Socio-Economic Drivers for the Collection of Tendu Leaves, A Case Study from Katghora Forest Division, Chhattisgarh, India

Abstract

The government of India has been undertaking various programs for the socioeconomic upliftment of tribals for the improvements in various indicators related to food, health, literacy, livelihood. However, there is a large gap in the human development indices between the general and tribal populations. NTFPs are getting global recognition by providing research and policy support for their sustainable collection and consumption.Tendu leaves are an important NTFP that provides livelihood opportunities to the dependent forest fringe communities. This study focuses on the effect of Tendu leaves collection on the socioeconomic status of the tribals in the five villages of Katghora forest division. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 125 respondents for primary data collection. The results of the present study showed that a family closer to the forest and having more number of female workers are more likely to collect Tendu leaves from the forest.On the other hand, households with higher income were less likely to send their family members for the collection of Tendu leaves from the forest. The R 2 values of the regression study clearly indicated that gender, income, and distance from forest were key factors significantly affecting Tendu leave collections (in all the three years i.e., 2018 to 2020), and they may be regarded as a good fit for the model. The study found that the annual income is meager for survival for the entire family. Hence, overall socioeconomic conditions in all the selected villages fall under vulnerable conditions, which highlight the urgency to initiate effective policies to enhance the well-being of the tribal communities.

Full text

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Environment and Ecology 41 (2) : 921—926, April—June 2023
ISSN 0970-0420
Socio-Economic Drivers for the Collection of Tendu Leaves, A Case
Study from Katghora Forest Division, Chhattisgarh, India
Wagmare Balraju, Dinesha S, Gunjan Patil, Devbratha
Pradhan, Arshad A, S.K Tripathi
Received 11 January 2023, Accepted 11 February 2023, Published on 24 April 2023
Wagmare Balraju1
PhD Research Scholar, (Project Associate– I) GB Pant National In-
stitute of Himalayan Environment, Regional Center, Sikkim, India
Dinesha S.2
Guest Faculty, Department of Forestry, Dr Rajendra Prasad Central
Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar, India
Gunjan Patil3
Assistant Professor, Guru Ghasidas Viswa Vidyalaya, Koni, Bi-
laspur, Chhattisgarh, India
Devbratha Pradhan4, Arshad A.5
PhD Scholar, Department of Forestry, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswav-
idyalaya, Pundibari, West Bengal, India
S.K. Tripathi*6
Professor, Department of Forestry, School of Forestry & Earth
Science, Mizoram University, Aizawl 796004, Mizoram, India
Email: sktripathi@redimail.com
*Corresponding author
ABSTRACT
The government of India has been undertaking var-
ious programs for the socio-economic upliftment of
tribals for the improvements in various indicators
related to food, health, literacy, livelihood. However,
there is a large gap in the human development indices
between the general and tribal populations. NTFPs
are getting global recognition by providing research
and policy support for their sustainable collection
and consumption.Tendu leaves are an important
NTFP that provides livelihood opportunities to the
dependent forest fringe communities. This study fo-
cuses on the eect of Tendu leaves collection on the
socio-economic status of the tribals in the ve villages
of Katghora forest division. A purposive sampling
technique was used to select 125 respondents for
primary data collection. The results of the presenty
study showed that a family closer to the forest and
having more number of female workers are more
likely to collect Tendu leaves from the forest.On the
other hand, households with higher income were less
likely to send their family members for the collection
of Tendu leaves from the forest. The R2 values of
the regression study clearly indicated that gender,
income, and distance from forest were key factors
signicantly aecting Tendu leave collections (in all
the three years i.e., 2018 to 2020), and they may be
regarded as a good t for the model. The study found
that the annual income is meager for survival for the
entire family. Hence, overall socio-economic condi-
tions in all the selected villages fall under vulnerable
conditions, which highlight the urgency to initiate
eective policies to enhance the well-being of the
tribal communities.
Keywords Tendu leaves, Tribal communities, Forest
products, Socio-economical status, Livelihood.
INTRODUCTION
Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are non-wood,
minor or secondary products that come from the for-

