Fight against Covid-19 gets shot in the arm as Katkaris supply giloy worth Rs 1.57 crore

A group of a few dedicated boys spearheaded by an able leader, with enabling support from government organizations, has done wonders in the Thane district of Maharashtra.

The grassroots tribal organization, Adivasi Ekatmik Sakajik Sanstha, to which the boys belong has been able to secure orders worth Rs. 1.57 crore for the medicinal plant giloy.

The orders include those from corporate bigwigs like Dabur, Baidyanath and Himalaya, among others.

Based in Shahapur in Thane, this organization of youth has been striving to solve problems of the tribal community in the area.

Giloy, for which they have received the big orders, is known as Guduchi in Ayurveda, and is used in medicines used to treat fevers such as viral fever and malaria as well as diabetes. It is used in extract form, powder form or cream.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for giloy has increased.

The boys’ journey started when Sunil Pawar, a 27-year-old youth from the Katkari community, along with his team of 10 -12 friends, started helping out the Katkari tribals at revenue offices in his native place.

Katkari is one of the 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups, as per the classification by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.

Sunil has since proved to be a champion entrepreneur. He now receives giloy from as many as 1,800 people.

The support received from TRIFED, under the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs, has been instrumental in enabling him to scale up his venture. Under assistance from TRIFED, Rs. 5 lakh was given to each of the six Van Dhan Kendras in the region.

Moreover, when Sunil needed working capital to execute orders from big companies, TRIFED chipped in with additional support of Rs. 25 lakh.

“We have six Kendras in Shahpur. Processing is going on in full swing in all of them. It is going on with perfect rhythm with all the team working in perfect sync. It is very heartening to see 1,800 tribal people earning their livelihood, that too during the lockdown. We have orders worth almost Rs. 1.5 crore and there will be even bigger order from Dabur.” Pawar was beaming with pride.

“Companies need raw material. And since they buy in bulk, companies get a lower price from us than from elsewhere. However, we have also started making powder of it and selling it at a higher price of 500 rupees a kilo. 10 times the cost of its raw form.” Sunil said.

While collecting giloy from the forest, Sunil and his team are also careful about sustaining the forests for the future as well. They have 5,000 saplings of giloy ready for plantation.

They plan to plant 2 lakh of them in the coming days. Shabari Adivasi Vitta Mahamandal under the Government of Maharashtra is another organization that has been working for tribal welfare.

“Soon, we will create a cluster of five Van Dhan Kendras with a federation to meet the rising demand. 40 more Kendras have been approved already. When they become operational, they will provide employment to 12,000 Katkaris (each Van Dhan Kendra supports 300 people)," says its Managing Director Nitin Patil.

Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana provides working capital for these SHGs. So they don’t have to sell their produce in distress, moreover, they can immediately pay tribals for the produce they have picked up, this greatly helps tribals in having a steady income, informs Patil.