Medicinal plants in North East India: emerging livelihood opportunities Online publication date: Fri, 10-Feb-2023
by Semsang Dolma Bomzon; Natalie West Kharkongor; Baaijingkmen Nongkynrih
International Journal of Green Economics (IJGE), Vol. 16, No. 3, 2022
Abstract: Indigenous communities have depended on medicinal plants for their wellness and economic well-being. The unorganised market for medicinal plants is yet unexplored as a livelihood source for these communities. This article looks into the uses of medicinal plants found in the north-eastern states of India with a special focus on the traditional healers in Meghalaya through two studies undertaken in 2013 and 2015-2016. The survey of traditional healers in 2015-2016 and the case study of Red Medicine (Dawai Saw) in 2013 highlight the need to preserve their ethnobotanical knowledge, often kept a secret within the practising households, and a lower involvement of the younger population poses to be a threat to this age-old practice of co-existing with nature. An organised effort from the states to encourage such enterprises is required to engage more locals in the process, thereby creating more employment opportunities while preserving traditional knowledge.
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