“Gardening their way to Good Health”: Reversing tribal communities’ dependence on exploiters sustenance needs – Tamil Nadu

Adivasi communities traditionally depended on the forest for all their nutritional needs. They subsisted mainly on fruits, vegetables, tubers, fish, small game as well as the occasional crop they grew, predominantly coarse grains. However, as time passed and the nature of, as well as their access to, forests changed, their diet started becoming deficient. Certain tribes, such as Paniyas, forced into bonded labour saw a paradigm shift in their dietary practices due to their dependence on their exploiters for their sustenance needs. This deficiency started manifesting in the form of rampant malnutrition, among adults and children alike, underweight babies as well as high maternal mortality. Another consequence was increased susceptibility to Tuberculosis among the Adivasis.

Source: “Gardening their way to Good Health” by ACCORD – Action for Community Organisation, Rehabilitation and Development
URL: https://www.accordweb.in/?p=4840
Date visited: 30 June 2022

Subscribe to Vidyodaya’s educational videos on YouTube: Kaathadi >>

Related posts

• Accord | Articles by Mari Marcel Thekaekara (writer and Co-Founder of ACCORD-Nilgiris)
• Ashwini community health programme
• Childhood and children | Childrens rights: UNICEF India
• Community facilities
• eJournals, eBooks & reports | eLearning
• Education and literacy
• Forest Rights Act (FRA) | Legal rights over forest land
• Gudalur | Communities: Paniya | Kattunayaka | Mullukurumba | Bettakurumba
• Health and nutrition | Recommendations by the Expert Committee
• Shola Trust | Nilgiri biosphere
• Success stories
• Tribal elders
• Viswa Bharati Vidyodaya Trust
• Western Ghats – tribal heritage & ecology
• What is the Forest Rights Act about?
  Who is a forest dweller under this law, and who gets rights?
• “Who are Scheduled Tribes?”: Clarifications by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes – Government of India

Tips for using interactive maps

1. toggle to normal view (from reader view) should the interactive map not be displayed by your tablet, smartphone or pc browser
2. for details and hyperlinks click on the rectangular button (left on the map’s header)
3. scroll and click on one of the markers for information of special interest
4. explore India’s tribal cultural heritage with the help of another interactive map >>