24.02.26

Community-Led Bamboo Harvesting Begins in Nandurbar, Maharashtra

On 20 February 2026, Legapani village in Nandurbar district, Maharashtra, marked an important milestone in community-led forest governance. The occasion was the formal inauguration of bamboo harvesting in its Community Forest Rights (CFR) area. This initiative operationalises a development model that brings together secure community land tenure, strong local institutions, and green industrialisation.

Inauguration Ceremony

The ceremony was attended by District Collector (DC) Dr Mittali Sethi, Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), Akkalkuwa, Shri Amsha Padwi, and Project Officer of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (PO–ITDA), Shri Anay Navandar. Officials from the Forest and Agriculture Departments were also present. Members of the Community Forest Resource Management Committee (CFRMC), along with the Board of Directors of Toranadevi Jungle Producer Company, organised the event and welcomed guests with shawls and saplings.

The MLA expressed strong support for the initiative and emphasised the need to establish local bamboo processing units in the coming years. He noted that developing local processing capacity could generate additional employment for communities engaged in bamboo harvesting.

The DC commended the community's leadership in initiating the bamboo management programme. She encouraged the directors of Toranadevi Jungle Producer Company to build a successful enterprise and advised the CFRMC to adopt sustainable and responsible business practices in managing forest resources. She also praised the participation of women members present at the event, encouraged them to continue taking leadership roles, and expressed hope to bring them to visit the Indian School of Business campus in the future.

Following the speeches, the DC, MLA, and other officials walked to the CFR forest area for a ribbon-cutting ceremony that formally inaugurated the bamboo management initiative. Bamboo saplings were planted to mark the occasion.

Linking Community Forest Resources to Markets

Nandurbar district presents a distinctive institutional context for community-led forest enterprises. The region has more than one lakh hectares of recognised CFR land across approximately 330 villages, and a predominantly tribal population of nearly 69 per cent. Despite this resource wealth, the absence of organised value chains and limited local livelihood opportunities have historically pushed nearly 70–80 per cent of the population towards seasonal migration.

The bamboo initiative in Legapani seeks to address this gap by linking community-held forest resources to structured markets. The model operates through three interconnected institutional layers. The Gram Sabha functions as the rights-holding body. The CFRMC serves as the governance and harvesting institution, responsible for ensuring scientific extraction. Toranadevi Jungle Producer Company acts as the market-facing entity, connecting community bamboo to industry.

The district administration has played a key enabling role in facilitating convergence between government departments and community institutions. Collaboration between the Forest Department, the Tribal Development Department, the Maharashtra State Rural Livelihood Mission (MSRLM), and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has created an enabling ecosystem. This ecosystem supports community-led enterprise development and strengthens local economic opportunities.

Commencement of Bamboo Harvesting

Bamboo harvesting commenced the day after the inauguration. The process has been organised through structured systems of accountability and monitoring. Attendance is recorded each morning and evening, while harvest volumes are jointly verified by the CFRMC President and Treasurer. Designated supervisors oversee the harvesting site, and a first-aid box has been placed on-site to ensure worker safety and well-being.

As of 24 February 2026, the community had harvested 1,219 bamboo poles, which have been systematically stacked at a designated collection point.

A Model for Community-Led Forest Enterprise

The initiative in Legapani demonstrates how CFR, when supported by strong institutions and partnerships, can move beyond legal recognition to become the foundation of a functioning local economy. By combining secure tenure, community governance, enterprise development, and government convergence, the model provides a pathway for forest-dependent communities to generate sustainable livelihoods while managing forest resources responsibly.

As bamboo harvesting progresses, the experience from Nandurbar is expected to generate important lessons for scaling community-led forest enterprises across other forested regions of India.