Ringora Khatta is located on the right bank of Kosi River, 5 km from Ramnagar. It is surrounded by the forest of Ramnagar Forest Division and Corbett Tiger Reserve Khatta in the past were used by people from the mountains who would camp here during their barter trips locally called Dhakar to the Ramnagar bazaar. Similarly many herdsmen from mountains would camp in these Khattas as their winter dwellings with there cattle. Khatta’s are forest land and therefore the present day village of Ringora does not have revenue village status and treated like Forest village. Being located in the vicinity...

Neema In the village of Ringora, dist. Nainital, a girl named Neema is making artefact using local raw material, the “saan”. Her products are the only local creation that can be found in and around Corbett, making it priceless. But Neema is not only a brand, it represents a whole history of Kumaoni women who work incredibly hard every day. Their daily life starts early morning, where they go inside the jungle to collect firewood and grass, to cook and heat the houses, to feed the cattle but also to collect this particular grass that is much needed to repair the roofs and that can be sold at...

In the many attempts made by men to get rid of the unwanted weed Lantana camara, one technique was often chosen: the fire control. The idea of this method is first to uproot the plant, then to put the roots up in the air (to avoid them to go towards the ground and grow back again) and finally to let it dry for several days. When the plant is dry enough, it is burnt. Fire is one of the major factors for such species, which is not only depleting undergrowth but also facilitating the germination of the weed. The fire has an impact on its frequency, abundance, density and basal cover. After fire incidences...

It was a small village of some 16 ploughs differing in no respect from hundreds of similar villages, scattered throughout the length of the tract along the Bhahar. Originally the village had been surrounded by tree jungle intercepted with grass, and in this virgin jungle lived all the numerous denizens of the wild. To protect their crops the villagers erected thorn fences round their fields. As an additional safeguard a member of the depressed class was encouraged to settle in the village whose duty it was to watch the crops at night and see they were not damaged by stray cattle or wild animals....

Lantana camara, belonging to the Lamiaceae family, also known as “Terror of Kumaon”, is native to tropical regions in Central and South America. After being brought to India as an ornamental garden plant in about 1809 in Culcutta Botanic Garden, the weed quickly escaped cultivation and within 20 years was established in the wild. Lantana was first declared noxious around 1920, and by the 1950s it had spread over more than 1600 km of the eastern Australian coastline. The species will grow to 6 ft (1.8 m) high and may spread to 8 ft (2.4 m) in width with some varieties able to clamber vinelike...

Among the Society for Mahseer Conservancy, a new project was launched few months ago, under the name “WELFARE”, which stands for Women Empowerment through Lantana Furniture, Artefacts and Restoration of the Environment”. The reason for this project emerged after an obvious result from the firewood survey: the villagers will not reduce their wood collection unless some alternatives are provided to them. Unfortunately, the government is almost absent in such help. Our actions may be at small scale, but at least they are actions. The women are the protagonists of this project since they are...