Meghalaya’s subtropical forests are full of rich flora especially wild edibles and medicinal plant species. It is home to more than 3500 flowering plants, 352 orchids, 40 bamboo species and about 800 medicinal plant resources.

The indigenous people believe that there are many wild edibles and medicinal plants that can cure any ailment. Mustem village located in Thadlaskein subdivision of Jaintia Hills district in Meghalaya took the initiative to work on wild edibles used by the Jaintia under the Caritas India FARM programme.

Mustem is blessed with Nature’s bounty and has a diversity of wild edibles growing in the nearby forests. These wild edibles are rich sources of nutritional elements like, Tyngkhieh, Dhania khloo, Shkorblang, Khmutsim, Slashiet, Lachain, Jarain, Jangew, Jatira which are part and parcel of ethnic societies’ sickness ages. The Jaintias have been the custodians of rich traditional wisdom concerning wild edibles that find use as both food and medicines. Of late such wisdom is fast eroding from societies. Climate change is also playing havoc leading to the dwindling of the forests that were the storehouses of wild edibles. It is, therefore, important that such precious resources and the wisdom associated with them remain in society.

Jaintia Hills Development Society (JHDS) under the aegis of FARM programme mobilized the communities Mustem village for a collective action to save the wild edible resources and bring them back to use. It was important for us to come forward with a mechanism that is acceptable to people towards working on wild edibles, said Mandakini Nongtdu, Coordinator, FARM.

The biodiversity walk was perhaps an innovative step that involved people’s participation. The walk involved elders leading the youth, children and women to the nearby forests and share knowledge on the existing wild edibles found there. On May 5, 2022, the FARM Team from JHDS led a biodiversity walk through the jungle that surrounded Mustem Village. Mustem Farmers, comprising children, women, and youth, collected close to 35 to 40 various types of wild edibles, wild fruits, natural fibres, and therapeutic herbal plants during the Biodiversity Walk. It’s fun to go deep inside the forests and look at resources that our community has been using for ages, said Miss. Ainamsaka Shylla, a youth from Mustem.

The elders also help in identifying certain wild edibles that could be domesticated to support the food and nutrition of the people. JHDS facilitated the idea of creating biodiversity gardens that involved households growing such species in their backyards. As of date, two families are growing at least 12 species of wild edibles in their backyards.

Ms. Nestly Shylla shares that humans consume most biodiversity resources, so it is their primary responsibility to preserve and protect biodiversity in order to protect the earth. The diversity of species, the ecosystem, the environment, and the long-term growth of life on Earth are all critical.