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OFFTRACK
CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU
Antidote
to Poverty
Snake
hunters learn to reconcile livelihood with respect for nature
By
Methil Renuka
 |
| Villagers
looking for their next catch |
It's
a long walk to the scrub jungles in Vadanemmelley village, 5 km off the
East Coast Road stretch near Chennai. R. Muthan and K. Rajendran, snake-hunting
Irula tribals, march swiftly down the narrow paths, thorny hedges and
whispering casuarina groves, confident of finding their next catch. If
they're lucky it could be a venom-spewing cobra, krait or viper, and if
doubly lucky, there could be a bonus for dinner in the form of a fat rodent
or nuts or grain inside one of the rat holes. Being traditional snake-hunters,
they eat termites as well as rats.
Rajendran
soon halts beside a small mound. There are telltale signs; a dried snakeskin
nearby and the snake trail leading up to the weed-patch indicate that
a big cobra lurks within. Digging into the seemingly harmless mound with
a twisted crowbar, Muthan inches towards a sleeping cobra. He plugs the
tunnel he has dug with his arm and boldly grabs the snake, now frightened,
furious and vindictive. Unfazed, Muthan carefully puts the snake into
a cloth bag, and smiles. It will fetch the duo Rs 150 at the Irula Snake
Catchers' Industrial Cooperative Society.
On a good
day's hunt, Muthan manages a minimum of three poisonous snakes. "The
villagers often die if they are bitten by snakes," says Rajendran,
"but actually it's the fear not the poison that kills them."
All of 50 years, he has been catching snakes-and surviving snake bites-for
as long as he can remember, like his forefathers did for more than 3,000
years before him.
Indigenous
forest-dwellers, the Irulas are found in small groups on the outskirts
of villages in the Chingelpet district of Tamil Nadu. Until 1976, they
depended mainly on snake skin for their living. Then the Indian Wildlife
Protection Act banned the export of snake skin and rendered them virtual
destitute. If they were to survive, their inherent expertise in handling
snakes had to be gainfully put to use. Guided by Romulus Whitaker of Chennai's
Crocodile Bank, where the cooperative is located today, the tribals procured
a license for a snake venom extraction centre.
The Irula
Extraction Cooperative Society integrated their proficiency in catching
poisonous snakes with a project to make anti-venom serum. The cooperative
has, since 1982, extracted, processed and dispatched venom from over one
lakh snakes. The reptiles are milked for venom thrice during the three
weeks that they are held captive.
RESOUNDING
SUCCESS: It
is a unique interaction between man and snake since the snakes are returned
to the ecosystem once they are milked. The venom is used to make life-saving
snake-bite antidote. The scheme has been a resounding success. Dravida
Mani, the society's secretary and manager, proudly informs you that Andhra
Pradesh has approached them for "technical guidelines" to start
a similar tribal project. The project has helped rehabilitate the 202
Irula families which are its members. Muthan and Rajendran, for example,
have children attending college or operating the state-of-the-art "freeze-driers"
that convert venom from liquid to powder at the cooperative. Five of the
seven people on the board of directors are Irulas. Says Mani: "Besides
the Rs 150 that each poisonous snake fetches the tribals every day, almost
all the profits go back to them. They get 30 per cent as incentive wages
and 50 per cent of total earnings as bonus."
The Irulas
are happy looking after their finances without help from others. The outcome?
"An application of tribal technology to generate income as well as
use wild snakes sustainably," according to Mani. While the cooperative
sold venom worth over Rs 30 lakh last year, it today holds stock worth
over Rs 50 lakh. From September, the price of venom of the Russel's viper
and cobra will be Rs 6,000 per gram, and that of the common krait, Rs
15,000 per gram.
Having tasted
financial success, the Irulas plan to expand to 13 centres across Tamil
Nadu and seek permission to export venom. They also administer herbal
treatment to villagers for snake and scorpion bites. For a community that
collects snakes to sell and tubers and rats to eat, the woods are no longer
lonely, dark and deep.
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its too late, suggests INDIA TODAY associate Editor V. Shankar Aiyar
in 
