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FOREST FOOD PROCESSING CENTRE

150 hectares of forest land around the village of Doyapada has been conserved for the past 8 years after undertaking theĀ  community forests right from the government spearheaded by VAYAM (a policy advising NGO in Jawhar). The forest has now started yielding excessive raw resources which can be sold off for sustenance of the community through this venture of a forest food processing centre.

The site is located in the village of Doyapada among the houses of this tribal community, surrounded immediately by rice fields and by the 150 hectares of protected forest. This centre houses activities like honey extraction and storage, patravali making from dried leaves, oil pressing and oil extraction from oil seeds, and runs completely off grid thanks to the installation of solar panels on the roof of the centre. This is also the source of electricity for the village.

All the labour needed for the construction has been provided by the villagers through sweat equity, all skills and crafts used in making the centre were local, accompanied by most materials which came from a 2 km radius. This helped the tribals build pride in their technology and resources. Many students volunteered for learning their local techniques of construction and thus a cross- culture rapport and sensitization of the urban and the rural was achieved.