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.