The first task

The first task at hand was to provide alternative livelihoods. Thirty-five-year-old local Radhika Ray recalls how women in her village used to depend on the forest for fuel, forest produce and meat. Not so now, as women weave and sell the local dress, Dokhona, shawls, towels and more from silk and cotton bought at local markets. "Our generational bond with the forest remains unshakeable," she says. "But now, like so many other women in my community, I make a living from weaving and no longer need to deplete its resources to survive."