Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 17 (UNI) Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh will address around 300 beneficiaries, including artisans and farmers, from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) communities who have received support from various projects launched by Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council-Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (BRIC-RGCB) and Swadeshi Science Movement-Kerala (SSM-K) at the RGCB campus here on Thursday.
The ‘SC/ST Farmers and Artisans Meet’ under the Science and Technology Innovation Programme, to be held at 12.15 pm, is jointly organised by BRIC-RGCB, SSM-K, and Vijnana Bharathi. Dr. Chandrabhas Narayana, Director, BRIC-RGCB, will preside over the function.
The event will see the convergence of 100 beneficiaries of BRIC-RGCB’s Tribal Heritage Project and 200 SC artisans of SSM-K’s SC Hub project. Both these projects are funded by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, to document the traditional knowledge of tribals and empower their livelihood.
An expo featuring 50 wild tuber varieties from the forest and 60 paddy varieties from Wayanad will also be held.
RGCB had launched the Tribal Heritage Project to support the traditional enterprises of tribal communities in Idukki, Wayanad, and Thiruvananthapuram districts as part of the Government of India’s Science Heritage Research Initiative (SHRI) to preserve the country’s rich tribal heritage and ethnic knowledge.
The major objective of the project is to protect the tribal heritage through various scientific interventions with the participation of tribal communities.
On occasion, Dr. Singh will do an online launch of six community enterprise units under BRIC-RGCB’s project, besides launching three ethnic food processing units.
The Minister will also release the books, titled “The Taste of the Wild: An Inventory on Ethnic Food and Wild Edibles” and “Revitalising Tribal Traditions: Initiatives for Sustainable Vikasit Bharat,” at the function.
The Tribal Heritage Project focused on value addition and fortification, developing products from underutilised locally available resources like tubers, fruits, and medicinal plants.
As part of the project, around 20 community enterprises based on traditional skills and wisdom integrated with modern science have been established.
The groups are producing and selling more than 40 different products, including plant saplings, NTFP products, food products, and medicinal products. It also includes ethnic food processing units making value-added products from wild tubers and fruits.
The project has made a significant impact on tribal communities in Kerala by focusing on the preservation of traditional knowledge, empowerment of tribes, conservation of indigenous flora and practices, economic growth, and the promotion of indigenous practices and products.
Through extensive fieldwork and interventions, the project has successfully documented and revitalised tribal traditions, resulting in the establishment of community enterprises and the empowerment of over 425 tribal families.
Based out of Thiruvananthapuram, BRIC-RGCB is an institution under the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.
