A dimension within Tribal Food & Rights
Exploring the deep connection and traditional ways of life within indigenous forest communities.
150 voices speak to this
Each dimension splits this theme further — keep drilling to see how it breaks down.
Neutral
Overall Community Sentiment
AI-synthesised pieces woven from many community voices on this theme. They may contain errors or interpretation — they're a reflection of the stories, not a record of fact.

In remote mountain forests, a community navigates daily life, preserving ancient crops and adapting cultural traditions amidst evolving times.

Drawing strength from ancient customs and the jungle's bounty, our community thrives by living independently and preserving traditional foodways for future generations.

Our tribal community shares how to cultivate vital crops like chickpeas, corn, and lentils, even in dry conditions without relying on irrigation.

We are tribals who worship nature, depending on its plants for our health and sustenance, while maintaining traditional farming with zero irrigation.
Our community lives by building homes in the forests, hunting wild animals, and sustaining themselves by eating tamarind, mango, guava, and other produce found in the forest. Thus, they belong to a different way of life.
— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Tribal people generally live in forests, live in hills, eat forest products, so they lead a different life from ordinary people.
— Kunakanta Behera · Dashapalla, Nayagarh, Odisha
We are all tribal people, we live in forests. We collect our food from the forests. With that, we sustain ourselves. This is indeed our life's goal.
— KusaPradhani · Anakabadi, Rayagada, Odisha
We tribals cut down forests to build our homes and live in the forest itself. From the forest, we get roots, flowers, and delicious fruits, and we sustain our lives from them, and we also do farming.
— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
My tribal people, living in the forest far from the city and making food from forest produce.
— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
We tribals are completely different from other castes; our ancestors used to live in forests and sustained themselves by eating fruits, flowers, etc., from the forest.
— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
By living in the forest
— अमर जीत · Ormaura, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Due to living in forest and hilly areas
— Sunita Kumari · Ghorawal, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Due to living in forests
— Sunita Kumari · Ghorawal, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Tribal people often live in forests and eat many things that we don't know.
— Chanda
Our tribe lives in the forest, far from villages and cities, and for food, they eat mahua, dori, koyna, this street, etcetera, kola.
— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
People of our community live in villages far from the city, building their homes in forested areas, and eat coarse grains, which makes them distinct.
— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
From living in the forest
— अमर जीत · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
The heritage of the tribals was the forest.
— Amar Lal Dhurwey · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
Tribal people used to build homes after cutting down forests and used herbs, fruits, and food from the forest. And they used to drink Chuwada water. That's why tribal people are different.
— Chanda
We live in these forests, originating from our ancestral settlements.
— Kachala Choudhary
People of our caste mostly leave the city and live in villages, far away in forests and mountains, building houses and living there. And they hunt wild animals. And al
— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Our tribal communities live their lives on the edge of the forest.
— Amar Lal Dhurwey · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
They go into the jungle, build houses and huts, hunt birds and wild animals for their food and survival, and they eat fruits and flowers.
— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Our caste lives in the jungle, far from villages and cities, and consumes things from the jungle, and that is why they are different.
— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Living in the forest and enduring hardships, whether it is building a home to use herbs for treating illnesses, or making a living by eating fruits and flowers, or for this.
— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Tribes live in forests and make a living by killing animals.
— Chanda
People of their own caste, both from villages and cities, build their homes in the dense jungle far from the city and source their food and water from the forest.
— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
The factors that define our tribe are mostly living around the forest, along with our dress and traditional attire.
— Sunil oraon · Ranchi, Jharkhand
Our tribe is different from other castes in that we are in our forest far from the city.
— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
We are tribals, we are nature worshippers. We always depend on trees and plants to live. We sustain our livelihood by eating its tubers, fruits, and roots.
— PRADEEP KUMAR KANHAR · Boudh, Odisha
The Makadia tribe's life and livelihood depend on the forest. They live by gathering and selling fruits, flowers, roots, medicinal herbs, and mushrooms from the forest as food. They respect whatever their elders say. When food in one forest runs out, they move to another forest.
— Anirudha Marai
People of our caste live far from here in their mountainous region, building huts, and of the forest
— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
People of their caste live in huts in remote mountain areas and dense forests, far from civilization, which makes them distinct. Their diet is also natural, which also sets them apart.
— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Reside in geographical areas such as mountains and forests.
— Sunita Kumari · Ghorawal, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Our society is like this due to living in the forest and education.
— Sunita Kumari · Ghorawal, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
We used to live in our nature with the forest, happily bringing forest produce. We would all eat and live together. You were climbing.
— sudhir gamanga · Gadiakhala, Ketalugurha, Rayagada
Indigenous people mostly live in the forest, their attachment is to the forest itself, that's why they reside on the edge of the forest and their life
— Ram Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
People of that particular caste used to build their huts and live far from the city in the jungle and bushes, and they used to eat raw grains.
— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Name Bira Madhi, Village Kutiguda, GP Mariwada, District Malkangiri. They were living by collecting their livelihood from the forest.
— Mukunda Madkami · Pujariguda, Malkangiri, Odisha
We get various types of fruits and roots from the forest.
— Laba Kumar sabar · Bada Baridi, Rayagada, Odisha
We Adivasi communities are communities that depend on nature, collect roots and tubers from the forests, and use them as food, which is very nutritious and also serves as medicine.
— Ram Kumari
Tribals consume their food, roots, vegetables, etc., and live their lives well.
— Ram Maravi · Dindori, Madhya Pradesh
The main factors defining our community are mostly settlement in forest areas.
— Sunil oraon · Ranchi, Jharkhand
Adivasi is neither a caste nor a pretense; it has its own civilization and culture. It relies entirely on nature. We Adivasis live in forests, live an independent life, and have a unique art of living.
— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
The voices in this theme were gathered by these organisations through their community reports.

“What are the key determinants that define your tribe, talk about how your tribe is different from others?” · “If you or your women’s groups are given a seed capital of INR 20,000, what enterprise will you choose?” · +7 more

“What are the Just Transitions pathways, considering Livelihoods, and Inclusive Economies?”

“If you had a Magic wand that could change, add or remove anything from Thiruvanmiyur Mada Veedhi, what would it be?”

“"Gender and participation in environment work" - What kind of work do women do for forests, water and farming in your Village?”