GUWAHATI: A group of community women affected by human-elephant conflict (HEC) in Assam’s Udalguri district have received hands-on training in nursery management to enhance their skills in nurturing community-operated nurseries.
This programme aims to sustain the community, foster self-reliance, and contribute to land restoration, sustainability, and human-elephant coexistence.
Premier biodiversity conservation organisation, Aaranyak conducted the training with support from the UNDP-GEF Small Grant Programme and the Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC) and implemented by TERI.
Under Aaranyak’s ongoing project “Community-based Integrated Approach to Facilitate Human-Elephant Coexistence and Biodiversity Conservation” in Udalguri district, a women-led community nursery has been established.
The nursery’s primary goals include the production and maintenance of plants, with a focus on Assam lemon for use as a bio-fence to mitigate human-elephant conflict.
Black pepper will be cultivated in home gardens alongside betel nut, along with various other vegetable and fruit plants.
Dr. Naba Kumar Goswami, Senior Fellow and Regional Coordinator of TERI, and Prafulla Boro, Field Assistant of TERI, provided the training.
Dr. Goswami covered various aspects of nursery management, from nursery bed preparation to media preparation, propagation methods, and strategies for dealing with diseases and pests.
Boro demonstrated techniques such as grafting, cutting, and air layering in plants like Assam lemon and black pepper, translating educational materials into the Bodo language for better comprehension.
Community members replicated the techniques under the trainers’ guidance, with Dr. Goswami addressing various issues related to nursery plant management.
The programme was coordinated by Jayanta Kumar Pathak, Senior Manager in Aaranyak’s Environment Education and Capacity Building Division, and Rabiya Daimari, Field Coordinator in Aaranyak’s Elephant Research and Conservation Division.
Other team members ensured the smooth running and successful completion of the programme.
