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Present in abundance in Himachal, pine needles, which are usually left unused and cause forest fires, are now serving a better purpose. Rural women in the state are using this nature’s gift to make eco-friendly rakhis and other gift items, to earn a livelihood.

Himachal Pradesh Institute of Administrative Reforms (HIPA) collaborated with Karwan, a society with a twin objective of conserving forests and generating livelihood for rural women, and trained women in the craft. They initially trained a batch of 22 women in Kot Panchayat near Hipa and later got more trainees. So far, 500 women in Shimla and Solan districts have been trained in crafting not just rakhis, but also items such as roti box, coaster set, pen stand, pine needle rakhi, tissue holder, fruit basket, pine needle jewellery etc.

“The women have earned around ₹ 84 lakh so far by selling products made of pine needles and this would only go up during the Rakhi season,” says Ishu Thakur, coordinator for the self-help group.

For rural women, the initiative has come as a boon. Not just are they contributing to the environment by promoting eco-friendly items, but also becoming self-dependent by earning a livelihood.

Priyadarshni Kumari, one of the women trained under the initiative, says, “We were unaware that pine needles, that are usually just used to make beds for the cattle in cow sheds, can be used in so many ways. Once we got trained, we made a large number of items during the Covid lockdown and sold them.”

Speaking about the special rakhis, she said, “We are enclosing seeds of some plant in each rakhi. That way, once someone discards the rakhis, the seeds in it may grow into a plant somewhere.”

Hemavati, 42, a trainer, said, “Opportunities for livelihood are rare in rural areas of Himachal. Most women work alongside men in the fields. I myself had look around a lot for employment opportunities. Initially, I trained 22 women in making products from pine needles. All of them were paid even during the training period. I have myself earned ₹ 30,000 a month. I used some of it to buy a smartphone.”

Neha, another woman, said, “These Rakhi products and gift items are in demand these days, especially as these are eco-friendly. I feel privileged and happy to contribute to the environment.”

Forest officials say the initiative will serve an additional purpose. “As these highly combustible pine needles will now be used up for better purposes, the incidences of forests fires may go down,” said Ajai Srivastava, principle conservator of forests.

Pinus roxburghii Sarg (chir pine) is the most abundant tree species in the Himalayan region. The needles of the species largely contribute to forest biomass. Non-utilisation of the abundantly available forest biomass like chir pine is disadvantageous in multiple ways. Firstly, the raw material remains unutilised even though it may be a good bio-resource for valuable products. Secondly, it also leads to the destruction of forests by forest fires, thereby devastating the forest flora and fauna along with causing massive tangible and intangible harm to the ecosystem. Since April 1, 449 forest fire incidents have been reported from different parts of the state. Further, the needles do not allow other important species to grow. Despite enormous harmful effects, the logical strategy on sustainable and effective management for utilisation.

Gaurav Bisht heads Hindustan Times’ Himachal bureau. He covers politics in the hill state and other issues concerning the masses. ...view detail

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