Gujarat: Flame-of-the-forest lights up houses of Panchmahal farmers

VADODARA: The flame-of-the-forest is set to light up houses of poor farmers in the Panchmahal district. The flowers of the tree Butea monosperma also called ‘Palash’ or ‘Kesudo’, were sold in an organized way in the market in the district for the first time.
The farmers in a meeting on Thursday last decided to sell the flowers that grow freely in the area and began the process on Friday.In three days till Sunday, the farmers sold 270kg flowers for around Rs 27,000. While the amount may seem small, officials as well as the villagers are happy with the development that they could manage to do so in no time.
Said a farmer Ajitsinh Solanki, who was associated with the project from the Nesda village of Panchmahal taluka, “We had a meeting on Thursday at the Agriculture Technology and Management Agency (ATMA). It was decided that the flowers should be collected wherever possible. We were asked to count the number of trees that had the flowers.”
ATMA project director at Godhra A I Pathan said that the villagers identified around 500 trees in Nesda and surrounding areas that were bearing the flowers. “We began work at the last moment. Nesda villagers took the lead and sold their flowers at Kalol market yard. We were not sure of the price we could get. The highest we could get was around Rs 150 per kilogram,” said Pathan.
Besides use as a natural colour in Holi festivities, the flowers have a range of other uses. They have medicinal value and are also used in cosmetics. The leaves of the tree are used to make disposable plates and bowls.
Pathan said that the farmers were able to get some extra income without making any investment. “They just have to collect the flowers. We even helped them with transportation,” he said. After the farmers from Nesda, farmers from Jambughoda also sold the flowers at the Jhand Hanuman temple of Saturday when there is heavy rush of pilgrims there. On Monday, an outlet was set up near the Panchmahal district collectorate in Godhra.