The district administration has offered to provide training for tribal people in making furniture from Lantana camara in Bargur hills to enable them to generate income and improve their livelihood.
L. Madhubalan, Additional Collector (Development) / Project Officer, District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), visited the Tamil Nadu Tribal People Association at Thamaraikarai in the hilltop where chairs, tables, racks and tree guards made from the invasive weed were kept.
V.P. Gunasekaran, State Committee Member of the association, said 20 tribal people were trained by Asoka Trust for Research into Ecology and the Environment from Male Mahadeshwara at Chamrajanagar in Karnataka two years ago.
He also said they were in the process of constructing a centre on the premises that could accommodate 40 to 50 people.
The association urged the governments and the Forest Department to support their activities financially. Mr. Gunasekaran said they were seeking funds for constructing the building that would be around ₹ 12 lakh. “We planned to complete the building works in three months,” he said.
The weed occupies thousands of acres of forest land preventing regeneration of native species.
Since the Forest Department has insufficient funds to clear the weeds, the association is planning to use the weed to make furniture.
