Open Access
Subscription Access
Enhancing the Livelihood of Himalayan Communities through Action Research and Transforming Wild Produce into High-value Products
Deterioration in traditional mountain food systems with a decline in agro-biodiversity has made the Himalayan communities more sensitive to environmental degradation. Wild edible varieties from marginal land have shown great characteristics and resistance to the adverse climate changes. This study was conducted to promote and transform the lesser known wild edible produces of Uttarakhand, India into marketable highvalue products through scientific technologies. On the basis of their availability and ethno-botanical properties, eight wild produces were selected. Demographically, 4097 households belonging to 36 villages of two selected districts of Uttarakhand were targeted as major beneficiaries. The complete scope study was carried out in four blocks of Chamoli and one block of Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand. Thereafter, the procurement of wild produces was carried out with complete involvement of stakeholders from 54 villages. The entire research and development was carried out in an Women’s Cooperative Centre equipped with modern machinery. Linkage with several research institutions related to product design, processing and preservation was also done to improvize the quality and presentation of the high-value products. Under this intervention, 19 high-value products were successfully developed and launched by the Himalayan Action Research Centre, Alaknanda Women’s Cooperative. Thus, local relationship and linkage among the stakeholders were strengthened for sustainable development and intervention of a replicable model in the Himalayan region of Uttarakhand.
Keywords
Action Research, High-value Products, Livelihood Enhancement, Mountain Food Systems, Wild Produce.
User
Font Size
Information
- Tiwari, J. K., Ballabha, R. and Tiwar, P., Some promising wild edible plants of Srinagar and its adjacent area in Alaknanda Valley of Garhwal Himalaya, India. J. Am. Sci., 2010, 6(4), 167–174.
- Meyers, K. J., Watkins, C. B., Pritts, M. P. and Liu, R. H., Antioxidant and anti proliferative activities of strawberries. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2003, 51(23), 6887–6892.
- Saklani, S., Chandra, S. and Mishra, A. P., Evaluation of nutritional profile, medicinal value and quantitative estimation in different parts of Pyrus pashia, Ficus palmate and Pyracantha crenulata. J. Global Trends Pharm. Sci., 2011, 2(3), 350–354.
- Uniyal, B. and Shiva, V., Traditional knowledge on medicinal plants among rural women of Garhwal Himalaya, Uttaranchal. Indian J. Trad. Knowl., 2005, 4(3), 259–266.
- World Bank, Expanding women’s access to financial services, 2014; http://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2013/04/01/banking-onwomenextending-womens-access-to-financial-services (accessed on 12 December 2017).
- Samant, S. S., Dhar, U. and Palni, L. M. S., Medicinal Plants of Indian Himalaya: Diversity Distribution and Potential Values, Gyanodaya Prakashan, Nanital, 1998.
- Sharma, R., Diversity, endemism and economic potential of wild edible plants in Chopta-Mandal forest and vicinity of Garhwal Himalayas in Uttarakhand, 2014; http://ndl.handle.net/10603/ 43686.
- Sharma, R., Gupta, A., Abrol, G. S. and Joshi, V. K., Value addition of wild apricot fruits grown in North–West Himalayan regions – a review. J. Food Sci. Technol., 2014, 51(11), 2917–2924.
- FAO, The state of food and agriculture 1995. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy, 1995.
- Rongsen, L., Sea buckthorn: a multipurpose plant species for fragile mountains. Occasional Paper No. 20, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu, Nepal, 1992, p.63.
- Li, T. S. C., Product development of sea buckthorn. In Trends in New Crops and Issues (eds Janick, J. and Whipkey, A.), ASHS Press, Alexandria, USA, 2002, pp. 393–398.
- Stobdan, T., Angchuk, D. and Singh, S. B., Sea-buckthorn: an emerging storehouse for researchers in India. Curr. Sci., 2008, 94, 1236–1237.
- Banerji, G. and Fareedi, M., Sustainable livelihoods for high altitude mountain communities, Case Studies from the Himalayas, Pragya, www.pragya.org.
- AOAC, Official Methods of Analysis, Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Arlington, VA, USA, 1984, 14th edn.
- AOAC, Official Methods of Analysis of the AOAC, Association of Official Analytical Chemists. Arlington, VA, USA, 1990, 15th edn.
- Rangana, S., Handbook of Analysis and Quality Control for Fruits and Vegetable Products, CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysuru, 1997, 2nd edn.
Abstract Views: 346
PDF Views: 132