Amid thick forests, a group of tribals, mostly women, at Athipet, a remote hamlet around five kms from Jamunamarathur village atop Jawadhu Hills in Tiruvannamalai, was busy, with cookery items, in learning nuances of making mixed fruit jams, squash and juices, using locally grown red tamarind.
At a dilapidated building that belongs to the Forest Department, cookery skills were imparted to around 100 tribals by a team of staff of Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department of the State government in collaboration with Coimbatore-based Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, and Vivekananda Trust as part of enhancing income capability of tribals, especially women, in the hills.
“Training helps us to make home-made cookery items to earn additional income apart from farming. Free mixers were provided to us to make juices and squash individually in our houses for sale, using tamarind,” said S. Petchiammal, a tribal.
Tribals from at least ten remote hamlets that come under Kovilur and Nammiyampattu village panchayats in the hills attended the day-long training at the centre. They were taught a variety of ingredients that can be used to make these food items to enhance its quality and taste.
