Tasar Silk and Honey in the Mountains of Garhwal, India

by Appropriate Technology International

Partners:

Appropriate Technology International (ATI) EDA Rural Systems Kumaun University Community Enterprises

Success Stories

When villagers in Akash Kamini valley harvested their first ever tasar crop from oak leaves, it was like "seeing is believing." Villagers, particularly women, began to see a value addition to their time and efforts - which otherwise go unvalued and unaccounted - when they received the return for their produce. Beginning with a zero skill base a year before, today the project has developed basic or intermediate level skills in 24 families. Silkworm rearing provides work for both women and men. Promoting the concept of "tasar as a family enterprise" will hopefully result in a "family stake" towards the enterprise activities and sustainable harvest of oak leaves. Initially, the project started enterprise activity with one larger group, but now villagers have opted for smaller cohesive groups to undertake the activities. The villagers feel that producer organizations of a few like minded families will facilitate sustainable use of oak leaves and better distribution of tasks among themselves.

The bee box honey production system was demonstrated to the villagers, resulting in further demands for bee boxes by the villagers to be covered in installment payments. The group of sixteen trainees (five women and eleven men) after completion of their four month beekeeping course, spread the needed technical know-how for Apis cerana bees and awareness of flora conservation in and around the villages. Their knowledge was further upgraded with training sessions from outside bee experts.

Finally, under the guidance of senior botanists, the project is collecting biological information from the field and the community. Having observed the fact that the oak forest nearby is a source of food to silkworms, villagers are realizing the greater importance of oak trees, regeneration of oak seedlings and are observing the sprouting and maturity behavior of oak leaves. Villagers are becoming aware of (and debating) the problems associated with regeneration of Quercus semecarpifolia. This awareness will help promote a "community system" of conservation.

Challenges

This was the year of unexpected torrential rains which caused many hardships to the producers of honey as well as tasar cocoons. The much envisaged expansion of tasar and honey was constrained by limited supplies of parent tasar eggs and Apis cerana bee colonies. A viral disease affected the second rearing of silkworms, reducing anticipated production from 150,000 - 200,000 to only 44,000 cocoons. Further, since tasar and bee box systems are not traditional technologies, the local skill base is developing slowly. Developing in-house basic facilities like a cocoon preservation center, grainage for eggs, and a honey processing plant are also constrained by an inconsistent electricity supply. Perhaps the greatest challenge is procuring timely help from the government. Systematic appropriation of the rights of village based Van Panchayat institutions by the government is making the village communities less effective in regulating the free riders and law breakers.

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