Composition of Mahua flower
- Moisture - 18%,
- Protein - 6.4%,
- Fat - 0.4%,
- Sugar - 70%,
- Fibres - 1.7%,
- Ash - 2.7%,
- Minerals, Vitamins & others - 0.8%.
Tori are a great favourite of monkeys and
birds. Villagers say that regeneration of Mahua is greatly
assisted by monkeys and birds whose droppings carry viable
seeds that germinate into healthy plants. Mahua oil is hard
in nature and constitutes 35% of the seed. The yield of oil
from seeds however depends on type of equipment and method
employed for crushing. Oil contains: Oleic (41 - 51%), Stearic
(20-25.1%) and 16 to 28.2 % of palmitic acid.
It has been observed that good flowering
in Mahua occurs every alternate year or once in every three
years. The reason for this is said to be fluctuations in rainfall,
temperature and other climatic factors. According to some,
damage caused to the tree while beating with bamboo for tori
collection is one of the major causes for poor flowering.
Utilisation
Mahua flowers are rich source of sugar, vitamin,
and calcium and thus offer wholesome nourishment when boiled
with rice. In view of their high sugar content and absence
of toxicity, tribal and other rural people eat them, both
raw and cooked. Mahua flowers are considered good for cooling,
and are used as a tonic and demulcent. They can also be baked
into cakes. Tribal use dried Mahua along with wheat flour
to make chapattis and also boil it with rice. It is roasted,
powdered with gram, and eaten with Sal seed as sweat meat.
However, flowers if eaten in higher quantities can cause vomiting
and uneasiness.
Most of the tribal near forest area distil
Mahua flower for liquor. The liquor has a strong, smoky, foetid
odour, which becomes less on ageing. It constitutes an important
material for fermentative production of alcohol. Redistilled
and carefully prepared liquor are of good quality. Items like
gud and tar are seen as substitutes of Mahua. If Mahua is
costlier then the above two, it is replaced and the demand
further goes down. Mahua sale is also affected in case of
decrease in income in the household, as there are net sellers
and few buyers.
Santal tribes use different parts of Mahua
for curing ailments. Barks of Mahua and Bakain boiled together
are used as mouthwash to cure inflammation of gums. Bark of
Mahua mixed with rice is given to patients for some days and
is a certain cure against continuous fever. Apart from human
consumption, Mahua flowers are excellent fodder material.
Not only the dried flowers but spent flowers after fermentation
can be used as a livestock feed. Cattle relish them and when
fed as part of concentrate mixture do not have any adverse
affect on the yield and quality of milk.
A study shows that in the utilisation pattern
of Mahua flower - brewing liquor gets first priority followed
by selling for cash income, food and animal feed in that order.
This is a concern for some as consuming and selling liquor
has obvious social and economic ramifications and commercialisation
of Mahua implies that people are now not eating a nutritious
food as much as they used to earlier.
Mahua seed is one of the most important of
the TBOs in India. It is used mostly in manufacturing of soaps,
particularly the laundry variety. It is also used for edible
and cooking purpose and as illuminate and hair oil. In many
areas it is used as an adulterant for refined ghee like Dalda.
It is also used for extracting edible oil that has local and
traditional market in the villages. The fat can also be used
for cooking and confectionary and chocolate making. Refined
oil is used in manufacture of lubricating greases. The oil
is used for candles, as bathing oil, in jute industry as a
raw material for production of fatty alcohols and stearaic
acid. Mahua oil has emollient properties and is used in skin
diseases, rheumatism, and headache. It is considered as a
good laxative in habitual constipation, piles and haemorrhoids.
People also eat making curry of tender Mahua
seed, and according to them it's very tasty.
The crude oil has a deep colour. Yield of
oil from seeds depend on efficiency of the equipment employed
for crushing - 20-30% (of the weight of Kernels) in ghanis,
> 35% in expellers and around 50% when extracted by solvents.
