LANTANA CRAFT

We sincerely thank MR. P. P. PRAMOD (IFS), Deputy Director for his kind guidance, valuable suggestions and encouragement rendered to us throughout the study.
It is our pleasure and privilege to express our gratitude and sincere thanks to all the members of Vasanthasena, Thekkady.






INSPIRATION

The deep feeling in our hearts to express a token of gratitude to the Mother Nature, landed us up at the most granted tropical heaven THEKKADY. Our love for trees made us stick to this place .This is how we came across a product made out of a weed plant called ‘Lantana-Camara’, an economic and eco-friendly substitute for plastic materials, which is a big threat to the existence of our planet. This inspired us to select this craft as our project topic.



INTRODUCTION

Despite years of natural history studies on Periyar’s Western-Ghats-Habitat has still not been compressively documented. In these dark thick forests the weed called “Lantana Camara” grows in large numbers in a wide area. This weed slowly destroys the forest reserves. Because this plant absorbs large quantity of water and releases heat in excessive amounts to the atmosphere, thus becoming a threat to all other plants and trees nearby.



The method of biological control has been introduced to remove this weed in Australia. There, 30 insects have been introduced in an attempt to control the spread of Lantanas. But, this has caused problems of its own. In this situation Mr. Abdul Basheer, Eco-tourism Officer, Periyar-Tiger-Reserve, Thekkady, along with other authorities, tried a new method of converting this harmful weed into useful products as a measure to protect Periyar Wildlife Reserve. The project is implemented in sites like:
• Bandipur Tiger Reserve (866 km sq)
• Malai Mahadeshwara Hills (420 km sq)
• Periyar Tiger Reserve (777 km sq)
• Palani Hills (320 km sq)








HISTORY OF THE CRAFT

The Western Ghats also known as the Sahyadri Mountains is a mountain range along the western side of India. The range starts near the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra, and runs approximately 1600 km through the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil-Nadu and Kerala ending at Kanyakumari, at the southern tip of India.
Harboring more than 25 per cent of the country’s plant species and rich in wildlife, the Western Ghats is one of three biodiversity hotspots in India. Indiscriminate industrial extraction has severely depleted the natural stock of Western Ghats. It also imperils the livelihoods of marginal communities who are dependent on these natural resources for their subsistence.
Therefore, there is an urgent need to reduce this depletion and to find an alternative raw material in order to enhance livelihoods.
One such raw material is the invasive alien species of weed, “Lantana Camara” which encroached into the native ecosystems of India as an ornamental plant in the 19th century. Not withstanding the apparent richness, these plants threaten the conservation of the unique and incredible biodiversity.
The Periyar Tiger Reserve is a pristine forest area in the Western Ghats which harbors 62 species of mammals, 320 species of birds, 45 species of reptiles and 27 species of amphibians Lantana invasion is found everywhere in the sanctuary but the density of Lantana growth is much less in the evergreen forest areas. Nevertheless, a scientific study has been proposed to assess the lantana invasion in the core and buffer zone of the sanctuary.
The most widespread invasive species -Lantana Camara- has unsettled innumerable native plants from their habitats in the process of encroachment. The presence of Lantana threatens local biological diversity. Several forest fringe communities in South India, as well as in the foothills of Himalayas, have found that lantana could be used in the place of bamboo for weaving baskets and fabricating furniture.
ATREE- “Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment”, following the adage that if one cannot destroy something, it is better to use it, developed an ingenious use of this weed. The use of the weed provides dual benefits of improving the livelihoods of the community and conserving the native biological diversity of farms and forest.



It is a conservational program which includes research activities by the effect of human use in forest, including the harvest of non-timber forest products and to suggest approaches that are sustainable. Other important research includes exploring options that could result in the increase in economic result in the sale of forest products. It is this ATREE foundation that provides training to Vasanthesena. In India, Karnataka is the first state to start Lantana craft.
In order to augment sales and create genuine value of the products, ATREE has conducted market surveys in urban and rural areas. Twenty one products have been designed based on the need of rural and urban markets. ATREE is concentrating on quality improvement through implementing production standards, In addition artisans are obtaining inputs from various designers and cane furniture manufacturers.
Training is a learning process where people acquire, skill, concept, attitude as knowledge to add in the achievements of the goals. Training is provided to make workers more efficient to obtain the goals & thus result in the success of the craft. Training evolves active participation by the workers.
Keeping with the adage that teaching a man to fish will ensure that he doesn’t starve, ATREE is establishing three kinds of self reliance groups called “Vasanthasena”. The self reliance groups consist of ten fuel wood collectors, who will collect lantana sticks from the forest. The production group will consist of 25 artisans who will make the products and the third group; the marketing unit will consist of ten members who will oversee the marketing of Lantana products in both rural and urban areas.


