Cardamom Expansion and Fireline Development

Description

This project supports wildfire prevention and sustainable livelihood development within a rural forest user group. Community members identified unmanaged forest fires as a growing threat to their forest, crops, cultural sites, and long-term income opportunities. To address this, the project will create firelines in high‑risk areas and offer hands‑on training in wildfire prevention, fire safety, and safe fireline construction.

Alongside these efforts, the project will expand sustainable cardamom cultivation, an income‑generating crop well suited to forest environments. Community members will receive practical instruction in planting, maintenance, weed management, and harvesting. Women farmers and historically marginalized and indigenous groups, who make up a large share of participating households, will directly benefit from these activities.

By pairing environmental protection with livelihood support, the project strengthens community resilience and long‑term forest stewardship. Expected outcomes include improved wildfire preparedness, stronger technical skills among community members, enhanced protection of forest resources such as bamboo, sal trees, medicinal herbs, and culturally important areas, and increased economic opportunities through sustainable agriculture.