Adivasi communities, especially women, have a deep connection with the commons, as they depend on these resources for sustenance and livelihood. Here are some interesting insights into the relationship.
Badsil, a 400-year-old settlement in Koraput district of Odisha, was founded by members of the Kondh tribal community who migrated from higher terrains. Adequate land, rich forests with edible wild foods and perennial water sources made Badsil suitable for settling down.
The hills, forests and water bodies were considered landmarks for the village boundary. Badsil village is delineated by Kajakada river to the east, Hatapanga hill to the west and Kangrapau pond to the south. Like Badsil, many villages in Koraput have stories of historical settlements and habitations linked to the abundance of the commons.
Commons is a term that is often used to denote common pool or property resources (CPRs) that are ‘accessible to’ and ‘collectively owned or held or managed’ by an ‘identifiable community’ and on which no individual has exclusive property rights. There are different kinds of commons.
Natural commons include forests, grazing lands, ponds and hills. Dance, festivals, village deity and the crematorium make up the cultural commons. Infrastructural commons include anganwadi centre, school, bus stop and the like.
Indigenous communities – mainly women – play a crucial role in managing and protecting the commons and possess the necessary knowledge and skills in conserving them. Women’s dependence on them puts them at the forefront of governance and sustainability. Their participation and decision-making in village committees are critical to managing them.
Given the inter-linkages between the commons and the lives of communities, especially adivasi women, there was a need to understand the symbiotic nature of this relationship from the perspective of communities and the threats to commons.
To understand the same, a study was led by 10 tribal women leaders from various blocks of Koraput district in Odisha using participatory observation and qualitative situation analysis.
It was supported by the Common Ground Initiative that catalyses collaboration on strengthening them for communities, and was facilitated by Asar Social Impact Advisors, a development consultancy, and Step Ahead, a non-profit organisation. It was led by Mihir Kumar Jena, a development professional, as part of a larger initiative to improve community-led governance of the commons, centred around women’s agency.
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Ten villages across 10 blocks of Koraput district were selected for the study. Koraput is the heartland of the tribal community and lies along the Eastern Ghats in the southern part of Odisha.
The adivasis, mainly belonging to the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category, make up over 50 percent of the population in the district. The major tribal groups here are Paroja and Kondh, followed by Bhottada, Gadaba and Bhumia.
The study threw open rich and diverse insights.
All the villages that were part of the study had a commonality – their habitations were founded by one or two families who migrated there in search of resources for survival. The main consideration of settling in a place was based on the abundance of common lands. The settlement histories of these communities could reveal the story of the commons in a village and can be used to assess the changes in their status and governance over the years.
There is a deep connection between the lifecycle of people and the commons, marked and celebrated through rituals. In Doliamba village, when a girl attains puberty, 21 kinds of flowers, red soil and fruits of three colours are collected from the commons to mark this important rite of passage. Similarly during a wedding in the village, forests become a critical source for materials like bamboo grass, leaf plates and date palm leaves used during the ceremony.
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The communities have developed traditions and norms that are intrinsic to the conservation of the natural, cultural and infrastructural commons. The Paika and Paraja tribes celebrate the Pus festival in December as they go into the forest to collect wild tubers and Siali leaves along with other non-forest timber produce (NFTP). They ensure that they leave behind a part of the tubers for regeneration.
The communities in the villages where the study was conducted have local names for the commons within their ecosystem and for the resources available there. An example is the Kankadabari Dangar, a hill located at one end of the Doliamba village, which is considered sacred and is conserved and where women gather NTFP. Another example is the Mahujhola (honey valley) named after the honeycombs located in the forest, which is regarded as a honey reserve for the community.
The community not only recognises the importance of the commons in their lives but also the increasing threat to them.
Privatisation, intensive agriculture, ecosystem degradation and climate change have adversely impacted the size, quantity and availability of the commons.
This has impacted the use of village commons for collection of different materials. The changes have reduced the supply of timber, fuel wood, bamboo and medicinal plants among many others, triggering a livelihood shift in some cases.
Traditional socio-political systems in villages protect and conserve commons as they are regarded as social, cultural and ecological resources. Traditional systems like village councils have become relatively weak in checking the extraction and degradation of commons due to the formal Panchayati Raj systems.
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But women-led formal community-based organisations like self-help groups (SHGs) are playing a crucial role in protecting the commons, as they recognise that the degradation impacts women the most in the community.
There is a deep inter-connection between the commons and tribal communities in Koraput district. It goes beyond livelihoods, health and food security of the community and is linked with their culture, traditions and beliefs.
The women in Koraput are the custodians of the commons. They are also at the frontlines of preserving the community’s rich culture and identity. This needs to be strengthened further to improve protection of the commons and the community’s resilience.
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The lead image at the top shows tribal women in Koraput district discussing the commons. (Photo by Step Ahead Odisha)
Neha Saigal is the Director – Gender and Climate Change at Asar Social Impact Advisors.
