Snake catchers to farmers: How tribals transformed in Tamil Nadu

Last year villagers of the Irula tribe made profit of Rs 3.5 lakh after paying for all expenses incurred for taking the cashew unit on lease and cultivation

Till a couple of years ago, 47-year-old Dharmadurai and others in Koovagam tribal village in Ariyalur district used to catch snakes from habitation areas and release them into forests, besides working as casual labourers in agricultural fields and cashew plantations near their hamlet.

But today, Dharmadurai is among 100 people from the village who call themselves as proud farmers after they convinced government authorities to allot a cashew plantation unit to them by providing a seed amount of Rs 5 lakh without any interest.

In November last year, the villagers who belong to the Irula tribe made “cool profits” of Rs 3.5 lakh after paying for all expenses incurred for taking the cashew unit on lease and cultivation. The 100 people who belong to 80 families shared the profits among themselves.

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Buoyed by the success of the model which has empowered people from the Irular community, the district administration has now pitched to help another 810 people from 537 families in nine villages to take as many cashew blocks on lease in the district. Dharmadurai’s village has also been allotted the same cashew block after it gave them rich dividends in 2022.

These blocks are owned by Tamil Nadu Forest Plantation Corporation Limited (TAFCORN), a PSU of the state Forest Department, which walked the extra mile to take the 10 units off the open tender and allot them to the villagers. TAFCORN has allotted Rs 86.13 lakhs for the villagers to carry out the cashew plantation.

“We never expected that we would cultivate cashews in the same farm where we worked as labourers long ago. We approached government authorities to allot us one unit. When we were successful in just about a year, we asked for the inclusion of others from our community into the scheme to empower them as well,” Dharmadurai told DH over the phone.

Dharmadurai, who now heads the Irular Tribe Development Group an organisation that was founded to bring together 617 families consisting of 890 members from 10 tribal villages in Ariyalur, said the cashew farms have given a new lease of life to them.

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“Since cashew farming takes just about six months, we carry on with our regular work as labourers as well. The income from cashew farming has improved our economic condition significantly. Like us, the remaining nine villagers will also share the profits among themselves,” Dharmadurai said.

Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary (Environment and Forests), told DH that the villagers are now collecting the cashews from the fruits, drying the cashew nuts, and selling them to private business people. The cashew block allotted to Mudu Kulam village has a maximum of 123 members, while Kodukur Idayakurichi has 60 members, which is the least.

“The cashew units are generally allotted to people by open tender. But the Irula tribal people were not able to participate in the open tender. We then relaxed our rules and allotted units to them,” Sahu added.