In order to providing a platform for Lantana artisans across the country to share their experiences, ATREE organized a Lantana confluence. Artisans met and agreed to establish a network amongst themselves to better co-ordinate the efforts to improve quality and popularize Lantana products in the country. The use of Lantana is not only improving the livelihood of the forest fringe communities, but also conserving the native eco-system.










RAW MATERIALS

Lantana, scientifically known as Lantana Camara is the raw material for this craft. Common name for Lantana Camara is “Ham ‘n’ Eggs” due to the adjacent pink and yellow inflorescences. The Malayalam name of this plant is “Kongini chedi”



Scientific classification:

Kingdom -Planatae
Un-ranked -Angiosperms
Un-ranked -Endicots
Un-ranked -Asterids
Order -Lamiale
Family -Verbenaceae
Genus -Lantana
Type species -Lantana Camara

Lantana is a native of tropical America, naturalized through out India. Lantana which is considered as one of the ten worst weeds in the world was introduced to India as an ornamental plant by British in 1807. There are around 650 varieties in over 60 countries or island groups. Lantana species are widely cultivated for their flowers in topical and subtropical environment and in temperate climates. Lantana’s berries are edible when ripe
Lantana is the most common species in cultivation. It has spread in many forest regions all over the world, often as a result of clearing of forest for timber and agriculture. It impacts severely on agriculture as well as on natural eco systems by absorbing large quantities of water and releasing heat to the surrounding.
Lantanas are generally hardy and some what toxic. So usually herbivores reject these plants. Still, they may be sometimes infested by pests. The stems of larger Lantanas are thin, very tough and durable and thus useful for various handicraft such as wicker work. The plant is an invasive weed and displaced much of the bamboo from the forest. Thus, these plants are being removed, to protect the forest.









LIFESTYLE OF THE PEOPLE

Lantana craft has enabled tribal artisans to earn a livelihood from a widely available weed. Prior to this activity the forest dependent considered this weed as a menace of little or no use. Further, the forest departments in allot a huge budget for the weed removal. Nevertheless, these efforts of removal have been futile. Now the Forest department is strongly encouraging the tribal communities to collect Lantana from the forest.
Removal has an impact on native species restoration although a scientific study is necessary to establish the significance of this impact. There is great opportunity for the scientific community to assess the impact of removal on native species regeneration and recruitment. The impact of the Lantana craft has been three-fold.
One, it has enabled tribal artisans, especially women, to earn a livelihood from a widely available weed. Two, income levels have been increased. Further, the number of work days has increased by 50 to 60% (days in which they earn an income). Finally, use of a problematic invasive has had positive impact on restoration of biodiversity.
ATREE has chosen a village from each site based on their socio-economic condition and forest dependency. All these villages are close to the forest and the people are dependent on the forest products. The Soliga’s (a tribal community) monthly income was from bamboo basket weaving, an average of about Rs.900 to Rs.1500.
After the forest department’s ban on bamboo extraction these artisans were restricted from accessing the resource and were left to manage household expenses with the meager income from seasonal agriculture. Now Lantana craft has provided an alternative livelihood for these artisan groups.
























AVAILABILITY

Lantana is basically a weed plant and is available throughout the year. Lantana plants growing in the forests are collected by the Vasanthasena members.
During rainy season, the work is not done because collecting of Lantana stems from the forest is troublesome, due to leeches and bad weather.
From a single plant at least 10 to 15 stems are collected. Not all stems of Lantana plant are useful; the ones which are most flexible are collected to make the artifacts.
























TOOLS AND EQUIPMENTS

• The strings - from the bamboo plant are used to bind up the sticks while constructing artifacts, since Lantana does not have strings.
STRINGS


• Nails - to join the sticks together 16-30 nails are used in each product. The number of nails varies according to the product.
NAILS

• Sickles - used to cut the sticks and to remove the bark of lantana stems.
SICKLE






• Hammers - to hit the nails.
HAMMER


• Boilers (Barrels) - to boil the sticks, for the easy removal of its barks.
BOILER


• Varnish and brushes - for finishing work.

VARNISH AND BRUSH



PROCESSING

The stems of Lantana are collected from the forest by the Vasanthasena members. They select thick, strong, straight and flexible stems. After removing the leaves, the stems are tied up in bundles and are brought to the workshop.



In the work-shop they are dumped into a boiler and boiled for an hour for the easy removal of their bark and for making the stems more flexible. It is very difficult to remove the bark from fresh, green stems. Also, if the stems are not boiled well, they will be raw and rigid, and will easily break off while the stems are bent and unbent during the manufacture of the artifacts.


