Adivasi Leaves

INGREDIENTS:

• leaves
• salt
• optional: coconut flakes and coconut oil

PREPARATION

Chop up the leaves collected in the jungle, rinse them with water. Put the wet leaves into the pot, cook for a while. Add a little salt. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes. A tribal woman says she usually adds coconut flakes to it, but now she does not have them. When, during the cooking process, I ask whether she is adding any oil, she says yes – she reaches for an empty bottle of coconut oil and tries to drip out the last drops with no results coming out of this bottle.

Adivasi refers to the original inhabitants of India, encompassing a variety of ethnic groups primarily residing in hilly and forested rural areas. Before the arrival of external forces, the Adivasi lived in harmony with nature, hunting, foraging wild plants, and cultivating land without claiming ownership over it. Their way of life was drastically altered as new settlers and corporations encroached upon their land, sparking an era of violence and exploitation.

Corporate activities such as deforestation, mining, and infrastructure projects have severely impacted Adivasi communities, displacing them and destroying their traditional sources of food. The forests, once rich with wild plants and game that sustained their diets, have been cleared for logging and agriculture. This deforestation has robbed Adivasi of crucial resources like wild tubers, leaves, and flowers, such as mahua, a vital source of nutrition and economic survival. As their lands are turned into plantations or mining areas, Adivasi lose not only their homes but also their ability to gather essential foods, which they have depended on for generations​. The result is widespread chronic malnutrition. Deprived of their forests, many Adivasi are forced to migrate or work in exploitative conditions, becoming invisible both socially and physically. Over generations, their bodies have become smaller due to prolonged undernourishment. Nearly half of India’s Adivasi population lives below the poverty line, which in India often equates to life on the brink of starvation​.

The hunger faced by Adivasi, exacerbated by corporate actions, is not just a result of land loss but a violation of their right to self-sufficiency and their traditional practices, which have sustained them for centuries.

Photo: Karolina Brzuzan