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 a good price.

Ringora woman coming back from grass cutting

Those women are putting their lives in danger, since every venue inside the jungle can be matched with potential wildlife encounter. Tiger are the best known mammals to attack villagers, but they are not the only ones. A list of many animals including leopard, bear, elephant and snake can turn the whole excursion into a sad day. But they have no choice. The government is given almost no alternative to this wood collection, and for many villagers – not only in Corbett, but everywhere in India – the free wood and grass that forests are providing is the assurance of the next meals.

When they come back from the jungle, women have to prepare food, take care of the children, work in the fields, do the family laundry, go to collect water from the water source, they hardly rest. And the most amazing thing among all those women is that they never complain.

From my European point of view, I find them to be amazingly brave, physically and mentally strong. I love spending time with them since everything is a pretext to have a laugh, they enjoy life as it is and they would give quite a lecture to many people’s behaviour and way of thinking.

Neema bag

Neema doll

Neema’s products, dexterously made, comprise hand bags for a classy touch and also a range of dolls, the “Neema dolls” that are the representation of a Kumaoni women, carrying a load of wood or grass on their heads. This girl is the ambassador of many women, and by making those artefacts, she definitely gives a shout that those women are important in so many ways and people should never forget that they exist and they are ready to stand for their rights.  By purchasing the Neema’s handicrafts, people are directly improving the lives of the girls who are making them, contributing to the girls and women empowerment of forgotten villages, like Ringora.

Neema making dolls in her Ringora house

If you want to buy some Neema artefacts, please contact us at mahseerconservancy@gmail.com

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 the ones going inside the forests, the ones risking their lives and the ones who work the harder.

WELFARE has a strong will to empower villagers –strongly dependant on forest products – and to reduce their pressure on the forest. This would serve several purposes:

- by raising their income, the villagers will hopefully progressively modify their habits and buy wood alternative. The best alternative would be LPG but solar cookers should also be brought to their minds.

- by reducing their wood consumption, the villagers would obviously reduce their venues inside the forest, reducing their impact on the forest.

- by reducing the impact of the villagers on the forest, the man-animal conflicts should decrease too.

Different sub-projects are hosted under the name WELFARE:

- the Lantana furniture project: in association with ATREE, four villages (Kyari, Sunderkhal, Ringora and Chhoti Haldwani) have been selected to be trained how to make furniture out of Lantana. This project comprises the removing of Lantana camara, the making of the furniture, the selling and marketing of the furniture and the afforestation of the area where Lantana has been removed.

- NEEMA: this project is happening in Ringora village where a girl, Neema, is making the only artefacts available in and around Corbett, making them priceless. She is making a set of dolls and hand bags out of a local hemp, the “saan”. We are supporting her by managing the whole selling and marketing of her products and to give an identity to Ringora’s village. She is the ambassador of the brand and will confidently bring other girls from Ringora in this project, increasing the range of products made.

The idea of those projects is to combine the conservation of wildlife species such as tiger and of the environment and to improve villagers’ lives. The regeneration of the undergrowth and the forests in general is vital for the preservation of many animals’ habitat. We should never forget that the forests of Corbett are not ours, they belong to the animals. Imagine if someone came to your house to take every day pieces of your walls. In a near future, you would be left with nothing!

On the other hand, the improvement of villagers’ lives would cover a several facilities such as better health care, better education and self employment.

Please refer to the other blogs dedicated to each project to know more about them.