The Malampandaram Tribe

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

The pilgrimage season at Sabarimala also marks a crunch time for the forests around the hillock. Pilgrims keep moving along the roads here without a break, the impact of which can be far from ethereal.

• But thanks to a community initiative by the Forest department, an indigenous community collective is helping the authorities keep the forest roads here clean. 
• The collective, called eco-guards, comprises about 25 members including women from the Malampandaram tribe, a nomadic community living inside the Sabarimala forests.
• Deployed between Laha and Chalakkayam along the main trunk road to Sabarimala, they keep walking constantly along the route throughout the day and collect plastic waste littered on both sides of the road. 
• The eco-guards also assist the elephant squads of the Forest department to prevent the wild elephants from entering the road here and block traffic.

The Malampandaram Tribe

• This is the name of a small, nomadic community living in the remote forest.
• Fishing and collecting fruits and other edibles from the forest are the main occupations of this community that depends on the forest for all their needs.
• The Malai Pandaram or otherwise termed as Hill Pandaram is a scheduled tribe.
• They are mainly distributed in the high range areas of Kollam and Pathanamthitta Districts. The 2011 Census recorded their population as 2,422.
• In the Travancore region they have a patios referred by others as Pandaram Basha. With others they converse in Malayalam and educated use the Malayalam script for writing.
• The major traditional occupation is hunting and gathering.
• They continue to be engaged in their traditional occupation of making and selling of rudrakshamala, tulasimala, glass beads necklace and bangles.
• Some of them have traditional knowledge in herbal medicines.
• The medicinal herbs are collected from forests of Sabarimalai, Irali (Idukki) and Wayanad.

Question: Write a note on the Programme on Integrated Tribal Development Projects (ITDP).