44 village panchayats have join hands to auction tendu leaves, which are used to make bidis, in Deori taluka of Gondia district, resulting in higher profits for pluckers. "We went to villagers, telling people about their rights as Adivasis," says secretary of a village.
Earlier, tendu leave pluckers used to work under contractors & earn Rs 180 & a bonus of Rs 50 in a day. Now, they can easily get Rs 500 daily under the new system, said Sudam Bhoyar, secretary of one of the 44 villages.
I leave my home at 5 am daily to pluck tendu leaves in the nearby jungles. If I manage to pluck 100 leaves, I get Rs 500, said Nirmala Bai, a plucker.