Adivasi communities harvest “bamboo rice” in Mudumalai
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The flowering of Dendrocalamus strictus, a tall bamboo species discovered in the Sigur plateau, is being harvested by adivasi teams after many a long time.
The bamboo, which is claimed to flower any time between the ages of 25-60, earlier than dying, has bloomed all through the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and neighboring Bandipur. Adivasi communities, who’re allowed to gather the minor forest produce, have been harvesting the seeds, often called “bamboo rice,” for consumption, as it’s identified to be a wealthy supply of protein.
Bellessi, a 60-year-old Paniya tribal girl from the village of Erivayal in Thorapalli, stated that she had final collected and cooked the bamboo rice as a toddler. “We prepare it just like rice and consume it,” she stated.
The adivasis who use the bamboo seeds, coming beneath the minor forest produce class, and who’re permitted to make use of it for their very own consumption, stated that there was additionally a perception amongst them that the gregarious flowering of the bamboo was a portent of an adversarial ecological occasion.
Godwin Vasanth Bosco, a restoration ecologist from the Nilgiris, stated that the gregarious flowering of Dendrocalamus strictus is usually considered a stress response. “As a result, local communities believe that it could be a forewarning of a drought, while the blooming also could lead to an increase in the rat population, which in the past led to crop damage and the spread of disease,” stated Mr. Bosco.
M. Francis, an agronomist from Karnataka, stated that it was unlikely that the flowering was linked to any elements corresponding to local weather change, or as a stress response to a future drought occasion. “Bamboo is a monocarpic species, which flowers, seeds and then dies. This is its natural life cycle,” stated Mr. Francis, who referred to as on the Forest Department to additionally restrict the quantity of seed assortment by the native communities. “The department should limit the collection to around 10% to 15%, and then propagate the seeds to allow for the bamboo to grow again, as they are an important source of food for wildlife,” he stated.
The bamboo is among the prime meals sources for elephants and different herbivores, and there’s a concern that the ensuing dying of the bamboo might result in a discount in meals availability in the area for wildlife, probably exacerbating human-animal confrontations.
“It is important that the bamboo is allowed to re-establish itself, as an invasive species of flora, Senna spectabilis is spreading in the habitat which is occupied currently by the bamboo. If the seeds are not allowed to propagate and grow, their habitats might be taken over by invasive species,” stated Mr. Bosco. “The forest department should also facilitate the setting up of nurseries, where the seeds of these bamboos can be collected and grown before they can be replanted in the forests,” he added.
