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land rights empower the kakari of india

rainforest information centre, australia

The Katkari indigenous forest people of India have tremendous knowledge about local fish, animals, birds, tubers, wild vegetables, fruits and nuts. During the summer months, Katkari women draw crabs out from their holes by rubbing two stones together in imitation of the sound of cloudbursts. They are expert fishers, swimmers, divers, archers, stone crushers, tree fellers and charcoal makers. Nonetheless, despite these impressive skills, the Katkari have been subjected to years of systemic exploitation, racial prejudice, loss of traditional lands and abject poverty.

Indigenous forest tribes in India have a long history of marginalization and low social status dating back to the colonial era. As a hunter-gatherer people, the Katkari have traditionally relied on noncultivated wild foods and forest products, which have become increasingly scarce due to deforestation and infrastructure development. Their efforts to improve food production through agriculture have been impeded by their extremely limited access to land.

Despite a long history of settlement in the area, the state has never formally recognized nor given the Katkari title to much of their traditional lands, robbing them of self-determination and making them vulnerable to encroachment by land developers. Food security is thus a major issue, and many suffer from severe malnutrition and starvation. A recent survey showed that some 90 percent of Katkari families live below the poverty line, 90 percent live in temporary huts, and 80 percent are landless.

breaking the cycle of poverty

Australia’s Rainforest Information Centre is cooperating with the Academy of Development Science (ADS), an Indian organization that works to alleviate problems faced by village communities, in order to help break the cycle of poverty and landlessness among the Katkari. An essential part of their work is to support the Katkari in obtaining legal rights to land. Educational camps have been organized in some 40 villages in order to increase basic land literacy, resulting in hundreds of families obtaining legal ownership of land. Collective farming, in which landless Katkari families join together to bargain for a favorable land lease agreement, is also increasing. Katkari families are being motivated to cultivate their own food, as the forests they have traditionally relied upon are disappearing. Seeds from farmers in other regions have been distributed to Katkari families so that they can grow traditional crops including turmeric, elephant’s foot yam, okra, cluster bean, cow pea, sesame, pumpkin, bitter gourd, sweet potato, ground nut, cucumbers, guava and chilly. Families are able to earn additional income through selling surplus crops, thereby boosting their economic self reliance.

how you can help :
The Rainforest Information Centre has produced a film about the Katkari, and is accepting donations to the Katkari project via: www.rainforestinfo.org.au/aboutthe.htm #Donations