From the Beneficiaries: Testimony from Loharlari for the HP-FES Project

22 Nov, 2020

“I cannot fully express my appreciation, for this opportunity by the Forest Department, to do my bit during the pandemic.”

By: Anjana Devi, President, Village Forest Management Society, Kandbari

Place: Loharlari, Palampur, District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has created a global health crisis with a deep impact on the way we perceive our daily lives. Apart from social distancing, another important mandate by the Himachal Pradesh State Government, is to wear face masks when outdoors.

Loharlari is one of the demonstration sites of the Himachal Pradesh Forest Ecosystem Services (HP-FES) Project implemented by GIZ in partnership with the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department (HPFD). It lies in forest-beat Kandbari, approximately 15 Km to the north-east of Palampur town. The women’s Self-Help Group (Mahila Mandal) here is well-informed and an active participant in carrying out activities to protect their village.

The HPFD approached the President of the Village Forest Management Society (VFMS) Kandbari, Ms Anjana Devi, to prepare face masks which could be distributed to the needy during the pandemic. “We reached out to the community to provide them with an employment opportunity during the lockdown. However, they volunteered to prepare the masks free of cost”, said Mr Sanjay Sen, Divisional Forest Officer, Palampur.

30 women from the VFMS prepared 25-30 masks each, during the day, taking out time from their household chores and fieldwork. “We could not take money for this! It was the least we could do for society. We are thankful to the Forest Department for providing us with enough cloth, out of which we were able to make 1200 face masks. After making the masks we washed and sanitised them properly and then handed them over to Mr Ravinder Kumar (Forest Guard), who also facilitated the process of providing cloth, giving ideas for the design and collecting the masks” said Anjana Devi.

She was happy that their group was able to generate awareness and that their contribution would not only help the needy, but also generate a feeling of contentment and joy during these difficult times.

“The women’s group has helped us to a great extent! The HPFD is extremely thankful and obliged by the contribution of VFMS, which is supported by GIZ for the implementation of Forest Ecosystem Services (FES) approach”, said Mr Sanjay Sen.

Authors: Sanjay Sen (Divisional Forest Officer, Palampur), Sanjay Tomar, Aashima Negi

About the project: The Himachal Pradesh Forest Ecosystem Services (HP-FES) project aims to integrate the Forest Ecosystem Services approach into the state forest management of Himachal Pradesh. Loharlari is one of the 9 selected project sites. Read More

Photo Credits: Ashwani Kumar, Range Forest Officer, Palampur