Every morning most women in the Kodarapalli tribal village in Odisha prepare to fetch forest resources and then prepare for their household chores. Interesting, a few others pick up lathis or sticks instead – and head to the forest.
These women do not venture to hunt an animal for meat or protect themselves from anti-social humans or wild animals. Instead, these women set out to safeguard the forest and its resources.
The activity is called ‘thengapalli’, which translates to ‘thenga’, meaning sticks and ‘palli’, explained as ‘turn’. It is a practice where members from the village participate in protecting their community forest. It involves around 4-6 women patrolling the forest’s boundaries in shifts. Once their turn ends, another bunch of women change the guard. The patrolling is done in three shifts starting at 6 am and lasting until the late hours.
Interestingly, the practice is not new and has been carried out for at least five decades, long before the…