach the doorsteps of customers across the world through a mouse click.
The e-commerce site, >www.vanasree.in , will sell all non-timber forest produce from the Chalakudy forest division under the brand name Vanasree. The products that will be available online include the medicinal plants like orila , Chinese salacia (ekanayakam), incha (Accacia intsia), satavari (Asparagus recemosus) and marotti (janglibadam).
The direct sale of forest produce avoiding middlemen will benefit the tribespeople, said Suneel Pamidi, Divisional Forest Officer, Chalakudy.
Last year, the Vana Samrakshana Samithis under the Forest Development Agency of Chalakudy earned Rs. 30 lakh through the sale of the produce collected by its members. Kallorvanchi, honey and eucalyptus were the major revenue earner for the tribespeople. The return from the trade will be proportionally divided among the various tribal hamlets of the Chalakudy division.
With the e-trade, rare forest produce with unique medicinal properties like karimkurinji (Strobilanthes Kunthianes), padakizhangu (Buckler-leaved moon-seed) and Indian gooseberry, bee wax, cheenikai (soap nut) and honey from stingless bees are expected to find new markets in the country and abroad, he said. While the tribespeople would be involved in the collection, processing, and packaging of the products, the online trading would be done by the Kerala Forest Department.
