A Day in Kannavam Forest

29th January, 2014, the day we spent in Kannavam Forest. It is around 60 kilometres away from NIFT Kannur. Preferred mode of transport is bus. First we met Forest Range Officer Mr. Premraja. We explained about our Graduation Project, for application of Reversible Garment for workers of Forestry department. I have say he was very enthusiastic and supportive. He told us about various activities in  Kannavam Forest. He showed his benedict gesture by assisting on staff person Mr. Sunil Kumar for forest trip. He was fluent in both Malayalam and Hindi language.

About Forest:

Kannavam Forest is a part of Kannur district in Kerala. It comes under Nidumpoyil section.The lush green forest, located on the foothills of the Western Ghats was established in the year 2000. The main objective is to restore the ecology in the region. So apart from the already existing trees, thousands of trees have been planted over the years. There are about 7500 species of plants and trees in the jungle. Most of seeds are purchased locally. Some of the common trees are:

1) Tectona grandis (TEAK)
2) Terminalia paniculate
3) Terminalia tomantosa
4) Terminalia bellarica
5) Bitex altissima

The forest is spread in the area of 8398 hectares( 83.98 sq. km). The periphery boundary is 68 Kilometres. There are numerous activities like Plantation operation, Fire-line dissemination, logging, felling trees, loading, dragging etc. The tools generally used by workers are knifes, shovel, axe, chainsaw etc.

The Demographic:




The Working

Khurchias Tribes are the major communities residing near forest. They work in the forest with holistic manner with common motto "to preserve the Forest". They were basically called hunting tribe. They have rich culture and heritage. The Kurchias as a class were loyal to Pazhassi Raja, the first guerrilla fighter of Kerala to take up arms against the British. Kurchias are known for their traditional hunting skills and primitive subsistence farming. They tilled forest hill slopes by the technique of slash and burn cultivation.



Lavish house of Kurchia Tribe family

There is one unique thing about Kurchias tribes which totally differentiate them from rest of tribal people of India, the standard of living. I was flabbergasted to see their house built with concrete and furnished with paints. They are elite class among the tribal.

Climate:

January to May is the summer time with average temperature 28-35 degree Celsius. Sometime it reaches to 40 degree Celsius, especially during month of march. June to September is the monsoon period, with heavy rain. October to December is moderate climate. Plantation is done during the month of August and September.

Forest department:

The workers are temporary. On an average around 10,000 workers work in the region. The payment is done on the daily basis. Rs 400 per day for unskilled workers and Rs. 600 per day for skilled workers. There is shortage of workers due to not unavailability but to unwillingness.. The standard of living is high and the communities are rich enough. Annual expenditure of Kovannam Forestry department is Rs 50-60 lackhs per  annum and revenue generated is around Rs 5 to 10 crores.

Tool

There is no such work wear for the forestry workers. Albeit the patrolling staff has simple khaki uniforms. The Fire-Line activities is quite common during the month of January. Here 5.2 m wide boundary is ubiquitously disseminated in the forest area. This is done by marking and then slashing and burning the leaves, woods etc. This serves the purpose in 2 ways. First it differentiate the private land to the government property and second is to prevent any unwanted trespassing.

Of all the trees Teak wood is most important because of the commercial reasons. The timber of teak is useful for manufacturing plywood. The Matti tree is a softwood which is use in manufacturing match sticks.

There was dormitories near the range office. The forest awareness and environment protection camp is held by High school kids and college occasion. The nature camp is also held for students.

The disposal in jungle

The department is also active in various other activities. The Forest sanitation is challenging job in which the forest department with the holistic help of tribal community dispose all the kind of waste especially non- biodegradable like plastic, bottles etc. With the rise in population this has been creating major problem.

Western Ghats is starts from Gujarat to Kanniyakumari, Tamil Nadu.The Madhav Gadgil committee stated that Western Ghats is a major part forestry region which must be protected. With slight modification of Kasturi committee the government become more concerned in order to preserve the integrity of the Western Ghats, as it determines the climatic change in India. The livelihood of 30 crores people depends on it both directly and indirectly. So, the unwanted intrusion which could harm the forest should be eliminated otherwise it could annihilate the eco system.

The Fire Watches is built on each place to check the potential forest fire. Generally, it can occur naturally with the friction of the dry wood, but since the climate is moderate so there is less chances of any forest fire. There is still the chance of fire by any other way like by human being. So, without taking any chance, the forest department want to make sure that it doesn't happen. There have been any case recorded officially of forest fire.

Hefty Adventure:

There was one big issue which is going quite prevalent now days in the region. The Maoist invasion. They have been creating some disturbances in the region by trafficking, smuggling, robbery of government goods, kidnapping etc. So, patrolling team always patrol with the guard carrying guns. One of the official even warned us about Maoist group. I was really bumped up with that caveat. We brave soldier took our chance and carried on this uncanny adventure.

Overall it was awesome experience for me. I really appreciate the commitment of the forestry department for their great work.I learned a lot learned some tricky scientific name of the tree and real life lesson of life. It has been 3 and a half year in Kerala and I didn't learned Malayalam much, saw a lady near from Balia, Uttar Pradesh. I was really astonished to find a woman coming all over the place leaving her family at tender age of 19 and settling in remote forest area. Hats off to the lady. She now has family with 4 kids here. She spoke Malayalam, Bhojpuri and I was immersed in the cocktail of the 2 different culture. This is new India it's changing for good.