Dhule: “Wild Vegetables, Millets Can Help Preserve Tribal Traditions,” Says Ashok Uike

Dhule: Wild vegetables are not merely a source of food from the forest; they represent an invaluable treasure of traditional knowledge, a deep bond with nature and a healthy lifestyle preserved by tribal communities for generations. State Tribal Development Minister Dr Ashok Uike said passing this knowledge on to the new generation, along with conserving water, forests and land, is the need of the hour.

He was speaking at the ‘Wild Vegetable Competition and Millet Festival 2026’ held at Baripada in Sakri taluka.

Minister Uike said wild vegetables and millets are gaining renewed global importance. While the world is turning back to traditional, natural and healthy dietary practices, tribal communities have long possessed this knowledge.

Elders, women and traditional healers (Vaidus) have preserved, through their experience, vital knowledge about the availability of various wild vegetables in specific seasons and the medicinal and other uses of different plants.

The tribal lifestyle is deeply intertwined with deities, cultural identity and nature. We receive abundantly from nature, but must reciprocate through nature conservation. Uike emphasised that culture, lifestyles and traditional knowledge will survive only if water, land and forests are preserved.

Guardian Minister Jaykumar Rawal said the Baripada Wild Vegetable Festival is no longer limited to Maharashtra and has carved a distinct identity for itself at the national level. Commending the work of Padma Shri Chaitram Pawar, he said Baripada has demonstrated to the nation how village development based on public participation can be achieved through the conservation of water, forests and land.

At a time when the importance of environmental conservation is being highlighted globally, the villagers of Baripada recognised this and took concrete action years ago.

He also expressed his intention to ensure, through the district planning process next year, that the initiative from Baripada reaches a wider audience, including students, women’s self-help groups and citizens across the district.

Padma Shri Chaitram Pawar said the ‘Forest Vegetable Festival’ has been organised consistently in Baripada for the past 21 years, with the primary objective of showcasing the invaluable treasure of biodiversity to society and preserving traditional knowledge.

He said that if the government and villagers work together on the five key elements—forests, water, land, people and livestock—a solid foundation for sustainable development can be established.

This small initiative, which began with the aim of preserving the traditional knowledge held by tribal women, has now evolved into a widespread movement.

He emphasised that many local social issues can be resolved by effectively utilising community forest rights, biodiversity provisions and the PESA Act. He also highlighted the need to integrate this initiative with environmental education and take the message to schools and students through a mission-mode approach.

Present on the occasion were the State’s Minister for Marketing and Protocol and Guardian Minister of Dhule District, Jaykumar Rawal; MLAs Manjula Gavit, Kashiram Pavra, Rajesh Padvi and Dilip Borse; District Superintending Agriculture Officer Suraj Jagtap; Tehsildar Sahebrao Sonawane; Girish Kuber of the Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram; Shrimitra Jeevji of the Maitrabodh Parivar; Pramod Patil, Project Officer of the Integrated Tribal Development Project; and festival organiser Padma Shri Chaitram Pawar.

Officials from various departments, office-bearers, women’s self-help groups, villagers and members of the tribal community were also present in large numbers.