Eco-guides from tribal group go on trekking trip in Madurai

MADURAI: When Easwaran, 19, started to trek the routes of Hare trail at Kiluvumalai reserve forest, he was well-mannered and polite as he explained the importance of trees to the tourists. Known to be the youngest one of the six people who experienced their first trekking as eco-guides, he was trained for personality development and soft skills under the guidance of the forest department.
More than 20 tourists from Shree Gujarati Samaj in the city accompanied the forest officials and tribal youth from Kurinji Nagar who belonged to a tribal community called Paliyar in Usilampatti. Around 16 men from Kurinji Nagar were trained as eco-guides under the forest department, out of which six of them experienced their first trekking with the tourists, as a part of their training programme. D Murugendran, 25, one of the eco-guides said, “We were trained for better communicative skills for dealing with the tourists in a better way. Today, we have enough confidence to face people and talk to them.”
The six youngsters who previously worked as forest gatherers in Kurinji Nagar village received Rs 500 on a weekly basis depending on the amount of forest products they collected, whereas today the youngsters have their personal SHG (self-help group) accounts for the benefit of tribal community after becoming eco-guides under the Vanakui Tribal Self-Help Group of the Madurai forest department. S Vasiappan, 25, another youngster who was trained said, “After receiving Rs 1,000 for working as an eco-guide, we will be depositing Rs 500 in our accounts for community development of our tribal community.”
The youngsters will be taken to tourist’s places like Tekkady and Kodaikanal after completing two more treks in Madurai district. J Mary Praveena, co-ordinator for eco-tourism, said, “We have provided them with English speaking sessions to ensure that they are well versed with the language.” District forest officer (DFO) Nihar Ranjan said, “We will slowly put the trained youngsters as firewatchers and also anti-poachers under the forest department.”