Mainstreaming Indigenous Knowledge-Developing Jeevani

The Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute in Kerala has successfully produced an anti stress drug from a local plant using the indigenous knowledge of the local tribals, the Kanis. In its attempts to share the benefits accruing from this development with the kanis, it has encountered numerous problems, THE Kani tribals are a traditionally nomadic community, who now lead a primarily settled life in the forests of the Agasthyamalai hills of the Western Ghats, in the Thiruvanantha- puram district of Kerala. The Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI), a centre for plant research is an autonomous institution for research and development set up by the government of Kerala, One of the major aims of the institute is to carry out botanical, chemical and pharmacological research for the development of scientifically validated and standardised herbal drugs.