After an hour the boiled stems are taken out. When they become cool, the barks are slowly removed from them and are bent into circular bails. The stems are tied in circles to add on their flexibility. The flexibility of stems is very important in the manufacturing of the product, because the rigid stems may break at the bent portions. The circular bails of stems are kept out in the sun and are allowed to dry.



ATREE, the institution in Karnataka, which trained the Vasanthesena members, have given these workers certain metal-frames, which helps in making the large artifacts like cots, wardrobes, sofas etc which require precise measurements. These frames serve the same purpose that the moulds serve in the making of artifacts in wax.
The Lantana stems, which have been boiled, and dried are un-bailed and cut into required lengths. The cut stems are placed over respective metal-frames and are loosely joined using strings. Then this loosely tied up figurine is taken from the frame and is joined tightly using nails.
Tools like cutter, axo-blade, nails, harmer, etc are used for this craft. The stems are cut using cutter and axo blade. Only the stems of the matured plants are usually collected.



The finished products are varnished and when the varnish is dried, they are carried over to the store-rooms.




PRICE

The responsibility of price-fixing lies in the hands of responsible government officers like Eco-Development Officer, who leads the craft. For fixing the price, market rates of competitors (bamboo products) are verified.
e.g. -price of a couple of bamboo chairs-Rs.1000/-. Pricing strategy is not only related to the profit margin, but also helps in finding target customers.
Market rates of some of the lantana- products are as shown below:

Couple chairs - Price: Rs.600/-
Bookshelf - Price: Rs.1200/-
Study table - Price: Rs.750/-
Pen stands - Price: Rs.75/-
Letter box - Price: Rs.150/-
Corner shelf - Price: Rs.600/-
Corner stands - Price: Rs.200/-
Coffee table - Price: Rs.400/-
Cot - Price: Rs.1750/-
Three-seater-sofa, Chair, Coffee table - Price: Rs.3500/-



















MARKETING

Marketing is one of the important functional areas in success of any craft. In modern days, the quality of production, perfection of work, production, training, and research may be the door to success but marketing is the key which turns the lock. The ultimate objective of any craft is to earn maximum profit by selling goods and services to customers.
The goods or commodities, manufactured or colleted by the tribes are sold through, The Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED). The Kumily Grama Panchayath and the Forest Department has jointly arranged the facility to the Vasanthasena members to do the lantana craft, in an auditorium called Vanasree. The Lantana craft is done here and the finished products are stocked in the store-rooms attached to the auditorium.
TRIFED officer collects the orders for the product from different organizations and individuals. Orders are placed through direct contact, or over telephone, internet, etc. The hotels and schools in Kumily are the major customers.
The federation would extend the values and expand the consumption levels of commodities that are traded and consumed in higher volumes. It requires encouraging, processing and converting them into a form in which it can be consumed directly. At the same time it requires promotion and brand building to increase consumption level.
The sale is also done by conducting exhibitions. TRIFED will arrange the venue and the Vasanthasena members along with the officers will conduct the exhibitions.
Initially federation will promote this brand on its own products and subsequently the brand equity shall be franchised. The federation is in the process of finalizing its retail sales strategy.
Even a quality product will not move well in the market unless it is given a good lounge. The main objective of marketing is to increase the sales volume to develop the markets and to increase the number of customers. Marketing is the very heart of the craft and customers are its assets.
Attention should be paid to storage, transportation, advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, publicity etc to achieve the objective. It should maintain relationship with the existing customers by offering after-sales-services.
In order to gain popularity and acceptance among the public, attempts are made to furnish all government offices with Lantana products, starting from pen holders to chairs and tables.




FUTURE OF THE CRAFT

The whole craft suffers lack of proper organization and lack of authority to lead them in well organized manner. This craft is not under the ownership of any particular person or government. Due to this factor the craft is still craving o get handsome income. Low remuneration even destroys the exiting dedication of workers to this craft and attracting new generation to Lantana craft. This makes the workers self-centered and not ready to work for up-lifting the craft. A mutual beneficial policy must be adopted.

Limitation:
The lantana craft could be same or be higher than the bamboo craft in quality. Since the raw materials are free of cost from the forest and the cost is limited only to workmanship. This makes the product very economical. Besides of all these merits craft is still unknown to public in large. Even though the craft is of bright future its publicity is limited to Vasanthasena members and people around the locality.

Consequences:
Rapid removal of natural forest without replacement of structurally similar native vegetation may be partially replaced with weeds like Lantana. Consequently amount of available natural habitat for wild animals may also decrease, though in some areas weeds like Lantana may provide shelter and vital winter-food for many native birds.



