Fresh honey, three kinds of natural soaps, a chemical-free shampoo and organic spices... These are just a few among the products that Adivasis of Telangana have processed out of forest to occupy market shelves.
Compiled into a bouquet for sale, the products are now available at the outlets of Girijan Cooperative Corporation (GCC) that comes under Tribal Welfare Department (TWD).
The TWD is also planning to introduce processed foods made of millets. These foods that form a basket would be distributed to pregnant women through Anganwadi centres in the State.
In a first, the GCC has been selling 22 forest-based products for the past one week. The TWD started a project to commercialise forest produce two years ago even though the results started showing only in September this year.
“Under Giri brand, we were selling honey collected and processed by tribals. This year, we diversified the products and included cosmetic and edible elements to the bouquet,” N. Vijaykumar, deputy general manager of GCC told The Hindu .
As part of the commercialisation, three herbal soaps made of aloe vera, neem and honey were launched that were appreciated by the buyers, Mr. Vijaykumar said. An aloe vera-based shampoo has also drawn buyers’ interest, officials said.
Apart from the beauty products, the Giri brand has also started selling turmeric and chilli powder. “While we already sell these two spices collected from the tribals of Bhadrachalam and Nizamabad, we changed its packing to attract more buyers this year. The packets now look professionally competent and are being bought for household use,” Mr. Vijaykumar said.
Sales model developed
In Hyderabad, 135 dairy parlours managed by the Telangana Dairy Development Corporation would also sell the products of GCC, the officials informed. Also, in tribal welfare hostels, GCC products would be contributed to support Adivasi students.
“We have already established a sales network in the tribal welfare hostels and dairy development outlets. Larger networks will be established with the help of retail chains in different parts of the State,” Mr. Vijaykumar said. The department is also planning to invest in processed foods using millets, he added.
In addition to forest and farm produce, the department has also started selling sanitary napkins.
