Sri Vijaya Puram, March 5: The skill development programme was organised for the Nicobarese tribal farming community under the DST-funded project entitled “Promotion of Socioeconomic Status and Self-Employment of Nicobarese Tribes through Scientific Validation of Ethno-Veterinary Tribal Medicinal Knowledge and Herbal Product Development.” The programme was conducted from 24 February to 3 March 2026. A total of 11 Nicobarese tribal healers from Car Nicobar attended the programme at ICAR-CIARI, where they were trained on generating income through ethno-veterinary medicinal practices and traditional herbal formulations.
During the programme, they interacted with Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and were exposed to various marketing channels. The participants displayed their herbal preparations used for fever, wound and fracture healing, body pain and swelling, mouth ulcers, and cold. They were also introduced to the scientific preparation and validation of herbal formulations developed by ICAR-CIARI.
Dr. Nitu Sindhu, State Mission Coordinator, Directorate of Social Welfare, A&N Administration, provided detailed guidance on marketing strategies. She briefed the participants about TRIFED, the National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation, the State Tribal Development Corporation (Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti), and Tribal Haats. She also highlighted potential marketing avenues such as airport souvenir shops, corporate gifting, festive hampers, and the wellness industry, including herbal immunity powders, traditional healing products, and aromatic and spiritual products.
The programme was organised by Dr. T. Sujatha, Principal Investigator and Chairperson of the programme, under the guidance of Dr. Jai Sunder, Director, ICAR-CIARI. In a nutshell, the programme proved highly fruitful in developing strategies to popularise traditional knowledge and explore opportunities for enhancing income generation through indigenous medicinal practices.