the fifth es
tate
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under tHe Mango tree societY
HCL Grant Recipient,
Environment, 2020
HCL Grant Project Title:
Keeping Indigenous Bees Buzzing and
Supporting Biodiversity Conservation in
Tribal Communities
nder e Mango Tree Society (TMT
Society) promotes the critical role of bees
in the ecosystem among tribal communities
of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya
Pradesh. Its people-centric projects ensure
that small and marginal farmers are able to
benefit from indigenous bees as pollinators,
increasing yields and incomes. e project
aims to increase awareness and conservation
of pollinators, train smallholders in
sustainable beekeeping and honey-
harvesting techniques, promote bee-friendly
sustainable agriculture through indigenous
seeds, saplings, bio-fertilisers, and more.
e HCL Grant has helped expand
TMT Society innovations and
interventions to new blocks and districts
in 115 villages – biodiversity-rich areas
with tribal communities in Gujarat (Dangs,
Valsad and Tapi), Maharashtra (Palghar)
and Madhya Pradesh (Chhindwara and
Mandla). It has trained 1,730 smallholders
in sustainable beekeeping with indigenous
species, benefitting 5,190 smallholders
and their families. It provides technical
guidance to beekeepers and hands-on
training to 121 Master Trainers. Located in
remote places with poor connectivity, the
local teams now operate smartphones to
connect for meetings.
Attending the beekeeping training
has helped Amarlal Bharti move
away from unsustainable honey-
hunting practices, and made him
conscious about protecting bees and
their habitat. Like many others
in his village, he was unaware
about the role bees play in crop
pollination and maintaining
biodiversity. Amarlal currently
has two filled beeboxes in his
farm, because of which he has
seen around 40 per cent increase
in chickpea production and 60 per
cent increase in pea production. He
says, “UTMT Society is helping me
learn different skills in beekeeping
so that I can continue to practice it
independently in future.”