The district administration has offered to provide training to tribal people in making furniture from Lantana Camera in Bargur hills so that they can generate income and improve their livelihood.
Ale. Madhubalan, Additional Collector (Development)/Project Officer, District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) visited Tamil Nadu Tribal People Association at Thamaraikarai on the hill top where chairs, tables, racks and tree guards made of invasive weed were kept.
The association’s state committee member VP Gunasekaran said 20 tribal people were trained by the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment from Nar Mahadeshwar in Chamarajanagar, Karnataka, two years ago.
He also said that they are in the process of setting up a center on the campus, which can accommodate 40 to 50 people.
The association urged the governments and the forest department to financially support their activities. Mr Gunasekaran said they are seeking funds for the construction of the building worth around Rs 12 lakh. “We have planned to complete the construction work in three months.
The weed occupies thousands of acres of forest land preventing the regeneration of native species.
Since the forest department has insufficient funds to clear the weeds, the association plans to use the weeds to make furniture.
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