De oiled cakes are profitably utilised as bio fertilisers
or cattle feed or sold to solvent extraction plants, where
still more oil is extracted.
The soap manufacturers are now using a cheaper
source of Mahua guli oil, mutton talo that is cheaper by around
25%. So now increasingly, Mahua oil use is getting restricted
to that in vanaspati ghee. This is also used in leather industry
as well as for adulterating clarified butter. The tribal commonly
consumes the tori oil that contains 40 -45% oil. The oil cake
is also used as pesticide/ fish poison. It contains 16% of
protein.
Collection and Processing
The collection of the white coloured flowers
is done by a tribal family first clearing the ground around
the tree by either sweeping or controlled fire. Collection
is done early in the morning as flowers start dropping between
4 and 5 AM, whereby white coloured flowers are easily visible
against the grey background of ash and it facilitates collection
process. In some cases a long bamboo stick with a curved hook
is used for plucking Mahua flowers.
Mostly women and children are associated
with the activity. The collectors come back from the forests
by 12' noon. Mahua flower collection coincides with Rabi crop
peak season and hence women are overburdened. Sometimes children,
primarily girls overtake adults in participating in collection
and harvesting process.
Collection of Mahua flower is 15 - 20 day
affair. There are three distinct and marked phases of flower
dropping.
- Shuru - this lasts for 5-6 days. During
this period, flowers that are collected possess a shrunken
appearance. On drying, flowers collected during the phase
yield 25% by weight of total collected produce.
- Bharwari - this stage follows shuru period,
and lasts around a week. The qualities of flowers that drop
during this period are highest, with yields going up to
50% post drying. They possess a bold and succulent appearance.
- Kanwa - last stage of flower dropping,
they indicate end of collection period. The flowers of this
stage bear resemblance to that of flowers at initial stage
in appearance as well as in yield.
Once collected, they are spread out in open
courtyard of the house, and left to dry under sunlight for
up to 3 days. Processing and drying is entirely done by women.
The dried flowers are then stored in baskets and covered with
leaves (of Neem and Kusum as preservatives) for sale. The
flowers could be covered with leaves of Jamun and Mahul to
save them from moisture and strong sunlight, and in this form
they can be kept for a long time, even for more then a year.
Mahua without much moisture content is red
in colour and is considered to be of good quality. With high
moisture content it becomes black in colour. Mahua flowers
should preferably be stored in centre of the room, about few
feet away from walls. This is done because with oxidation
of glucose present in flowers, a lot of heat and carbon dioxide
is generated which breaks and cracks walls if kept along them.
The flowers can also be kept in cold storage. The rental comes
to Rs. 75 per quintal for one season (till February from the
production period). They can be kept in cold storages up to
3 years.
The flower as an item of food is either eaten
raw or cooked. More usually, the corolla tubes after removing
the stamens are boiled for about 6 hours and left to simmer
until the water evaporates completely. The odour disappears
as a result of cooking and the material becomes soft and juicy;
is eaten with rice, Sal seeds, grains or other food as sweet.
The following steps can enhance the earning
of collectors
-
The three phases of
flower dropping be kept separately as they belong to separate
grades and hence fetch different prices
-
Sun drying leaves the
moisture at around 20% that should be ideally below 12%.
This is possible by draught type driers.
-
Mahua flowers can be
packed in plastic bags before storing in gunny bags or
alternately gunny bags plastered with cow dung have also
been used with good results.
Mahua seed
Mahua seed is collected during May to July.
In a season when Mahua tree flowers more, seed production
is low. The villagers go to forests early in morning to collect
fruits using bamboo sticks (or climb the tree) to pluck the
fruits. In a season when a Mahua tree flowers more, seed production
is low. This year collection of Mahua seed is expected to
be low. During a bumper season a person can collect up to
15 kg of tori per day.
Local tribal use their indigenous knowledge
for extraction of oil from seed. 250 ml of oil is extracted
from 1 kg of seed. Oil is usually kept for domestic consumption.
