By Aman Rathi, Ashutosh Rungta and Darpan Jain
It was a fine morning, about 4 AM, in a remote village named Beliyapal, in the state of Chhattisgarh. Shiv Kumari, a tribal woman of around 40 years, readied herself to make her way to the jungle. She would walk about 5-6 km deep in the wilderness with a basket ready to collect minor forest produces (MFPs). Sal seeds and tamarind are usually found in the nearby areas. Along with some of her tribal woman friends, she would collect these and bring them back home on her headload. Every day an estimated weight of 10 kg is harvested by her, the maximum capacity she could carry on her head and walk long distances with.