August 2024
August 3rd was an extremely wet Saturday in many parts of Maharashtra and we found ourselves on our current ‘Ground Zero’ – Dablipada of Anwir Village in Talasari Block, Palghar District.
This is where Smokeless Cookstove Foundation (SCF) has been working with a small group of Adivasis who belong to this village and some representatives of Grass roots organisation Yash Raj Research Foundation.
SCF has been working with various interventions related to clean cooking including improved mud cookstoves based on Rocket Stove Technology through its signature community intervention model, solar based induction cooking in zilla parishad school and aangawadi and while doing so, learning about this unique Warli Tribal community and their ways of life.
Partnering with Yashraj Research Foundation (YRF) gives an opportunity for us to observe and participate in activities and events that brings the community together at a common platform for critical issues affecting their lives. ‘Raan Bhaji Mahotsav’ (Wild foods festival) was one such event.
On August 3rd, as difficult as it is to motivate this marginal community in pausing their arduous and busy day to cook something native and traditional and participate in a joyous food festival, the Rain Gods didn’t help the cause.
While it poured relentlessly, some women decided to take those tentative steps forward and come out of their homes. And for SCF, it was an exciting day as two of the women who participated in this festival used the Rocket stoves for their cooking.
The festival became a critical learning experience for us as it reflected upon the complex relation of native foods, cooking, women’s health (and that of her family), community coming together, education and also team work through right and persistent efforts.
Early morning, we reached the home of Dinesh Vaijal who has been our key community mobilizer for the project and his sister in-law is one of the women trained in making improved mud cookstoves. Though Dinesh and his brother are active members of the community and understand the importance of our programmes, life for women in this village as everywhere is tough and it seems to be getting tougher by the day. Hence, there is very little time and even less motivation to step up and try something new. Dinesh’s elder brother Dilip is a cook in a private company and is also generally the head chef in all village functions where community cooking takes place. When we reached, the menu was already decided, and Dilip dada had given instructions to his wife on special flavours from his experience. That day, food was going to be wild and delicious.
‘Raan Bhaji’ is a popular terminology in Maharashtra, as it simply means forest vegetables. These vegetables are naturally obtained, nutritionally and medicinally rich, and have been used by the tribal folks for centuries. Their nutritional and therapeutic values are optimum since they grow in their natural habitat, meaning they grow on their own without being sown or cultivated. The seeds are the fittest as they have survived different weather conditions. Hence the vegetables are extremely robust and healthy. These are habitat & location specific. They have a symbiotic relationship with their habitat for e.g. some grow on marshy (soft & wet) land, some on stony, some on a slope, in bushes, grasses, or by water bodies, etc. etc
Another aspect is that they can be found at about the same spots in the jungle, with the same qualities, unless the habitat has been modified by man. The tribal people consider nature, jungle, & their habitat as their gods. The forest god they worship is called Hirwa Dev (‘the Green God’).
Unfortunately, in recent years the cultivation of these vegetables is on a decline and there is a danger of the latter being forgotten and becoming extinct. (heard from the people and internet)
This was perhaps the main objective behind hosting ‘Raan Bhaji Mahotsav’ by Yashraj Research Foundation.
So, while we observed, Ila Vaijal Tai got busy cooking the most delicious Raan Bhaji dishes – she chose ‘Paliyanchi Bhaji, Paliyancha Paranthas along with Shengha chi Bhaji’. For the urban reader, this is all cooked from the wonder plant – Moringa. So the healthy, delicious and fresh menu was Moringa dry vegetable, Monringa Paranthas and Drumstick Sambhar or soup with cauliflowers. Flavours so fresh that it didn’t need much seasoning and spices.
To our deepest joy, this was being cooked on improved mud cookstoves based on Rocket Stove Technology and we saw how effortlessly smokefree these stoves are. The only aspect to understand is the ignition process and the initial few minutes of stove firing. It takes a few minutes to get the rocket fired to its full heating capacity and for it to burn efficiently using almost all the available firewood. However, these few minutes are crucial for the women who are required to finish their chores with clock work precision.
But the convergence of smokeless cooking environment with a healthy native food can move the needle on women’s health significantly. Food being cooked, we got the first taste of it and with rains falling, and steam emanating from the food, the taste of it felt like a piece of rich and abundant forest. .
Ila Tai and other village women made their way to Dablipada’s Zilla Parishad school hall and we hoped for a houseful of women with their delicacies on display for taste.
However, due to pouring rain, some women couldn’t make it to the festival and understandably so. But those who made it, showed immense spirit and obviously brought along ‘Raan Bhaji’ party!
The great significance of a festival like this was also in the guests and dignitaries who too braved the heavy rains. There were officials from the ZP school (this school has a special significance to our work), representatives from Public Healthcare Center including the Chief Health Officer and of course the field team of Yashraj Research Foundation https://www.yashrajbharatisamman.org/about-the-foundation/ who put this entire event together.
Everyone who presided over the event and acted as official tasters to select winners had women’s health and well-being as their priority. What was heartening is that all the speakers and guests reiterated the same message that women need to step up and embrace what’s already good in their environment – like the ‘Raan Bhaji’ and make sure that they keep good health.
The PHC team quickly selected 3 winners based on certain parameters but every woman who participated was a winner that day.
And what was most heartening is that the PHC team along with YRF team conducted a basic test of Blood Pressure and Haemoglobin for all the participants in order to complete the message of ‘importance of good food with good health’.
SCF team was happy as Ila Tai won the first price for her wholesome meal but the real winner was ‘wild foods – Raan Bhaji’ cooked by our Adivasi women of Anwir village!
Our work in Talasari Block, Palghar district is part of Godrej Design Lab (https://godrejdesignlab.com/) Fellowship for Social Impact
Photo documentation by Gopal MS (https://mumbaipaused.substack.com/). Hit Gopal’s substack link to read more about ‘Secrets of smoke’ series documented in this region.
About the author
Nitisha is the Founder & Director of Smokeless Cookstove Foundation that works with communities such as adivasis of Warli Pada to create awareness about clean energy and various livelihood linkages connected to clean energy. Her NGO teaches such communities the skill of making an improved mud cookstove model from naturally available materials based on Rocket Stove Technology to help them reduce drudgery emanating from rudimentary cooking methods. Currently, the team is working in Anwir Village, Talasari Block of Palghar district in Maharashtra
foraged food, monsoons ,this landsape and stories from the natives is making it so magical.
Yes absolutely. Every time we are in the field, there is so much to observe and learn from the community and the landscape.