Faced with limited employment opportunities, fluctuating incomes and a lack of organised marketing channels for local products, 349 tribal families from nine villages in the Thalavadi Hills have come together to establish a producer company aimed at creating sustainable livelihoods.

The company, Sathyamangalam Hills Naturals, was registered in February this year and began sales of its products at Hasanur on June 17. The shareholders belong to nine villages, including Ittarai, Thadasalatti, Kalithimbam, Gethesal, Mavanatham and Pudukadu.

The initiative emerged from interactions between tribal communities and the Sathyamangalam-based non-governmental organisation Rights Education and Development Centre (READ). During the discussions, many families highlighted the lack of regular employment and the difficulty in securing fair prices for products gathered or cultivated in the hills. While several seasonal products were available in abundance, the absence of market linkages often resulted in poor returns.

R. Karuppasamy, director of READ, told The Hindu that a majority of the families expressed the need for a dependable source of income throughout the year. This led to the idea of forming a community-owned enterprise that could aggregate, process and market products sourced from tribal settlements.

The company markets products such as ragi, honey, shikakai and millets, besides value-added products including ragi flour, millet vermicelli, horse gram powder, vadu mangai, pearl millet jaggery cookies, finger millet jaggery cookies, ragi chocolate malt and karuppu kavuni chocolate malt under a common brand “Sathyamangalam Hills Naturals”.

Managed by a three-member Board of Directors, the company functions on a shareholder model, with all 349 shareholders belonging to tribal communities. Unlike conventional trading arrangements, the company purchases produce directly from the families and also distributes profits among the shareholders.

Mr. Karuppasamy said several products available in the hill villages possessed considerable nutritional and health benefits but remained underutilised owing to the lack of organised marketing opportunities. The producer company was established to bridge this gap and ensure better returns for tribal producers.

“The initiative offers a dual benefit. Products are procured from tribal families at reasonable prices, while the profits generated from sales are shared among the shareholders,” he said.

At present, marketing activities are focused on Hasanur. However, the company plans to expand sales to the plains and other markets in the coming months. The objective is to provide tribal families with a stable source of annual income by creating wider markets for seasonal products that were previously sold only in limited quantities or consumed locally. By aggregating and marketing produce from across the hill villages, the company hopes to ensure a more reliable income stream for tribal households throughout the year.

Two staff members have been appointed for sales. The company has approached the District Forest Officer, Hasanur Division, seeking allotment of land along National Highway 948 connecting Dindigul and Mysuru for establishing a container-based sales outlet. It is also exploring the procurement of ginger and garlic from Gethesal village, where the crops are cultivated in substantial quantities.

The company plans to expand its range of products and establish markets beyond Hasanur as part of efforts to improve income opportunities and create a sustainable, community-owned enterprise for tribal households across the Thalavadi Hills.