922
est, excluding timber (Sahoo and Lalramnghinglova
2010, Elisha 2014). Nowadays, NTFPs are getting
global recognition through research and policy sup-
ports for their sustainable production, marketing, and
consumption. NTFPs provide numerous benets,
such as food, income, medicine, employment, and
many other opportunities to the rural populations
(Shrestha et al. 2020). In many developing countries,
nearly three-quarters of the population is dependent
on the NTFPs for their food and primary health care
(Talukdar et al. 2020). Some of the important NTFPs
are dyes, bers, edible plants, Tendu leaves, gums,
resins, medicinal plants, oils, spices, tannins, and
many more (Soren and Naik 2020). Tendu leaves are
one of the sources of income and also provide live-
lihood opportunities to the dependent communities
living in forest fringe areas (Mahapatra and Shack-
leton 2012, Guleria et al. 2021). Forest-dependent
communities are collecting NTFPs for both domestic
and commercial purposes. The collection and sale
of NTFPs contribute to the improvement of tribal
communities’ standard of living and socio-economic
status (Reta 2020, Pandey et al. 2016, Bhattacharya
and Hayat 2004).
India is bestowed with rich oral diversity with
45,000 species of plants, of whichnearly 3,000 species
provide NTFPs (Dubey 2007, Chauhan et al. 2008).
Almost two thirds of the NTFP shave been collected
in India’s tribal belts. In Chhattisgarh, nearly 200
NTFPs are collected and sold by the tribal people,
namely Tendu leaves (Diospyros melanoxylon), sal
seed (Shorea robusta), Harra (Terminalia chebula),
Khair (Acacia catechu) gum, Babool gum (Acacia
nilotica), Tamarind (Tamarindus indica), Chironji
(Buchananial anzan), Mahua seed (Madhuca indi-
ca) (Churpal et al. 2021).The Gonds are the largest
tribal population distributed in various states, and
in Chhattisgarh ‘a tribal state’ they constitute nearly
31% of the total population (Census of India 2011,
Sanyal and Singh 2022). Nearly 94 % of the tribal
population is involved inTendu leave collection,
which acts as a nancial lifeline for forest dwellers
and also provides seasonal revenue to the state forest
department by selling these leaves with the help of
government societies. Chhattisgarh produces the best
quality Tendu leaves which accounts roughly one fth
of the total Tendu leave production of the country,
i.e., 16.72 lakh standard bags annually with a value
of USD$2,000 million (Gupta et al. 2015).
The Tendu leaves are used for making of beedi,
i.e., a poor man’s cigarette.These leaves are obtained
from Diospyros melanoxylon of the Ebenaceae family
and are commercially called beedi leaves. The local
villagers are collecting leaves from the wild trees.
This product is traded and managed by the state for-
est department through the Chhattisgarh state minor
forest produces co-operative federation limited. The
state government gives a high priorityto the collection
of Tendu leaves because it is a nationalized forest
product and generates employment opportunities
for the forest dwellers in o-peak agriculture sea-
sons (Sabar et al. 2016). The availablity, collection,
and marketing of Tendu leaves largely inuences
the socio economic status of the dependent tribal
communities. The government of India has been un-
dertaking various programs for the socio-economic
upliftment of tribals. These eorts resulted in some
improvements in terms of various indicators related
to food security, health, literacy, livelihood (Census
of India 2011). However, there are large gaps in the
human development indices between the general and
tribal populations. Hence, the goal of the study is to
identify key socio-economic drivers regarding the
eect of Tendu leave collection, and their marketing
on the upliftment of the socio-economic status of the
tribals in the Katghora forest division.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study area, data collection and data analysis
The study area is purposefully selected to collect
information regarding Tendu leaves collection and
the socio-economic status of tribals in ve villages
of Katghora forest division, Chhattisgarh, lying
between 17°46-24°80 N latitude and 80°15-84°24
E longitude. The state has two major forest types,
i.e., tropical moist deciduous forest (47.89%) and
tropical dry deciduous forest (51.65%). According
to the Champion and Seth, it has a tropically hot
and humid climate with an average rainfall of 1,100
mm to 1,700 mm and a temperature range of 11°C
to 47°C. A purposive sampling technique was used

923
for sample size determination. Finally, 125 respon-
dents (25 respondents per village) were selected for
primary data collection from the ve villages, namely
Bariumrao, Hirwadoli, Keramunda, Leempani, and
Tilaikundi (Fig. 1). The main reasons for choosing
these villages for the present study were the easy
accessibility of the tribals in these areas, which were
well communicated by the researchers and isolated
from this type of study.
The data and information were collected for three
years, i.e., 2018 to 2020, through questionnaires,
direct observation, personal interviews, and partici-
pation in their socio-cultural events during the study
period. Various types of particulars were taken under
consideration, such as name and family prole of the
respondent, cooking fuel, drinking water sources,
education, income level, occupation and types of
houses (Sabar et al. 2016, Sarker et al. 2020). IBM
SPSS version 2020 was used to perform the statistical
analysis for the recorded data. A multiple regression
model was adopted to nd out the relationship be-
tween the various independent and dependent vari-
ables (Giribabu 2019). The model assumes that the
dependent variable Y is a linear function of a series of
independent variables and an error term. The multiple
regression model is specied as:
k
= Σ β1Xt + μt
i = 0
Where Yt is the dependent variable, X are the
independent variables and μt is the error term. β1 is
the constant term or intercept of the equation.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The distribution of gender and caste analysis of
respondents showed that around 60% of the respon-
dents were male,while female swere 40% (Table 1).
Among the village-wise distribution,Tilaikundis was
dominant among male respondents (68%), while fe-
male respondents were dominant in Hirwadoli (48%).
Similarly, in the caste-wise distribution, about 92.8%
of respondents belonged to Schedule Tribes (ST) and
Fig. 1. Village map of study area under the Katghora forest division.