In the market they sell at Rs 8/- a kg. After collection of
fruits, the seeds are separated from them and tribal people
eat the pulp. After removal of pulp, seeds are washed and
soaked in water for 3 days so that the seed coat softens.
Thereafter covering is removed either one at a time or several
by crushing the seeds through grind stone by applying minimal
pressure. The collection of gutti is a labour intensive job.
It takes a full day to prepare the guli for selling or getting
it to extracting mills. The first half of the day is spent
in collection.
As soon as it is prepared, seeds are taken
to oil extraction plants. The mill owner does not charge anything
for extraction. He keeps the remnants of extraction (khari)
for himself. Extraction of oil gets reduced if it is over
dried or stored for longer period. More ripened the guli,
more is the output of oil. So what people do is that they
sell unripened guli, and ripened ones are kept for household
consumption. Only the surplus guli is sold, but quantity is
decreasing day by day due to menace of monkeys, who spoil
guli before ripening. A family needs around 30 - 40 kg for
self-consumption. In some areas, tribal do not even get sufficient
gullies for consumption.
Mahua guli is prone to fungal attack if not
preserved properly. It is kept in an airtight earthen pot
with its mouth sealed or in baskets with wet mud and leaf
coating. Mouth of the basket is covered with mahul or palas
leaves. This indigenous technique is useful for storing the
guli for sufficiently long time before onset of monsoons.
Groups can set up advance dealing directly
with the oil expellers, if they are located nearby. Indigenous
methods for oil expelling could be utilised and gully oil
may be sold to soap manufacturers after vacuum purification.
Production and Pricing
During nationalisation, collection of Mahua
(1969-72) was - 1129.77, 7323.46, 402.01 MT respectively in
the whole of undivided MP. But then Mahua being a non-nationalised
produce for the last so many years, it is difficult to get
the relevant data. It is also believed that Mahua is one produce,
where the clandestine trading is the most.
The price of flowers that are traded after
drying depends on colour and moisture content; lesser the
moisture content greater will be its value. The best grade
is that which has a golden yellow colour and a succulent appearance.
Flowers black in colour and having shrivelled appearance fetch
lower price. The loss of value for poor grade produce ranges
from 20 - 80%.
The Mahua prices do not seem to follow law
of supply and demand, which implies that prices are determined
from other parts of the country than by local factors.
Economic Aspects
Setting up a small size oil as a SSI would
cost Rs. 1 to 1.25 Lakhs (at 1997 prices) including filtration
set up required at a central (may be a block) level. DWCRA
and DRDA schemes could be explored for this. KVIC also has
schemes that could help setting up of a SSI.
Assuming that 3 kgs of ripe gully will result
in 1 kg of oil and average price of oil as Rs. 27 a Kg, the
returns to the primary collector per kg of gully would be
Rs. 7/ Kg again assuming a Rs. 2 per kg of processing cost
of the gully.
Trade Aspects
Villagers sell Mahua in collection season
because of cash requirements and again buy it after few months.
This arrangement affects the household economy more because,
unlike other NTFP, Mahua flower is one of primary source of
nourishment of the community that they cannot do without.
But in case of tori, the procurement is not
much concentrated around the season because it is both storable
and widely used at home. This is considered as one of the
liquid assets and hence acts as a reserve to be sold when
there is need for money.
A licence is issued for trading in Mahua
by Mandi authorities. They are allowed to trade up to 4 quintals
of Mahua in weekly haats. The traders and their agents do
the procurement during the production season and stock for
resale during the off-season.
Ranchi is the biggest trading centre for
Mahua in India and the price here influences its price all
over India. So most of the Mahua collected in the state go
to Ranchi through 2-3 levels of kutchias, traders and commission
agents. Mahua is in demand throughout the year in Ranchi.
Mahua flower can also be sent to other parts of the state
or neighbourhood Maharastra. Rajasthan, if the areas have
had less harvest for some reason or other.
