By the last week of February, everyone knew that this time the cooperatives’ fair would be on Adibasi Ground in the state capital Bhubaneswar. All members of Self Help Cooperatives (SHCs) from Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Nabrangpur, Ganjam, Puri, and Khurdha were preparing themselves to join the fair. The Cooperative Minister, Secretary, lecturers, professors and researchers were to join so they could getinvolved and provide direction to the cooperatives. The residents of Bhubaneswarwould enjoy the exhibition, purchase the materials and products prepared by cooperatives and contribute towards the sustainability and empowerment of cooperatives. SHC partners were considering how to inform policy makers of the lacuna whilethe fair organizers Adhikar,RCDC, Vasundhara, Pragati, CCD and 14 other like-minded organizations were taking great steps to make the cooperatives’ fair attractive.

Ultimately the day came on March 16th, 2011. Thousands of participants, representing many different districts,hadarrived and were waiting for the inauguration of the long-awaited fair. Inspirational slogans were posted around the grounds. Arrangements were made for an exhibition and sale of products prepared by cooperatives in 18 stalls.

The inauguration meeting started with the chairmanship of Muhammad Amin, President of Adhikar. The then State Agriculture Minister Dr. Damodar Rout, ex-Finance Minister Mr. Panchanan Kanungo, Prof. Haribandhu Panda, Muhammad Amin, SouriBandhu Kara, Patanjali Tripathy, and Prof. Haribandhu Pattnaik, among others,inspired the cooperative members and gave examples on honesty, transparency and accountability in the process of cooperative management.

On thesecond day, each participant came to the dais one after one and shared their objectives, activities, successes, challenges and plans for the future. Ms. Sasmita Mohanty, Managing Director of M/s. Anchalik Mahila Vikash Mahasangha (AMVS), selected by RCDC, stressed the importance of bank services in the tribal dominated areas. The success of SHCs in enablingfemale empowerment was described by Women’s Commissioner Jyoti Panigrahi. Pramila Swain of NAWO, Banki Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Mr. PravatTripathy anddeputy director of Agriculture Department Mr. Arun Kumar Rout, discussed about the linkages of cooperatives in agriculture.

At the end of the fair, all the partners of members attended appeared to be happy with how things went. This was reflected in their faces. They gained knowledge on cooperative management, problem solving tactics and other perspectives. They returned home with the dream of managing their SHC and reaching greater successes.

The SHCs did not remain silent after going home. They had contact with other members and partners of their respective cooperatives and initiated discussions to carry forward the learning achieved at the cooperatives’ fair. Many have decided to expand their small enterprises and accept more memberships in order to extend the benefits to more members of the villages, particularly women.

Many types of animals and plants are now in endangered, and some are already extinct. The forest has become sucha victim and produce from forests has decreased significantly. So many invaluable medicinal plants, forest products, beneficial insects and creatures that contributed to environmental protection have decreased. The lack of availability of such resources opened the eyes of forest dwellers and they beganprotecting forest, which has continuedfor the past 50 years. Primary Self Help Cooperatives (SHCs) were formed with the help of forest protection groups.

With the support of RCDC, some SHCs came forward to assess the status, changes, and trends in forest conditions. They became actively involved in the collection and updating of information about the available categories, their density, amount of produce and collectors’ information. The data is collected and analyzed about the time and process of forest produce collection. Members and partners of cooperatives from Laxmipur, Bandhugaon of Koraput district, Dangasorda and Kesingpur of Rayagada district were united for this purpose. They discussed forest degradation and the decrease of forest produce.

RCDC has mobilized communities to monitor and protect the forests and forest produce themselves. “Twenty types of greens, five varieties of mushrooms, ten types of forest flowers, ten types of DantaKathi, twenty five types of plants providing seeds and roots. These were normalin earlier years. We were not thinking of the availability, number, amount, distance from home and existence. After discussion, now we feel that these have an invaluable contribution and need to be protected and conserved”, says SujataKadraka, secretary of Sampad Cooperative Society, Katraguda.Regular discussion now takes place in SHC board meetings about forest conservation and sustainable collection methods.

The special features of the cooperatives selected by RCDC in Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Kalahandi and Nuapada is that they alwaysprioritise collection, preservation and sustainability in scientific manners. RCDC recognises the need for education in sustainable forest management. The Self Help Groups (SHGs) associated with the cooperatives are also being united at village-level and are sitting with the forest protection groups at regular intervals. The villagers know very well about the germination and spread of plants, from which category of plants they get more benefit and the status of plants in the forest. Initiatives are taken for regular monitoring of the plants. Arrangements are also made for collection facilities and new techniques. Even the number ofSiali bushes expected to provide leaves and theirnumber for collection along with the number of Siali leave collectors are also monitored by the collectors. They are now stressing the need to increase the number of plants, collection amount and collection habits. The cooperatives are also expressing their interest in developing and plantingtrees whichprovide the community members with NTFPs. If the Forest Department will support them, they will be able to plant mahua, apple, bamboo, kendu, kusum and others - they will be able to plant these in vacant lands to ensure their livelihoods for the coming years.

VARASSA, an apex body of 29 Self Help Cooperatives (SHCs)selected by RCDC, has helped the SHCsin a number of substantial ways: informing them in the proper utilization of perishable foods and vegetables; helping the collectors of NTFPs to get desirable prices; diminishing the chance of distress sale; changing in food habit; and ensuringappropriate and value-added use of local products. Also, less educated tribal women are now able to produce processed food effectively. Aftersome of training, they can now prepare bell (wood apple) squash, cashew squash, amlakendi, apple squash, pineapple squash and others.

The Indira SHC, which was formed and strengthened on the inspiration of RCDC,hasaddressedthe un-utilised cashew flowers in a Gunepur region and planned to make squash from these flowers. VARASSA helped them with required training and materials. Now they are able to prepare squash and sell it at local levels. They obtained a profit of Rs. 2000/- in both 2009 and 2010. The amount may be relatively negligible, but this has inspired them to do something collectively.

In earlier days, the forest dwellers were selling amla just after collection. But after the strengthening of 29 SHCs, supported by VARASSA, they nowboil, dry, and pick seeds before selling. Squash, candy and jam are prepared on an experimental basis and sold in the markets in Muniguda, Putasing, Laxmipur, Koraput and Nuapara areas. These processes add value, which increases their income.

Women have been able to create small enterprises which process forest produce through cooperatives. Common Facility Centres (CFCs) are managed by the cooperatives in five districts. The partners and members sit in the CFCs and plan for expansion, preparation and marketing of NTFPs. In a CFC at Dayanidhiguda of Koraput,BhuinNeems, Satabari, Aswagandha, Amla, Harida, Bahadaand others are packed. Arrangements are made for the selling of these products at a stall opened in Koraput. Similarly, there are CFCs at Chatikana and Dangsorada of Rayagada. Honey, amla squash, candy etc., are produced and sold there. The partners of cooperatives take part in the district level fairs and sell their products.

The cooperatives are still at infant stage if we consider the amount of capital needed for investment. There are scarcities of transportation, storage and machines for processing. The forest dwellers of Orissa collect forest produce for half of the year, generally collection halts in the months of July, August, and September. If forest products like amla, tamarind, bell, jack fruit, drom stick, chilly, cashew, pineapples can be collected and processed, then they will be able to earn a good amount from these.If the required facilities and support, along with market linkages,can be provided to them, certainly they will be able to earn more and secure their livelihoods.