Tribal’s Knowledge and Need of Repository for Preservation:A Study

Abstract

The main aim of the paperwas to know the nature ofvarious types of knowledgeavailable among the tribal communitylocated in district of Gadchiroli (38.17 %) state of Maharashtra, its use for human being,barriers of preservation of knowledge, scope for value addition to forest products, fading and diminishing of knowledge and need of repository to preserve tribal’s knowledge. The data collected through discussion and it was found that 74.82 % tribal’s having knowledge of Bamboo craft, 44 % medicinal, aromatic and herbal plants and their use for cure of various chronic diseases like Jaundice, diabetics, gangrene, hepatic and asthma etc., 44.69 % cultivation of medicinal plants, 43.52 % preservation and formulation of medicine, and 28.96% opined to preserve knowledge in the form of data bank. It was concluded that the knowledge is based on experience and often tested over centuries of use. The knowledge is rapidly fading away and therefore considering the importance of tribal’s knowledge “GOTUL Repository” proposed to collect, process, and preserve knowledge for present and future community.