There are a number of endangered bird species, moths and butterflies which use Lantana as their habitat, when their native habitat is unavailable. The plant can grow in clumps or as dense thickets, crowding out other desirable species. In a disturbed native-forest, it can become a dominant-specie over other species, disrupting their succession and hence decreasing the bio-diversity.






SUGGESTIONS
The Lantana craft is getting endangered each day. Motivation and enthusiasm are the basic qualities for any craft to progress. The drowning future of this craft could be uplifted only if an immediate measure is undertaken by the government or by the forest department. The ownership of the craft should be completely undertaken by the government or privatized to the individuals, otherwise proper and responsible authorities should be appointed to taken care of the craft solely.
They should work to retrieve the endangered craft and for up-lifting the lifestyle of the workers. In case the craft is privatized, legal permission to collect raw materials from the forest should be provided.

Some of the problems faced by this craft are as follows:

• The difficulty for collecting raw-materials from the thick forest.
• Proper management is a paramount importance for the success of any organization. It is the wealth of an organization which can help it in achieving the goals. Any craft can succeed only when a number of persons join hands together. Presently it is the forest department that takes the initiative in bringing together the human & material resources together to carry out the craft.
• Fashion is as old as yesterday &as new as tomorrow. Product designs should be of the latest style & trend to beat the competitors in the market.
• Technology should be upgraded.
• Identify skilled and talented people to stimulate them to join the organization

Steps to improve Marketing
The Vasanthasena members should:
• Educate the public about the advantage of the product.
• Distribute palm leaflets, broachers etc. to the local people and to the tourists of Thekkady.
• Try to participate in exhibitions conducted all over the country without sticking on to the boundaries of Kerala.
• Advertising in all leading Medias.









CONCLUSION

Periyar Tiger Reserve is a Protected-Area (PA). In India it is not very easy to conserve the PA s, as they are surrounded by human settlements in and around. The flourishing of weeds and the depletion of forest resource due to the human invasion are the major problems faced by the forest department.
Even though the cutting of forest plants is prohibited by law, the locals and tribes are permitted to collect dried and fallen of sticks from the forest. They take advantage of this law, and cut fresh sticks of desirable species of plants and take home to be used as fire wood.


As if a part of daily routine, the tribal and native women go to the forest to collect fire wood. They cut the fresh wood and hide it inside the bails of dried wood. If caught by the forest guards, they will run off leaving behind the bails. Once it happened to weigh such a bail and it was found that each woman removed about 80kg of wood at a time!
These types of crimes which destroy the forest in course of time can’t be stopped by mere punishments. The low living standards and the low education level of the people are the factors which lead them to theses crimes.
So the forest department decided to solve the problem by educating the people about the relevance of forest conservation and by providing them an alternative livelihood.
They taught the people to respect and conserve the forest. Instead of desirable species of plants, they asked the locals to remove the Lantana plants, from the forest and to use it as firewood. Along with this they trained the locals to fabricate goods using the same Lantana sticks.
Because Lantana is a weed and the expenditure of weed eradication is Rs.5, 000,000 per year (1000Ha/ Year, Rs.5000/Ha). By launching the Lantana project the government could save this money and could also sell the Lantana products through TRIFED.
ATREE a Bangalore based research institute joined with the forest department to train the artisans. (ATREE, Hebbal, Bangalore, Karnataka, 080 2353 0069, website: www.atree.org)
Tribal artisans from the Western Ghats underwent training on lantana basketry at Chittoor- Andhra Pradesh, Natham- Tamil Nadu and furniture making training at Dehradun.
The Lantana craft has increased the average monthly income of the artisans by 90 – 100 %. It has increased the employment rate by 50-70 %.
The Lantana craft is an example for showing us that even the unwanted dangerous weed is mend to use. Origin & growth of this craft shows us that a livelihood can be found even from a weed if we work hard for it with a proper desire.
We feel proud as we were lucky enough to capture the knowledge of Lantana craft. It was a prestigious moment in our life when we could meet MR. ABDUL BASHEER, who was the master brain for the introduction of Lantana craft to Kerala, Kumily. At this moment of completing the craft our minds are filled with a sense of satisfaction, proud and joy that we could contribute certain designs that may popularize this craft and thus grabbing few orders for the product 



































BIBLIOGRAPHY

• World Travel: A Guide to International Eco-journeys – By Christopher P. Baker
• Eco-tourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise? - By Martha Honey
• Encyclopedia Britannica
• The Botanical Magazine or Flower garden – By William Curtis
• Botany: An Introduction to Plant Biology – By James D Mauseth