Innovation and Creativity in Ecological Conservation
Avani Society's efforts towards preserving the floral biodiversity of Central Himalayan ranges
Wild Hemp Plant (September 2017)Avani Society
The Central Himalayan forests are a highly diverse combination of deciduous and evergreen trees, which include the native Himalayan Oak (locally called Banjh), Himalayan Cedar (local name Deodar), Sal tree, and many others.
Deodars and pine forests in the misty mountains of Uttarakhand (2017)Avani Society
These trees evolved and adapted for the mountainous climate and topography, to hold the mountain soil with their roots, while their fallen leaves helped increase organic matter in the soil. They also provide a natural habitat for a range of birds and animals of the region.
The local community of people have come to depend on these trees as their fallen leaves and dried wood give them manure and cooking fuel, provide fruits and nuts, and have a very important part in their sustenance. The leaf litter is also rich in nitrogen and make an excellent compost fertilizer.
Pine Forest in Kumaon (November 2017)Avani Society
Introduction of Pine Needles
The early 19th century was met with extensive exploitation of deciduous trees for commercial use by the British. This resulted in the widespread loss of several significant native deciduous tree species.
By the beginning of the 20th century, resin processing technology was developed and Chir pines began to be cultivated for resin collection. By 1980, Chir pine plantations in the Himalayas covered around 20,000 hectares of forest!
Why were chir pines chosen? Chir pine trees were favorable to cultivate as they are more capable of regenerating more rapidly than broad-leaf species; their seeds being lightweight, spreading as far as the wind would carry them.
Women Collecting Pine Needles for the Gasifier (2012-05-10)Avani Society
The problem is that pine needles contain little moisture, decompose very slowly and immobilize nutrients: starving the soil of nutrients and moisture, preventing other plant species from moving in.
Additionally, allelochemicals from within the litter leaches into soils during rainfall or decomposition, chemically suppressing seed development or vegetation growth. As a result, Chir pine dominant forests have especially low species diversity.
Forest Fire in Kumaon (May 2014)Avani Society
The thick pine needle carpet on the forest floor also inhibits the growth of grass, which further diminishes food stocks for cattle. Villagers, in an attempt to get rid of them, would set it on fire, intentionally or due to negligence, which then destroys the forests even more.
When the founders of Avani moved to the current campus in 1999, the land received was barren, dotted with a few Chir Pine trees. They began with plantation of native trees such as Banjh, Deodar, Ringal and other fruit trees.
All the saplings were protected at all costs, through mulching, rainwater conservation, vermicomposting, protection from forest fires, and assisting the soil in regaining its integrity.
Amazingly, once the native oak took roots on the barren landlocally valued species such as Timul, Tun, Bedu, Padam et cetera regenerated on their own.
All these trees are particularly favored by the local communities because of their well established worth in their lives.
Turning ecological threats into opportunities
In 2005, Rajnish Jain, director of the project and co-founder of Avani, began experimenting with pine needles to see if their destructive power could be harnessed as biomass to generate electricity.
Pine Needle Gasifier (2007-10-01)Avani Society
After a couple of trials and errors, the pioneering Pine Needle Gasifier was successfully run by the team! Today, Avani produces 9 kW of energy at the campus, apart from two additional plants in neighboring villages.
Women Carrying Pine Needles (May 2013)Avani Society
The introduction of the gasifier, provided an additional income and incentive for the villagers to collect pine needles and clear the forest floor, instead of directly setting them on fire and aggravating the damage.
Watch this short video to learn about using pine needles to generate electricity. Read more about our pine needle gasifier in this exhibit on the Pine Needle Gasifier and its effects our the community.
In the areas where pine needle collection has been consistent, there has been a marked increase in bio- diversity. Several varieties of fruit shrubs and other broad leaved plants have come up, further inviting more insects and birds, accelerating regeneration.
Several mushroom varieties have started growing across the plots that have been cleared off of pine needles. Mushrooms coming up out of the ground are a good sign, indicating a healthy soil for other plants to grow in!
Colors of Conservation
Regeneration of the land also came about through another one of Avani's projects, which was the setting up of the producer owned, handloom cooperative, called Kumaon Earthcraft, which exclusively uses natural dyes for textile colouring.
Dye Plants and wool yarns dyed using natural dye plants (2017-04-08)Avani Society
The mountain communities of Uttarakhand were rich in the knowledge of making natural dyes from native plants. But there was a problem; several of the plants popularly used for dyeing by the Kumauni craftspeople were harmful to the ecosystem. Thus, began our search for local plants that not only give us rich, vibrant colors, but also help regenerate the ecosystem.
Manjistha, also known as madder (scientific name: Rubia tinctorium), is used to give all shades of red and even orange.
Tesu flowers, also known as Flame of the Forest (scientific name: Butea Monosperma), are used to give bright yellows and oranges.
Indigo rocks, derived after processing the leaves of the Indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria). Indigo is the only plant that is capable of giving such a true blue color!
Dried walnut hulls are used to give rich browns.
Sowing the Indigofera Seeds in Chankana Village (2016-06-01)Avani Society
Avani's intervention starts from the distribution of seeds/saplings to farmers and extends to buying the raw material back from them at a fair price. In the last 20 years, we have restored and afforested more than 130 acres of wasteland through dye cultivation.
Collecting Eupatorium leaves from around Tripuradevi (2017-04-08)Avani Society
We have so far planted 7636 dye-yielding trees, reclaiming 131 acres of wasteland.
The Kumaon Earthcraft cooperative exclusively uses natural dyes, obtained from fruits, fruit peels and leaves of trees and plants. Apart form that, all the textiles are washed using soapnut berries, from the sapindus tree that is also native to the Himalayan landscape
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