The firms that manufacture liquor place order
to commission agents and they in turn engage collection agents
to collect flowers from villages. Collection agents are appointed
on a commission basis and are given money in advance for procurement.
These agents buy flowers from tribal in the season and store
them till the brokers transport the bags to their godowns.
Both cash and barter system is prevalent
in the trade at village level. In case of barter, the tribal
are given a quintal of salt in exchange of 5 kg of Mahua.
The salt is used in cattle fodder. A tribal household would
ideally like to store 50% of his collection for self-consumption,
if it does not require immediate cash.
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
Medicinal plants in M.P. constitute a vast,
undocumented and overexploited economic resource and they
are the principal health care resources for the majority of
the people of the country. The demand for medicinal plants
is increasing in both developing and developed countries,
and the bulk of the material trade are still from wild harvested
sources on forestland and only a small number of species are
cultivated.
Medicinal and aromatic plants are found as
under storey in natural forests. Many varieties of medicinal
plants and herbs are found in all types of forest in the undivided
state, estimation of which is very difficult to arrive at.
In the past due to biotic pressures and over utilisation many
plant species of medicinal importance have vanished, but there
are still large areas in the state that are storehouse of
such plants. Many of them are now in the threatened list.
As found from a study nearly 95% of medicinal
plants are being collected at present from the wild. There
is a lack of methods for estimation of medicinal plants resource
from the forests. Recently the State Forest Research Institute,
Jabalpur has carried out systematic survey of medicinal and
aromatic plants in a limited area (Peoples Protected Areas
in 10 districts). Medicinal and aromatic plants come under
the category 'Non-nationalised non-timber forest produces'.
The state govt. abolished royalty on these products in 1985
and since then their trade has remained unorganised being
carried out through a number of middlemen, which has resulted
in meagre collection wages to the actual collectors. The absence
of regulations on the trade except for transport permit has
resulted in a dearth of reliable data about the trade.
In the teak and Sal forests of the state,
about 500 plant species have been reported of having medicinal
properties, but in a survey conducted in 1997, not more then
200 species could be enumerated. About 56 species of medicinal
plants are traded in considerable quantities in the undivided
state (1998). Out of the species traded in primary markets,
47% are herbs, 16% shrubs, 20% trees and 14% climbers. Chlorophytum
Tuberosum, Withania Somnifera, Rauvolfa Serpentina are the
important medicinal species found in the state.
Although medicinal plants have tremendous
economic and medicinal value, most of the trading happens
in the unorganised sector. Many medicinal plants are marketed
outside and hence have high export earning potential. It has
been reported that collectors sometimes get only 1% of total
profit of the produce. Collectors' remuneration varies substantially
from place to place and species to species. Within Bastar
itself price paid to collectors have been observed to vary
by more then 200%.
Medicinal plants have almost similar chain
as that of other non-nationalised NTFP. But, while for some,
there is an established demand, for others the market is mostly
demand driven. With placing orders with wholesalers, it passes
to village level, stimulating collection of products requested.
This has a very harmful effect on availability of species
demanded. Traders or agents who come to village to collect
the required specie do not leave until they have harvested
entire available amount. Many of the similar looking plants
or herbs also get destroyed in the melee that commences.
Realising the importance of medicinal plants
in providing livelihood security and health security to the
rural population the state Govt. has appointed the MFP federation
as nodal agency for development collection, processing and
marketing of medicinal plants. The MFP. Federation is undertaking
the activities of state medicinal plants board in collaboration
and coordination with the National Medicinal Plants Board,
New Delhi (NMPB) for cultivation of medicinal plants. They
are also implementing 4 projects of in-situ conservation and
ex-situ propagation of medicinal plants funded by NMPB. Farmers
have taken up cultivation of medicinal plants in a big way
in MP. Mandasor is already the largest Mandi of Aswagandha.
Similarly farmers are cultivating Safed Musli, Aonla, Kalmegh,
Aloe vira, Guggal and many aromatic plants has recently been
constituted in Bhopal, which can be contacted for trade related
enquiries. |