924
only 7.2% were others, i.e., Non-ST (Table 1). The
study revealed that about 80% of respondents were
married, followed by widows (10.4%) and divorcees
(9.6 %). Most of the respondents (56.8%) reported
that they were illiterate. The maximum (68 %) lit-
erates, i.e., those who studied up to class ve, were
reported in Bariumrao village, whereas the minimum
(20 %) in Leempani village.The perception of respon-
dents on their socio-economic considerations such as
occupation, income levels, types of houses, drinking
water sources,and cooking fuel types were shown
(Table 1). The distribution of occupations among the
respondents indicated that about 73.6 % of them were-
casual laborers, followed by farmers (24.8 %),while
the least (1.6 %) were self-employed. Around 98 %
of farmers belong to marginal and small land holding
categories. Among the respondents, a maximum (51.2
%) of them fell into the income group of 0.81-0.90
lakh, followed by 40 (32.0 %) respondents were
under 0.91-1.00 lakh, while 21 (16.8 %)were under
0.70 to 0.80 lakh (Table 1). Though the respondents
were engaged in the collection of Tendu leaves, some
of their family members were earning better income
Table 1. Demographic features and socio-economic status of respondents in ve villages of Katghora forest division.
Village name Barium rao Hirwadoli Keramunda Leempani Tilaikundi Total
Total respondents 25 25 25 25 25 125
Gender of the Female 10 12 9 11 8 50 (40 %)
respondents Male 15 13 16 14 17 75 (60 %)
Tribes (ST) Baiga 9 7 7 8 9 40 (32.0 %)
Korba 9 9 10 6 4 38 (30.5 %)
Muria 7 9 5 8 9 38 (30.5 %)
Total tribes 25 25 22 22 22 116 (93 %)
Yadav (Non-ST) 0 0 3 3 3 9 (7 %)
Marital status Married 20 21 20 17 22 100 (80 %)
Divorce 2 2 3 4 1 12 (9.6 %)
Widow 3 2 2 4 2 13 (10.4 %)
Education Illiterate 8 13 18 20 12 71 (56.8 %)
1-5 class 17 12 7 5 13 54 (43.2 %)
Occupation Casual labors 18 20 17 17 20 92 (73.6 %)
Farmers 5 5 8 8 5 31 (24.8 %)
Self employed 2 0 0 0 0 2 (1.6 %)
Income levels 0.70-0.80 6 0 3 12 0 21 (16.8 %)
(in lakh) 0.81-0.90 19 5 16 11 13 64 (51.2 %)
0.91-1.00 0 20 6 2 12 40 (32.0 %)
Types of Hut 0 0 1 2 0 3 (2.4 %)
houses Semi Pucaa 14 11 9 9 6 49 (39.2 %)
Pucca 11 14 15 14 19 73 (58.4 %)
Dirking water Hand pump 11 11 8 12 8 50 (40 %)
sources Common tap 14 14 17 13 17 75 (60 %)
Cooking fuel LPG 9 10 10 4 5 38 (30.4 %)
Firewood 16 15 15 21 20 87 (69.6 %)
Table 2. Factors which are inuencing the Tendu leaves collection:
Regression analysis.
Variables 2018 2019 2020
Number of 125 125 125
respondents (N)
Tendu leaves (10.385) *** (10.315) *** (8.770) ***
collection (Constant)
Age (0.689)
NS (0.921) NS (-0.866)
NS
Distance from (1.542)* (2.114) ** (3.068) ***
forest
Duration of (0.350) NS (-0.070)
NS (1.677) *
collection
Education (-1.634) * (-0.668) NS (-0.880)
NS
Gender (1.961) ** (1.570) * (1.807) *
Household (-4.266) *** (-4.002) *** (-2.616) ***
income
Working (1.042) NS (0.853)
NS (4.299) ***
population
R2 0.279 0.229 0.315
F Change 6.453 4.964 7.691
Sig. F Change 0.000*** 0.000*** 0.000***
Note: Figures in parenthesis indicates t values.
*, **, *** indicates 1%, 5% and 10% level of signicance
through alternative employment sources in nearby
urban areas as well as self-employment activities.
The majority of respondents (58.4%) were living

