This yield from Jharkhand's trees might hold the key to rural livelihoods

For more than ten years, Lawrence Kandulna was a migrant worker in Pune. A native of Kulhai village, in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, Lawrence worked as a gardener in a nursery in the city and returned home for just a few months in the year, during which he would grow paddy and harvest it.

Four years ago, however, Lawrence returned home permanently because of the economic prospects of a product that he had never cultivated before. The crop was lac, a natural polymer secreted by the Kerria lacca insect. It is a raw material used to manufacture a wide range of products, from cosmetics and jewellery to insulation coating for electrical equipment. It is also used to add polish to products such as fruits and candies.

Lawrence was inspired to shift back by the success he saw other residents of Kulhai enjoy in the preceding years. “Lac is very profitable,” he said. “It requires some effort and timeliness, but it’s easier than paddy cultivation, where you have to plough the field, prepare the saplings, sow them and so on.”

Lawrence only had a few trees on his own land that could serve as hosts for the insect – these did not on their own generate significant income. So, two...

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