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Seeds of hope: The story of Irula women and their empowerment -Marisha Karwa
-DNA

A nursery in a small Tamil Nadu town is enabling Irula women, once a forest-dwelling people, to gradually join the mainstream, reports Marisha Karwa

Where do you go when you have no place to call home? What do you do when your means of livelihood has been declared illegal? And how do you live a life that is alien to the ways and norms of what has been passed to you for generations?

The word 'nursery' may sound like an unlikely answer to the searing questions, but a nursery has been one of the biggest contributing factors that has helped women of the Irula tribe, once a forest-dwelling community, to find their bearings in a period of flux.

Coming to the aid of the Irula women were herpetologist Romulus Whitaker, popularly known as the 'snake man of India', and his then wife Zai who set up the Irula Tribe Women's Welfare Society (ITWWS) in 1986. The Irulas hold vast knowledge of forest resources, and the Whitakers wanted them to leverage these skills. By 1987, ITWWS had set up a nursery amid the 12-acre campus in Thandarai, 85km south of Chennai.

Today, the nursery and its activities have grown exponentially. ITWWS' four nurseries have over 180 different species of medicinal herbs, 80 species of trees and 650 types of seeds, making it the largest collection in south India, informs KK Rajendran, director, ITWWS. The nursery is also home to some rare and endangered species, such as Glorisa superba, used to prevent haemorrhaging, and Ocimum basilicum, used for ear aches and as a mouth freshner. "This huge compilation is only possible through the diligent work of the once-suppressed Irula communities," he says.

Building and replenishing the nursery's collection is an ongoing process. Members of Irula self-help groups from 102 villages collect seeds and herbs from forests, hillocks, agricultural land and lakes. "They never exhaust the environment's resources and collect the seeds with the complete understanding of the differing medicinal values the forest produce provides," explains Rajendran. "Individuals and self-help groups come every15 days. If one species of herb is running low in the nursery, they endeavour to refresh the stocks."

This belief in ensuring sustainability even manifests in the way the Irulas take care of their plants. This is why they use organic pest control such as neem leaf, nutchi leaf and ash to nurture and protect the herbs.

The nursery is a source of many activities. Under the guidance of traditional Irula vadyars (doctors), the nursery's plants, barks, seeds, flowers, etc are used to concoct varied herbal medicines, such as churans (powder mixtures) to treat osteoporosis, diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiac-related illnesses. The nursery's products are also used to make health and organic products such as anti-oxidants, herbal teas, skin care potions, shampoos, and body and hair oils.

Infant trees and plants are often introduced into nearby villages and Irula communities, which improves the local environment and provides food, shade and diversification for the village's surroundings. Visitors, research students and medical institutions too regularly purchase herbs and select species for research projects. "Essentially it is the base from which the Irula people can empower their communities and work to provide a healthy environment for their children to grow up in," says Rajendran.

Who are the Irulas?

For centuries, the Irulas, a scheduled tribe in Tamil Nadu, lived in harmony with the forests, feeding its flora and fauna. Dark, and small-boned, the Irulas are skilled hunters and are particularly adept at catching snakes and rats with their bare hands. Not only do their small and supple frames allow them to get inside bushy thickets, but their olfactory senses literally help them smell out reptiles from burrows. The Irulas were responsible for much of the snake-skin export trade from southern India before the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 came into force, banning trade in animals.

DNA, 14 December, 2014, http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report-seeds-of-hope-the
-story-of-irula-women-and-their-empowerment-2043783