Twenty-three products made out of Lantana camara, an invasive species that threatens forest areas, by the tribal residents of Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) are ready for marketing.
The district administration, under the Tamil Nadu Vazhndu Kattuvom Project, trained 22 women and eight men at the centre in Hasanur run by Talavadi Adivasi Munnetra Sangam. Experts from Asoka Trust for Research into Ecology and the Environment, Bengaluru, and World Wildlife Fund trained the people to make furniture out of common lantana .
The weed is uprooted from forest areas and the sticks are bundled and boiled and the bark peeled off. The sticks are shaped to make dustbin, cloth box, basket, book shelf, sofa sets, round table, footwear stand, tea plate, flower basket and plate stands. The retail price of products range from ₹ 250 for a pen stand to ₹40,000 for a new model sofa set with chairs and center table.
G. Dhamodaran, District Executive Officer, TNVKP, said Hasanur Tribal Lantana Camara Enterprise Group was formed and the finished products would be marketed through Tribal Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (TRIFED), Aatral Erode – an exclusive retail outlet for self-help groups, showrooms run by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, and through private showrooms.
“During training, the tribal people were provided an incentive of ₹ 200 a day. After the products are sold, the money goes to the group and would be shared among its members”, he added.
At present, 50 more persons have been trained at Kanakarai hamlet in Germalam panchayat in the hill area . The administration is planning to train more persons in the coming days.
District Collector H. Krishnanunni said the invasive weed should be eliminated as it posed a grave threat to other trees in the forests. Thirty tribal people were imparted special handicrafts training and they have come out with 20-and-odd products that would be marketed. “Making lives better by making forests better” is the motto of this initiative, he said.
