Sondlagondi, May 28, 2015: On April 21, 2015, WTI team was invited for the wedding ceremony of Yadorao and Karuna Bhure’s daughter’s wedding in Sondlagondi village in Gondia district of Maharashtra. Since WTI has been working in the village on various eco-development and alternative livelihood activities for the last four years, the invitation didn’t come as a surprise. However, on reaching the venue, the team was pleasantly surprised to see how WTI’s activities in the village have become part of the age old tradition of marriage.
It is usual for villagers to give household items as gifts to the girls during the ceremony which are then put out on display for everyone to see. These gifts include utensils, cook stoves, among several other household items, that have been part of this ancient custom. What took the team by surprise was the presence of improved cook stove in the many items put on display.

Seema and Usha of Nagzira SHG with their gift (improved cook stove)

According to the tradition, giving a cook stove implies that from now on the bride would assume complete responsibility of her new home. Although the tradition of gifting cook stoves has taken a back seat to the newly improved LPG connections, but only for those who can afford an LPG.

“It was astonishing to see improved cook stoves developed by WTI becoming part of this very personal and cultural ceremony. This particular cook stove was given as gift to Karuna by two of the Nagzira SHG members — Seema and Usha Pisde of Sondlagondi,” said Anil Kumar Nair, Project Lead, Central India Tiger Conservation Project.

That wasn’t all; the team was in for yet another nice surprise. When the bridegroom and his friends and family arrived to the bride’s house, they were served Ambadi as a welcome drink. The drink is normally used in the rural households during summers to prevent heat strokes, but no one ever serves it as a welcome drink to guests in marriages. The groom’s entourage gleefully accepted the Ambadi and even appreciated this unique idea.

Groom’s friends and family being served ambadi at the wedding

WTI has also been working with SHGs and giving them training on alternate livelihood methods like making Mahua pickle, ambadi, and several such products.
Kalpana Bhure, mother of the bride, is also the member of the SHG group and has been making the ambadi drink during various fairs along with Mahua pickle and the improved cook stoves.

WTI along with its partners the Ecosystem Alliance, Japan Tiger and Elephant Fund (JTEF) and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has been working with the communities and State Forest Department for the conservation of the corridor between Nagzira and Nawegaon Tiger Reserves in the state. WTI started its intervention in the conservation of the corridor in 2011 after the corridor occupancy survey was completed on the presence of wild animals. The survey revealed that the dependence of communities on the corridor forests for fuel wood and grazing, besides collection of minor forest products was posing a major threat to the long-term sustainability of the corridor.

The bride and her mother who is a member of SHG

WTI with its partners initiated “Working with Communities to Conserve Wildlife” programme under the Central India Tiger Conservation Project in Gondia district. Presently, the project is covering 13 villages out of 54 priority villages of three tehsils. Under the initiative, the first activity undertaken was providing Improved Cook Stoves (ICS) for each household, followed by promoting “Artificial Insemination” for breed improvement of the livestock. Sustainable harvesting of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and awareness programmes are also being carried out at regular intervals.