Fruits of the Land

This girl from the Konda Reddi tribe collects medipandu, which her community consumes to aid digestion. But her tribe’s access to the forest is threatened. Because the state has not recognized their rights, the tribe’s claim to the forest can’t be easily defended. Vast stretches of tribal land across India have already been usurped. Said one tribal woman, “Without land, our life will be like a fish out of water and put on the floor.”

Photo by Deborah Espinosa / Landesa land tenure specialist