925
in pucca houses provided by the government, while
39.2 % were living in semi-pucca houses (Table 1).
In contrast, only one household in Keramudi and two
households in Leemapani were huts (kuccha houses)
as they had not yet sanctioned the colony house. Sim-
ilarly, regarding the source of drinking water, about
60% of the respondents had been using a common
tap, while 40 % were getting it from a hand pump in
all the selected villages (Table 1). Among the distri-
bution of cooking fuel sources, the majority (69.6
%) of the households were using rewood, followed
by LPG/Gas connection (30.4 %). This might be due
to the easy accessibility and year-round availability
of rewood as they collect Tendu leaves seasonally.
Among the three years of data (2018 to 2020), the
maximum income was obtained in the year 2020 (Fig.
2). Among the ve villages, the maximum annual
income (₹ 20,160) was reported in Keramunda, fol-
lowed by Tilaikundi (₹ 19,438), while the minimum
(₹ 17,669) was in Barium rao.
The year-wise regression analysis to determine
various factors (i.e., age, distance from the forest,
duration of collection, education, gender, income, and
working population) inuence the number of bundles
of Tendu leaves collected (i.e., dependent variable)
has been shown in Table 2. In the year 2018, the coef-
cient of distance from the forest, education, gender,
and household income were positively associated with
the dependent variable. Among these four variables,
household income was highly signicant (p<0.01)
followed by gender (p<0.05) whereas distance from
the forest and education were signicant at 10 % level
(p<0.10). Furthermore, in the year 2019, household
income was highly signicant (p<0.01) followed
by distance from forest (p<0.05), while the gender
variable was signicant at 10 % level of signicance
(p<0.10). Subsequently, in the year 2020, out of 7
variables, 5 coecients were associated positively of
which distance from the forest,gender, household in-
come and working population were highly signicant
(p<0.01). On the other hand, duration of collection
and gender were shown at 5 % levels of signicance
(Table 2).The R2 values of 0.279, 0.229, and 0.315
clearly indicated that gender, household income,
and distance from the village to the forest area had
signicant eects for all the selected three years of
data and it could be regarded as a good t for the
model since it implies that about 27.9 %, 22.9%,and
31.5 % of the variation in the dependent variable was
explained by the explanatory variables.
The results indicated that families with a male
head and with a more female working population
had a greater likelihood of Tendu leaves collection.
Similar ndings have been reported in Odisha, where
women make up roughly 85 % of total population in
the Tendu leaves collection (Human Development So-
ciety 2004). Tendu leaves collection has been reported
to increase the additional income and livelihood of
families in the short term (Patel et al. 2012, Sabar et
al. 2016). Likewise, the distance from the village to
the forest area also gives more opportunity for Tendu
leaves collection. On the other hand, households with
better income had fewer tendencies to send their fam-
ily members for Tendu leaves collection. This study
was in agreement with the earlier study by Sabar et
al. (2016) using the regression analysis.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, NTFP plays a signicant role in the
socio-economic upliftment of tribal communities
residing in forest fringe areas. The study reveals that
collection of Tendu leaves helps to earn additional
income and employment opportunities, though it is
seasonal work. Daily wage work is the main occupa-
tion, followed by farming under rain-fed conditions.
The majority of the cultivators are marginal farmers,
followed by small farmers,residing in pucca houses
Fig. 2. Gender, income and distance from the forest are key drivers
for Tendu leaves collection.

926
constructed under the government scheme and using
common tap water for drinking purposes. The study
found that the family’s annual income is meagre
for survival of the entire family. Hence, overall so-
cio-economic conditions in all the selected villages
fall under unsustainable and vulnerable conditions
which highlights the urgency to initiate and imple-
ment eective policies for poverty eradication and
employment generation in the region to enhance
well-being of the tribal communities.Outcome of this
study suggests that following factors need to be un-
dertaken towards the sustainable development of the
tribal population of the region: 1. Encouragement of
diversied and year-round income-generating activi-
ties, 2. Availability of pure drinking water, electricity,
housing, communication, and transportation facilities,
3. Aids and subsidies from the Government Institu-
tions, 4. Creation of employment opportunities,5.
Developingalternatives for shifting households from
beedi rolling to plate making and Tendu fruits value
addition, and 6. Establishing good relationshipsand
providing social security for the overall upliftment of
the tribal community of this region.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors are grateful to the Chhattisgarh Forest
department and tribal respondents.We are indebted
to Ambika Singh for his assistance in eld study and
communication with tribal communities and also
thankful to Giri Babu for his assistance in socio-eco-
nomic analysis.
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