The forest department is joining the e-commerce bandwagon to promote Vanasree products

Opening new doors for forest products from Kerala, the forest department has joined the e-commerce bandwagon to sell the high-demand Vanasree products.

A wide range of products including forest honey, pepper, turmeric and cardamom, sold by Vana Samrakshana Samithis and Eco Development Committees, will now be available to buyers across India through the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform – a central government initiative that provides an e-commerce ecosystem where sellers can promote their goods.

Forest Minister AK Saseendran formally launched the sale of forest products through ONDC and YES Bank at a function at Muthanga in Wayanad on Sunday. Currently, such value-added forest products are sold in 72 Vanasree stores in the state.

The department also conducted the 13th medical camp under the ‘Sneha Hastham’ program to expand health services in tribal settlements across the state.

The program is being organized in collaboration with the Indian Medical Association with the support of the Department of Health and the Planned Tribal Development Department. It was launched on January 31 and its purpose was to diagnose medical ailments among tribal members. So far, camps have been held in nine counties.

Nearly 450 people from 53 tribal communities in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary took part in the medical camp organized at the Government Lower Primary School in Muthanga. Covering 179 tribal settlements, the department hopes to conduct similar camps for residents of 300 settlements by the end of the year.

The program was chaired by IC Balakrishnan, MLA. Chief Wildlife Warden D. Jayaprasad, Additional Chief Conservator of Forests (Eco-Development and Tribal Welfare) J. Justin Mohan and Chief Conservator of Forests, Palakkad, Muhammed Shabab were also present on the occasion.