🟡 Padma Shri Chhatiram Pawar leads Vanbhaji Mahotsav 2025 in Dhule district
Anil Borade | Bureau North Maharashtra
🟡 Maharashtra’s Only Wild Vegetable Festival
Dhule: The Vanbhaji Mahotsav 2025, a one-of-its-kind wild vegetable festival in North Maharashtra, was celebrated with great enthusiasm at Baripada village in Sakri taluka, Dhule district. The festival, organized every year by the Baripada Biodiversity Conservation Committee, featured Maharashtra’s only biodiversity-based wild vegetable competition.
🟡 Participation Reaches New Heights
This year, as many as 620 participants took part in the contest, preparing unique recipes from wild vegetables sourced from the 1100-hectare forest of Baripada. Interestingly, when the competition began 21 years ago, only 21 women had participated, whereas this year the number rose dramatically to 620 women contestants.
🟡 Forest Biodiversity and Tribal Knowledge
Baripada’s forest produces around 110 different wild edible plants, preserved by the villagers. Women participants showcased recipes using rare greens such as Ambadi, Abhay Shenga, Alimb, Amla, Ulsha Kand, Kadukand, Katurlay, Dombli, Tandalya, Bamboo Shoots, Ran-Tulsi, Rajgira and many more.
🟡 Roots in Tribal Development
The initiative is part of Devgiri Kalyan Ashram’s 73-year-long work for the upliftment of tribal communities across India. The idea of the wild vegetable cooking competition emerged from their Gram Vikas (Rural Development) program, and over two decades, it has turned into a cultural and ecological celebration.
🟡 Eminent Guests and Jury
The festival was inaugurated by Padma Shri Chhatiram Pawar, Sarpanch Anil Pawar, and members of the Bhartiya Kisan Sangh.
Prominent guests included MLA Manjulatai Gavit, Dhule Superintendent of Police Kiran Barge, senior journalist Girish Kuber, Taluka Agriculture Officer Yogesh Sonawane, Project Officer Pramod Patil, among others.
Judges included experts from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University and pharmacy students from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
🟡 Promoting Sustainability and Empowerment
The Vanbhaji Mahotsav not only highlights the tribal community’s knowledge of biodiversity but also promotes sustainable food practices, women empowerment, and conservation of natural resources.
