Tribal Health & Herbs

We Adivasi communities are communities that depend on nature, collect roots and tubers from the forests, and use them as food, which is very nutritious and also serves as medicine.

— Ram Kumari

We tribal people bring herbs from the forest to treat many diseases, for the well-being of people.

— Ram Maravi · Dindori, Madhya Pradesh

We tribal people bring herbs from the forest and treat ailments, which is very important for health.

— Ram Maravi · Dindori, Madhya Pradesh

We tribals cut down forests to build our homes and live in the forest itself. From the forest, we get roots, flowers, and delicious fruits, and we sustain our lives from them, and we also do farming.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Even now, fruits, flowers, healthy herbs, and medicines from the forest are being used by us, including the tribal community.

— ishwarsabar · Chelema, Seraikela-Kharsawan, Jharkhand

We are all tribal people, we live in forests. We collect our food from the forests. With that, we sustain ourselves. This is indeed our life's goal.

— KusaPradhani · Anakabadi, Rayagada, Odisha

We are tribals, we are nature worshippers. We always depend on trees and plants to live. We sustain our livelihood by eating its tubers, fruits, and roots.

— PRADEEP KUMAR KANHAR · Boudh, Odisha

We indigenous people used to eat roots and tubers from the forests and sustained ourselves with them. These also served as medicine, keeping our bodies healthy. Even today, we should use roots and tubers.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Our diet. We are in a jungle area. The jungle's herbs and some of its air. Now, due to its influence, our diet is different. We remain healthy for this reason because we rely on herbs; when we wake up in the morning, it's the herbs...

— ANIL KUMAR · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We get various types of fruits and roots from the forest.

— Laba Kumar sabar · Bada Baridi, Rayagada, Odisha

Residents in the forest bushes have a business of various medicinal plants, and they benefit from it for food.

— Devisingh Solanki · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh

Our community lives by building homes in the forests, hunting wild animals, and sustaining themselves by eating tamarind, mango, guava, and other produce found in the forest. Thus, they belong to a different way of life.

— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Tribals consume their food, roots, vegetables, etc., and live their lives well.

— Ram Maravi · Dindori, Madhya Pradesh

We tribals are completely different from other castes; our ancestors used to live in forests and sustained themselves by eating fruits, flowers, etc., from the forest.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

To define our tribe, first of all, we live in jungle villages and use herbs and all kinds of medicines.

— bachcha lal · Ormaura, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We are still getting fruits, plants, health-related herbs, and medicines from the forest. We are safe for now, and we are still here.

— ishwarsabar · East Singhbhum, Jharkhand

They go into the jungle, build houses and huts, hunt birds and wild animals for their food and survival, and they eat fruits and flowers.

— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We get treatment from the forest.

— Devisingh Solanki · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh

We get various greens and various fruits from the forest.

— Laba Kumar sabar · Bada Baridi, Rayagada, Odisha

We get our nutritious diet from the forest, such as Mahua fruit Doli oil in the form of fat, Kodo, Bhaddi, Kulthia, Mahua flowers, Jamun, Mahua kheer, Bhaji, etc.

— Surajsingh Parmar · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh

We are the people of earlier times who used to eat mahua from the forest, eat chakad shak, eat millet bread, eat corn bread. Now people eat good food, and because they eat good food, they catch so many diseases.

— Sunita Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Traditionally, we used to use various types of medicinal properties from the forest.

— Suna majhi

Our tribe has been living in this village for a long time. We are natives of the surrounding area. Now, medicinal herbs...

— Vijay Kumar bhardwaj · Kasdol, Baloda Bazar, Chhattisgarh

Living in the forest and enduring hardships, whether it is building a home to use herbs for treating illnesses, or making a living by eating fruits and flowers, or for this.

— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

In our tribal communities, when we fall ill, we rely on roots and herbs. So, other communities should observe us.

— PRADEEP KUMAR KANHAR · Boudh, Odisha

The Makadia tribe's life and livelihood depend on the forest. They live by gathering and selling fruits, flowers, roots, medicinal herbs, and mushrooms from the forest as food. They respect whatever their elders say. When food in one forest runs out, they move to another forest.

— Anirudha Marai

My name is Rashmita Pradhan. Just as our ancestors remained healthy by eating fruits and roots found in the forest, prepared without chemicals, we also wish to eat the same food now. We are from tribal-dominated areas. Our forest is our lifeline. Therefore, our ancient traditions should be restored, and our forest should not be destroyed. Thank you. Raika Kandhamal.

— RITARANI PRADHAN · Raikia, Kandhamal, Odisha

Forest-derived food includes fresh bamboo shoots, bamboo sago, and Kendu fruit, among others. We obtain our food from the forest.

— S Guruteli · Upperpur, Malkangiri, Odisha

My name is Rina Kuonro. We are the tribal indigenous people. We produce food and collect from the forest, and we express our desire to live with the forest or with nature. This is a humble request to the government for us, and please pay attention to the forest-derived food that we can obtain.

— RITARANI PRADHAN · Raikia, Kandhamal, Odisha

Tribal people used to build homes after cutting down forests and used herbs, fruits, and food from the forest. And they used to drink Chuwada water. That's why tribal people are different.

— Chanda

We, the tribal people, worship nature. We worship trees and plants. We are always with nature.

— PRADEEP KUMAR KANHAR · Boudh, Odisha

We can use muIdim found in the forest as traditional medicine.

— Anupama Mahanand · Sundargarh, Odisha

People in the village bring herbs from the jungle and eat them for their health, which is very beneficial or advantageous.

— Ram Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

Our tribe lives in the forest, far from villages and cities, and for food, they eat mahua, dori, koyna, this street, etcetera, kola.

— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Currently, we are seeing that people are gradually obtaining the fruits, medicinal plants, greens, and nutritious food that were available in the forest.

— Ramadas Badanayak · Udulibeda, Malkangiri, Odisha

We are a tribal community, we farm using ploughs and bullocks, and we sustain our lives. We clear forests and bushes to make fields, and we cultivate sawa, medo, mijhri, and maize, which were grown by our ancestors, and we also preserve their seeds.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We always depend on the leaves, roots, and tubers of nature's plants to live. As a result, it benefits our health. People of other categories despise these things. They do not eat wild fruits, roots, or tubers.

— PRADEEP KUMAR KANHAR · Boudh, Odisha

My tribal people, living in the forest far from the city and making food from forest produce.

— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Tribal people often live in forests and eat many things that we don't know.

— Chanda

Before, we used to eat saag roti, kurthi dal, urad dal, and mahua saag. Sometimes we would find amla and bael from the forest, and that's how we used to sustain our lives.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh