Traditional knowledge about indigenous plants and natural cures is not something new to the native tribal population of India. Officially, India is home to around 645 tribes, each of which has its own customs, practices and unique coterie of indigenous knowledge.
While the country is reeling under the weight of a pandemic creating a huge demand for face masks as a means of protection, tribals in Andhra Pradesh and Telengana have taken the initiative to make their own masks. But there is something unique about these masks. These are made using leaves from plants with medicinal properties to keep Covid-19 at bay.
This innovative idea by the impoverished tribal groups seems to have definitely paid off; almost none of them have contracted the novel coronavirus. People belonging to tribes ranging from the most primitive Chenchus to Konda Reddys, Gonds, Gutti Koyas, Bondas, Parangiporaja, Muliyas, Kodhu, Gadabas, Savaras, and Yanadis have reportedly resorted to these leaf masks. They use leaves of Teak, Sal, Palm, Pongamia, and Castor to make these masks, depending on what they find readily available in their habitations.
Tribals living in the thick forests of Bhadrachalam on the AP-Telangana border were the first ones to come up with the idea. From the Bhadrachalam forests, the idea soon caught up with the tribals in the Nallamala, Yerramala and Araku in Andhra Pradesh and in the forests of Adilabad, Khammam, and Warangal in Telangana.
Korra Addu, a tribal youth leader from Ganella said, “Though the government distributed masks, we switched to the leaf masks after exhausting them. Each of us got three masks from the government.”
If you enjoyed reading this article, we suggest you also read: