Guwahati: Biodiversity conservation organization Aaranyak facilitated a three-day exposure trip on indigenous community-managed eco-tourism and natural resource management for a group of community leaders including members of the Eco Development Committee (EDC) from the fringe of Daying Ering Wildlife Sanctuary near Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh.
The team from Arunachal Pradesh which also had the DFO of D’Ering WL Sanctuary T Taga, was hosted by Aaranyak among Karbi tribe villagers in Kohora River Basic in the proximity of Kaziranga National Park {KNP) to help them experience first-hand the community-driven eco-tourism as well as natural resources management as part of larger biodiversity conservation efforts.
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The exposure trip was organized under the Journey for Learning (J4L) initiative of Aaranyak to enable the visiting delegates to learn from the experiences of the indigenous forest fringe communities in establishing community-based eco-tourism ventures at the fringe of the famous rhino abode of KNP.
The exposure visit from January 10 to January 12 was organised under Aaranyak’s Natural Resource Management Programme at Kohora River Basin (KRB) in Karbi Anglong.
An orientation on ‘Geo-Ecology of Kohora River Basin, People and Culture’ followed by discussions was conducted for the visiting team by Aaranyak’s resource persons Dr Jayanta Kr Roy, and Sarlongjon Teron to set the tone for the exposure trip.
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The ‘Ingnam Kengkam’ (walking in the forest) – in Karbi was also conducted for the guests to allow them to experience the richness of the natural ambience.
The trekking exercise through community forests was led by Dr M Firoz Ahmed, a senior scientist from Aaranyak and Sanjit Bey, a local expert from the community.
Bey sensitized the visitors on wild edibles and medicinal plants spicing the talk with folk stories. Dr Ahmed complemented Bey’s efforts with scientific inputs and by anchoring isolated discussions on how to build eco-tourism using local natural resources without any investments.
A small exhibition of products of Pirbi, a community-owned enterprise that sells farm & non-farm produce, was also showcased.
“Being from the indigenous Adi tribe in Arunachal Pradesh, the guests were overwhelmed by innovative ways of running a nature trail, food cooked in an indigenous style which is easily replicable in Arunachal Pradesh,” said Maksam Tayeng, an EDC member-cum-journalist, who was part of the visiting team.
Laki Beypi, a backstrap loom weaver, demonstrated her weaving process and enlightened the guests on Karbi motifs and their significance.
The guests also visited Engle Pathar village. Meena Tokbipi, a local, guided the guests through her homestead tea garden, explaining tea plucking and hand-rolled tea-making process and served a handmade tea (Smoked tea) variety to the guests.