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4. DANIDA
Danish
International Development Agency (DANIDA) is a major international
funding agency helping the third world nations in their developmental
efforts in R&D capacity building. TBGRI got financial assistance
(with Pushpangadan as PI) for R&D capacity building, particularly
to strengthen the Ethnopharmacology research for scientific evaluation
of medicinal plants and in developing simple, scientifically validated
and standardized herbal remedies for primary health care and also
in identifying and isolating biodynamic molecules of pharmaceutical
interest. The financial assistance was to undertake a joint research
programme on medicinal plants with the Royal Danish School of
Pharmacy (with Prof. Ulf Nyaman as PI), Copenhagen, Denmark. The
financial assistance provided by DANIDA facilitated TBGRI in building
Phytochemistry & Ethnopharmacology research laboratories with
modern facilities. DANIDA also facilitated the training of TBGRI
scientists in latest techniques of Ethnopharmacology Research
at the Royal Danish School of Pharmacy, Copenhagen. The establishment
of modern Phytochemical and Ethnopharmacology lab and the trained
scientists helped in undertaking scientific investigation on the
medicinal plants suggested by the 'Kani' tribe and that finally
led to the development of a scientifically validated and standardized
herbal drug which was subsequently commercialized.
The
Kani Tribe:
'Kani',
a semi-nomadic tribal community inhabits in the forested mountains
in and around 'Agasthyamalai' of the southern western ghat regions
of India. Their population as per the 1991 census of India is
1618. They are the traditional collectors of non-timber forest
products (NTFP) such as honey, wax gum, resin, medicinal herbs,
canes and rattans and supply them to the middlemen or to the nearby
markets. The Forest Department has a list of NTFP that are permitted
to be collected by the Kani tribe. They also make baskets and
mats with canes for their own use and occasionally sold in the
nearby markets. They also cultivate some edible plants such as
tapioca, banana, millets, arecanut and pepper, mainly for their
ownconsumption.
They
live in several tribal hamlets in forest areas allotted to them
by the State Government. Although they have a tribal chief called
the 'Moottukani' who used to combine the role of law giver, protector,
dispenser of justice, physician and priest, now such function
of the 'Moottukani' has been almost eroded and his role only a
nominal one. Today the system of governance is linked to that
of the non-tribals, mainly the forest department officials who
engage them as laborers in forestry operations. The government
system of governance, brought the tribal hamlets under the nearby
village administration - 'Village Panchayat'.
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