Building on Indigenous Knowledge for Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition: Evidence from a Community-based Intervention in Eastern India.

BACKGROUND

Indigenous communities in India face high rates of malnutrition despite living in biodiverse regions. Structural drivers, including declining forest cover due to land use changes (mining, urbanization, and infrastructure development), male outmigration, women's time poverty, and the erosion of intergenerational food knowledge, exacerbate these inequities.

OBJECTIVES

The participatory action research project aimed to improve dietary diversity and nutrition among an Indigenous community-the Santals-in 2 development blocks in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand in Eastern India.

METHODS

Building on a community-led, culturally grounded food and nutrition intervention, involving the documentation and nutritional analysis of local foods, and development and dissemination of 9 meal templates, data were collected through preinterventional and postinterventional assessment, designed as a knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey, with 684 individual women who were part of self-help groups (SHGs). Alongside this, focus group discussions with SHG members and semistructured interviews with 14 frontline workers and 2 local government (Panchayat) leaders were conducted. Participatory nutrition literacy workshops, recipe-based demonstrations, and training of local women as nutrition champions was undertaken.

RESULTS

Postintervention, nutrition knowledge improved significantly (i.e., awareness of iron for anemia prevention rose from 45%-80%), alongside adoption of diverse, balanced diets. Approximately 65% of the women reported increased meal planning, inclusion of seasonal greens, eggs, local fish, and revived traditional recipes. The intervention strengthened women's agency, food equity in households, peer-to-peer learning, and intergenerational knowledge exchange. Panchayat engagement and integration with government programs such as "Didi-Bari" (Sister's garden) supported sustainability. The seasonality of food availability, water scarcity, and women's time and labor for the collection and preparation of diverse diets remain key constraints.

CONCLUSIONS

Community-led, culturally relevant nutrition interventions can enhance dietary diversity, revive Indigenous knowledge, and empower women. Scaling these approaches through policy convergence offers a pathway toward equitable and sustainable food systems.