Katkari Tribe | 26 May 2020

Katkari tribal youth from Shahpur in Maharashtra are making a name by selling Giloy and other products online during lockdown.

They received help under the Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana (PMVDY) run by the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED).
- TRIFED is a national level apex organisation functioning under the administrative control of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
Giloy (Tinospora Cordifolia) is an Ayurvedic herb that has been used and advocated in Indian medicine for ages..

Katkari is one of the 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
Katkaris are located primarily in Raigad and in parts of Palghar, Ratnagiri and Thane districts of Maharashtra as well as in some places of Gujarat.
Katkaris were historically forest dwellers.
- The name Katkari is derived from a forest-based activity – the making and bartering or sale of Catechu from the Khair tree (Acacia Katechu).
- Catechu is an extract of acacia trees used variously as a food additive, dye, etc. It is extracted by boiling the wood in water and evaporating the resulting brew.
The British administration had classified them under the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871.
- The Act described certain groups of people as ‘habitually criminal’. The stigma associated with the Act continues.

Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana (PMVDY) is a retail marketing led value addition plan for Minor Forest Produce (MFP), meant for forest-based tribes to optimize the tribal income, locally.
- MFP means all non-timber forest produce of plant origin and includes bamboo, canes, fodder, leaves, gums, waxes, dyes, resins and many forms of food including nuts, wild fruits, honey, lac, tusser etc.
- It provides both subsistence and cash income for people who live in or near forests. They form a major portion of their food, fruits, medicines and other consumption items and also provide cash income through sales.
Under the program, MFP-based tribal groups / enterprises of around 300 members are formed for collection, value addition, packaging & marketing of Minor Forest Produces (MFPs).
- These tribal enterprises are in the form of Van Dhan Self Help Groups (SHGs) which is a group of 15-20 members and such 15 SHG groups will further be federated into a larger group of Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs) of around 300 members.
TRIFED supports the VDVKs through providing them with model business plans, processing plans & tentative list of equipment for carrying out the value addition work of MFPs.