Dear all
I enclose a story published/covered in theSunday Pioneer in September2007 for your perusal.While going through some of my old mail,I found this story.hence posting for your perusal.
Yours
SudhirMishra/Pioneer/Balangir
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Don't be surprised if you are greeted with honey instead of a glass of water. Welcome to Orissa's Banjipali village where villagers extract and consume honey due to water shortage. Sudhir Mishra reports
Drought, flood, extreme heat or cold - Banjipali village in Orissa is famous for witnessing nature's fury. Located on the foothills of the Gandhamardhan hill range, nearly 330 km from Bhubaneswar, this village faces a usual problem of water shortage in summer every year. But villagers here are not complaining against nature's harshness, thanks to the abundance of honey.
To counter the acute shortage of water, locals seem to have found an alternative in honey. "In summers we cannot offer a glass water to a guest due to water shortage. The abundant availability of honey has replaced even sugar and jaggery. It has substituted sugar in the lali chaha (red tea) that we drink or serve to visitors and in the making of pancakes during festivities," says Prema Bariha, a villager.
"We learnt the technique of collecting honey from tree tops by observing our forefathers. This practice has been going on since decades," says Baishakhu Bariha, another villager.
Besides water shortage, the village is deprived of basic facilities like healthcare, education and communication. Inhabited by 150 people, mostly Binjhal tribals, the process of collecting honey starts early in the day.
Says Durlabha Bariha, who has taught the village all the nuances of honey collection: "Locals depend on the forest for livelihood. As honey is available here in plenty, people drink it and offer it to visitors. Each and every family in the village collects over 10 to 20 litre of honey every month and sells more than 100 litre in the local market every year."
Besides providing a source of income, it is believed honey consumption keeps diseases at bay. Although the Khaprakhol Community Health Centre is located 15 km from the village, villagers rarely frequent the place.
"A cup of honey has the potential to cure fever and that is what we have been following for long," says Durlabha Bariha.
However all is not well with the village honey. Collecting honey is an arduous task and hours-long exercise in the night. "We also face the fear of wild animals during our operation and always go in groups. The honey collecting procedure starts in the morning and continues till midnight," says a villager.
While residents are yet to see any Government official in their village, they talk of how some politicians had come once to seek votes. The villagers hardly complain except about the lack of drinking water and proper marketing links to sell honey.
Of the six tubewells in the village, only one has water and there too it takes hours before the water can be pumped out.
"Most of the time the lone tubewell goes dry with the onset of summer. The entire village has to trek upto 1.5 km to fetch water. Though there is a small water body at the foothills, which is used by both villagers and wild animals, this too dries up in the heat," Durlabha Bariha, says. "Although the digging of a well was initiated under the Watershed Mission, people engaged for the work abandoned it after digging seven feet deep," he says.
Belangir Collector R Santhana Gopalan says the village had been included in the district Watershed Mission. "This year, the entire village will be provided safe drinking water. The development and utilisation of available honey with the help of the district marketing society will help improve the situation," he assures.
While the whole world is acknowledging that honey is one of the purest and finest things nature has given to mankind, effort should be made to harness the excellent skills acquired by the villagers in collecting natural honey without training, besides linking them with any companies to enhance their economic condition.
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I enclose a story published/covered in theSunday Pioneer in September2007 for your perusal.While going through some of my old mail,I found this story.hence posting for your perusal.
Yours
SudhirMishra/Pioneer/Balangir
========================================================
Sunday, September 30, 2007 Updated: 03:53 pm .
It's all about honey, honey! ==========================
Don't be surprised if you are greeted with honey instead of a glass of water. Welcome to Orissa's Banjipali village where villagers extract and consume honey due to water shortage. Sudhir Mishra reports
Drought, flood, extreme heat or cold - Banjipali village in Orissa is famous for witnessing nature's fury. Located on the foothills of the Gandhamardhan hill range, nearly 330 km from Bhubaneswar, this village faces a usual problem of water shortage in summer every year. But villagers here are not complaining against nature's harshness, thanks to the abundance of honey.
To counter the acute shortage of water, locals seem to have found an alternative in honey. "In summers we cannot offer a glass water to a guest due to water shortage. The abundant availability of honey has replaced even sugar and jaggery. It has substituted sugar in the lali chaha (red tea) that we drink or serve to visitors and in the making of pancakes during festivities," says Prema Bariha, a villager.
"We learnt the technique of collecting honey from tree tops by observing our forefathers. This practice has been going on since decades," says Baishakhu Bariha, another villager.
Besides water shortage, the village is deprived of basic facilities like healthcare, education and communication. Inhabited by 150 people, mostly Binjhal tribals, the process of collecting honey starts early in the day.
Says Durlabha Bariha, who has taught the village all the nuances of honey collection: "Locals depend on the forest for livelihood. As honey is available here in plenty, people drink it and offer it to visitors. Each and every family in the village collects over 10 to 20 litre of honey every month and sells more than 100 litre in the local market every year."
Besides providing a source of income, it is believed honey consumption keeps diseases at bay. Although the Khaprakhol Community Health Centre is located 15 km from the village, villagers rarely frequent the place.
"A cup of honey has the potential to cure fever and that is what we have been following for long," says Durlabha Bariha.
However all is not well with the village honey. Collecting honey is an arduous task and hours-long exercise in the night. "We also face the fear of wild animals during our operation and always go in groups. The honey collecting procedure starts in the morning and continues till midnight," says a villager.
While residents are yet to see any Government official in their village, they talk of how some politicians had come once to seek votes. The villagers hardly complain except about the lack of drinking water and proper marketing links to sell honey.
Of the six tubewells in the village, only one has water and there too it takes hours before the water can be pumped out.
"Most of the time the lone tubewell goes dry with the onset of summer. The entire village has to trek upto 1.5 km to fetch water. Though there is a small water body at the foothills, which is used by both villagers and wild animals, this too dries up in the heat," Durlabha Bariha, says. "Although the digging of a well was initiated under the Watershed Mission, people engaged for the work abandoned it after digging seven feet deep," he says.
Belangir Collector R Santhana Gopalan says the village had been included in the district Watershed Mission. "This year, the entire village will be provided safe drinking water. The development and utilisation of available honey with the help of the district marketing society will help improve the situation," he assures.
While the whole world is acknowledging that honey is one of the purest and finest things nature has given to mankind, effort should be made to harness the excellent skills acquired by the villagers in collecting natural honey without training, besides linking them with any companies to enhance their economic condition.
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