01-March-2025

Women-Led Community Enterprise Formation in Jharkhand

The Initiative on Forest Economy (IoFE) seeks to transform this reality by strengthening women-led producer enterprises. By shifting from unstructured collection to organized market engagement, these enterprises aim to enhance economic returns, formalize the trade of SFPs, and establish financial security for women. Through women-led producer companies, forest-dependent women are moving beyond labor into leadership—owning, managing, and profiting from their enterprises.

In Simdega, a producer company is being established, led by women engaged in the forest-economy. This initiative provides a structured mechanism for aggregation and direct market linkage, reducing dependency on middlemen and improving income stability.

Historically, women and wealth have been perceived largely as separate spheres, particularly in the rural economy. In forest-dependent communities, economic aspirations are often limited to subsistence rather than wealth creation. Seasonal forest products (SFPs) such as sal seeds, bamboo, and hazelnut serve as primary income sources for these communities. However, despite bearing the burden of labor-intensive collection, women receive minimal financial returns due to the informal and fragmented nature of these value chains.

Key Developments:

A total of 120 villages in Simdega have been identified for participation in sal seed aggregation. Current tenure status of these villages is as follows:

• 46 percent have secured Community Forest Rights (CFR) titles.

• 21 percent have claims under review at the District Level Committee (DLC) or Sub-Divisional Level Committee (SDLC).

• 17 percent have claims currently in process.

• 16 percent have not yet initiated the CFR claim process.

The producer company’s success relies on the establishment of Community Forest Rights Management Committees (CFRMCs), which will oversee sustainable harvesting and trade of SFPs. To facilitate structured financial transactions, bank accounts will be opened in the name of Gram Sabhas, allowing CFRMCs to issue agreements for sustainable harvesting and resource management.

Beyond market formalization, this initiative is developing a scalable model for women-led community enterprises that integrates:

By addressing systemic barriers and creating institutional frameworks, IoFE is working to establish women as key economic stakeholders in the forest economy. This initiative aims to serve as a replicable model for sustainable community-driven wealth creation.