I still remember the scorching summers of 2019 in Brahmapuri, Maharastara. Clay huts in the village were such a calming refuge in spite of the heat. Shri Vilash Kusram from Ekara village invited me for a brief meeting, as I was working as a sociologist in the Nagzira Navegaon Tiger Corridor and had established good bond with the locals. We had already been campaigning about installation of an improved cook stove (ICS) design that promised zero smoke and reduced heat. With temperatures rising outside these mud huts, it was an attractive alternative for the locals.

Ms Diya Mirza checking the ICS in rural homes in Vidarbha_NNTR_Mahendra Bhojram Raut

As soon I had entered Vilashji’s home, I was greeted with smiles. I had been called in to share my views on the ICS installation. After an hour long discussion with a heartening meal of rice lentils and the mandatory squash (made from Ambadi), I wanted a family photo for my reports. However, I didn’t know that this would become the first ever photograph of the Kusram family, all members in a single frame! It was a special moment for all and I ensured to send him a print of the same later.

A change of heart!

During our initial years of intervention, a decade ago, the situation was starkly different. As an organization working for wildlife conservation, villagers thought we did not prioritize their needs, as there were high instances of human-wildlife conflict for tigers. During the Halda tiger case in 2017, a few months since the project started, enforcement agencies had applied section 144 of the criminal procedure code, to control the local mob. This was the only way, the staff of the forest department and related organizations were able to carry on with their job.

Banner ICS Bhuj_NNTR_Mahendra Bhojram Raut

It was necessary, to find a way into the hearts of the locals and understand their needs. Wildlife conservation cannot be successful without the support of these fringe villagers. Among the several interventions to reduce the incidence of human-wildlife conflict, the introduction of ICS played a critical role. The new design of cook stoves reduced the fuel wood usage by 50%, as a result local spent less time in the forest. Apart from this direct benefit, the design also ensured that the kitchens became smokeless. In a survey done earlier, we found high instances of lung related health concerns amongst locals, especially women, resulting from inhaling the smoke from combustion. Today, almost every household in Ekara village (our flagship site for ICS installations) has smokeless kitchens. Lastly, smokeless kitchens also meant cooler home and this was the reason why I was called in by Vilashji, that afternoon!

Having built the trust with locals, we regularly sit in consultative meetings to discuss grievances regarding crop raiding by wild animals and we are happy to help them and are orienting them with the online form procedure for them to get the compensation. People, who had closed doors on our faces a few years earlier, are now helping us and the forest department in handling human wildlife conflict cases.

Transformed kitchens and transformed lives

Post the kharif (winter crop) sowing season i.e. month of August onwards, people usually begin extracting and storing fuel wood in their homes throughout winter and summer, until the beginning of monsoon. The collected stock of fuel wood would then be used during the rainy season until the end of the first cropping season, when stocking would restart.

The stock also serves as a community reserve during village weddings and cremations, by those unable to collect and store wood in sufficient quantities. To reduce their dependence and anthropogenic pressure on nearby forests, Wildlife Trust of India’s Central India Tiger Corridor Project supported selected corridor villages by providing alternative, energy efficient sources for cooking and heating in the form of improved cook stoves (ICS) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

ICS Training in Brahmapuri village_NNTR_Mahendra Bhojram Raut

A total of 6239 ICSs were installed and monitored from 2011 to 2020 in NNTR & TATR landscape villages, benefitting 38 villages. Further, a total of 27 Households of 2 villages in NNTR were benefitted from LPG connection and periodically monitored during the project period.

ICS Manufacture and Maintenance Trainings

Over the years, our team has organized several training sessions to equip ICS beneficiaries with the working knowledge of the setup and its maintenance. One member from each family among 1025 households in the landscape was further trained for ICS manufacture and maintenance in 7 villages of Bramhapuri. The objective was to ensure self-sufficiency of SHGs by utilizing a percentage of additional income via sale of products in undertaking repairs & replacements of ICS. Villagers not just benefitted from the new design but they were also taught the production process. Consequently, all installations are locally made, wherein individual villagers profited from the sale of the cookstoves.

The current status of ICS

In the year 2019 (January – December), monitoring of ICS status was conducted to evaluate the physical condition of the cook stoves, covering 38 villages. The results showed that 56% of beneficiaries preferred the usage of ICS and LPG, as compared to 28% who still prioritized traditional cook stoves. The demonstration of ICS usage was also organized in several villages during awareness programs, and a total of 1052 ICS replacements were completed in 22 corridor villages.

We have further organized several training sessions on sustainable fuel wood and NTFP collection methods in technical guidance with the Centre of Science for Villages, Wardha and Vigyan Sabha Kendra, Bhopal.

Conservation is for habitats and is achieved with the support of locals, helping them change their heart and attitude, while understanding their challenges. While a lot of work is still to be done in Brahmapuri, we are happy to have made a positive impact so far.

Written by Dr. Mahendra Bhojram Raut, sociologist, Central India Tiger Corridor Securement Project

Edited by Madhumay Mallik