North Bastar Vanopaj Producer Company Limited

Our little operation is over in village Dabena, which is part of the Narharpur area in North Bastar. If you are looking for us, we are located right with Shri Rup Ram Sahu. It’s a pretty rural spot, so things move a bit slower here than they do in the big cities. We focus on vanopaj, which is basically all the things you can get from the forest besides just wood. There’s a lot of traditional knowledge in this area about what grows where and when to pick it. Most of us grew up around here, so we know the paths and the trees like the back of our hands. We spend a lot of time talking to the local collectors who bring in what they’ve found during the day. It gets pretty busy when certain items are in season and we have to get everything sorted and ready. The office isn't much to look at, just a practical space where we keep our records and store things for a bit. Sometimes the electricity goes out if there's a big storm, but we just keep working by daylight. It’s just how things are out here in the village. We like being part of the community and helping people get a fair shake for the hard work they do in the woods. It’s not an easy life, but it’s a good one and it feels right to be doing this work.