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Trees Powering Vidarbha’s Economy Through Forest Wealth

Trees Powering Vidarbha’s Economy Through Forest Wealth
Trees Powering Vidarbha’s Economy Through Forest Wealth

The forested expanse of Vidarbha underpins the livelihoods of thousands.


Across this often dry rural region, villagers depend on trees not just for wood but for a range of products that provide cash when crops fail. In many villages, the green wealth of forests can offer a more reliable source of income than the monsoon rains.


In recent years, officials and activists have noted that sustainable management of these trees can sharply boost household earnings.


Gadchiroli district is nearly three-quarters forested, and it relies heavily on forest produce for income. Roughly 40% of Gadchiroli’s people are tribal and live in or near the woods, which shows how every tree becomes central to a family’s livelihood.


Forests as a Lifeline to Rural Livelihoods


For communities in Vidarbha’s villages, forests are an economic lifeline. Tribal and farming families regularly supplement crop incomes with forest produce.


According to studies, items like tendu leaves, mahua fruit, honey and bamboo account for up to 60% of a forest-dependent household’s income in central India.

In a region prone to drought and crop failures, trees offer a critical buffer. Research in Gadchiroli (where about 75% of the land is forest) confirms this: forest produce is often the main source of seasonal income for villagers.


Practical impacts have been dramatic. In pilot projects, villagers managed their forest rights and boosted yields.


An NGO organiser reported that efforts to expand tendu-leaf and mahua collection and even introduce fish farming in village ponds “have enhanced people’s income by almost 75-100%” in the project area. At the same time, protecting forest areas and deepening village tanks allowed irrigation on an extra 2,000 acres.


After these measures, each family was earning well over ₹1,00,000 per year. Such projects show that managing forests and water together can dramatically improve living standards in the tribal belt.


Much of Vidarbha’s economy comes from harvesting and selling forest goods. The most famous example is the tendu leaf, used to wrap bidis (hand-rolled cigarettes). Each spring, villagers trek into the woods to pluck glossy tendu leaves. The Maharashtra Forest Department then auctions these leaves in bulk to traders. The money flows back to the villages in the form of wages and bonuses.


For instance, in one recent year, the state budgeted roughly ₹25–30 crore to be paid out as bonuses to tendu collectors, covering about 1.85 lakh tribal households. In Gadchiroli alone, the tendu trade was so large that one year’s harvest brought in about ₹400 crore, roughly 70% of Maharashtra’s total revenue from tendu that year.


This single product can thus inject enormous cash into remote communities, often matching or exceeding what families make from farming in a good season.


Many villagers say the extra money is typically spent on essentials such as food, clothing, and children’s education, illustrating how forest harvesting sustains basic living standards.


Bamboo is another key forest resource. Once subject to strict regulation, bamboo is now widely planted because it grows fast and has many uses.


Mature bamboo poles can be sold for construction, furniture or craft goods, and the paper and pulp industries also buy the rest.

Experts say bamboo plantations could reshape farming here. One agroforestry specialist noted that bamboo farming has “immense potential to transform the agricultural landscape of Vidarbha, offering farmers a sustainable and profitable alternative.” However, expanding bamboo farming requires labour training and market support.


The plant retains 70–80% moisture in early growth, so it must be harvested on time to avoid spoilage. A local bamboo entrepreneur noted that current harvesting costs (about ₹2,000 per tonne) are too high.


They must come down to around ₹1,200 per tonne to make small-scale bamboo growing viable. Reducing these costs and providing proper training would allow farmers to capitalise on bamboo’s promise. When managed well, bamboo can yield multiple years of poles from the same stand, giving farmers a recurring income from a relatively small land commitment.


Beyond tendu and bamboo, many minor forest products keep local economies running. Each spring, families collect mahua flowers from wild trees.

The fragrant blossoms are sold to make liquor, sweets or cooking oil. Tribals also gather wild honey, lac resin (used in polish and dyes), and medicinal herbs. Some villages now add value by processing these goods locally, pressing fruit pulp into juices, bottling honey under a brand, or making herbal medicines.


These activities often happen where little other employment exists, so every extra rupee from the woods can matter. In short, Vidarbha’s forests offer a portfolio of natural goods that villagers rely on, year after year.


Community Rights and Conservation


A key reason trees drive the local economy is how people manage them. In recent years, many village councils (Gram Sabhas) in Vidarbha have won legal rights to govern their forests and forest produce.


This shift has put decision-making in local hands. In a landmark case in 2013, a federation of twelve villages in Gadchiroli combined and sold their entire tendu leaf harvest together, the first such community-led sale in India.


By pooling their harvest and bargaining collectively, these communities secured a much larger share of the profits than any single village could alone. The success was widely reported and inspired other villages to form similar cooperatives.

Government and NGO programmes also support this system. In Gadchiroli and nearby tribal districts, a state-owned mining company has funded a livelihood programme centred on forest products.


Maharashtra’s Chief Minister praised the initiative for building “a sustainable ecosystem where agriculture, forest produce, rural entrepreneurship and infrastructure converge” to raise incomes.


Similar projects are being set up in other districts such as Nagpur and Bhandara. They provide training and seed funding to establish forest-product businesses. For example, many groups are learning to dry and package forest goods, turning raw mahua flowers into syrup, bamboo into splints for crafts, or honey into labelled jars, in order to sell these items at higher prices outside the villages.


These steps aim to ensure that families capture more value locally, rather than only selling raw materials. In essence, the ecosystem of support links the villagers to broader markets, turning everyday forest items into sustainable livelihoods.


Protecting the forest itself has economic logic, too. Villagers and organisations have helped enforce bans on open grazing and set up fire patrols, aware that frequent fires or over-cutting would destroy the very source of their income.


These conservation efforts have yielded results. One forest expert noted that strict protection and fire control led to hundreds of young trees per hectare sprouting, restoring tree cover. A denser, healthier forest means a steadier supply of leaves, flowers and shoots in future harvests.


As one forester put it, a healthy forest is like a savings account that pays interest. By protecting the woods now, communities safeguard the incomes of tomorrow.

In this way, safeguarding the forest becomes a direct way to protect the livelihoods it supports.


For many families in Vidarbha, the forest is not just part of the scenery but a community savings account. Every season, the harvest of leaves, shoots or flowers can make the difference between paying the bills or slipping into debt.


The experiences to date suggest that when forests are managed by local people and backed by fair policies, both the trees and the economy can thrive together.


In that sense, Vidarbha offers a vision of rural development where nature itself becomes an engine of growth. So long as these forests flourish and people can draw from them, the local economy will continue to grow right alongside the trees.


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The NewsDirt is a trusted source for authentic, ground-level journalism, highlighting the daily struggles, public issues, history, and local stories from Vidarbha’s cities, towns, and villages. Committed to amplifying voices often ignored by mainstream media, we bring you reliable, factual, and impactful reporting from Vidarbha’s grassroots.

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