Introduction
Even before the idea of sustainability became mainstream, more than forty years ago, a small co-operative society in Tamil Nadu became a model for effective stakeholder partnerships for sustainable living. The Irula tribal community has traditionally been snake catchers, and would have completely lost their traditional livelihood because of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972). This is the story of Irula Snake Catchers Industrial Cooperative Society (ISCICS), which is both a successful business enterprise and a sustainable livelihood opportunity for indigenous people.
About the society
Romulus Whitaker established the Irula Snake Catchers Industrial Cooperative Society (ISCICS) in Tamil Nadu in 1978 to rehabilitate the Irula tribe of South India, who had suffered as a result of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972). The society has the Irula tribes as members. The institution is India's largest producer of snake venom and is 44 years old, with 350 active members, all from the community.
The objective of the ISCICS was to (a) produce sufficient quantities of snake venom, (b) comply with the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 while catching snakes and (c) provide gainful and profitable employment for the Irula tribal people
As an economic enterprise, the society is successfully generating adequate income for the tribes. The ISCICS is constituted, owned, managed and run by the Irulas themselves, based on the skills and knowledge possessed by the community. The members of the society own the profit of the society directly. This society is an example of sustainable living and business development, through the utilization of indigenous skills and expertise possessed by the people. The business model also benefits tribal people’s lives and living standards without compromising the homeostasis of snake ecology. This society is different from commercial snake farms in the sense that while the ISCICS is run only to maintain the bare minimum subsistence level of living of this community without inflicting cost on the snake society, whereas the snake farms are run only to maximize profits of farm owners (Konar, & Modak, 2010).
About the Irula Tribes
The Irula tribes are traditionally one of the most disadvantaged groups in Indian society. They were designated as a Scheduled Tribe community and carry historical baggage for its work and culture. These community members continued to be stigmatized like many other Adivasi communities — a legacy of the Habitual Offenders Act, 1952 that criminalized many tribes. Now they are classified under the “Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups” category in Tamil Nadu, but still, the Irular continue to be subject to criminalization and police brutality—a reality that the recent film Jai Bhim depicted, based on a real story of custodial torture. It was their traditional association with snakes and rat-catching that was often weaponized against them. The Irula community is traditionally associated with healing, traditional medicine, and catching poisonous snakes. They catch snakes, extract venom and release them back into the wild. This makes them vulnerable to bonded labor and state violence.
When India did not have specific legislation for the protection of wildlife, these indigenous community members were misled and used to procure snake-skins that were sold at high prices in illegal markets. The subsequent imposition of Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972) and also the ban on the export of snakeskin (1976) affected their livelihood and made them lose their livelihood.
The Irula Cooperative, that was established to replace this lost income for the tribals while at the same time sustainably exploiting a valuable wildlife resource for commercial purposes (Konar & Modak, 2010; Whitaker, & Andrews, 1995), now produces a major portion (an estimated 80%) of India's venom needs (for the production of antivenom) from snakes found within two districts of Tamil Nadu (Whitaker, & Whitaker, 2012).
Achievement and fame
The society is a unique “interface between man and snakes” and researchers termed this model as one of the ideal business innovations (Dharamarajan, 2007).
In 2017, the US authorities decided to reduce the exploits of Burmese pythons at the Everglades swamp as it threatened the survival of small mammals at the national park. They approached the service of this society. Two of the Irula tribes of this society flew to Florida. They were able to successfully catch the world's biggest snakes from the largest subtropical wilderness (Jesudasan, & Abhilash, 2019).
Recognizing their service, Indian government jointly conferred the Padma Shri award for social work for Vadivel Gopal and Masi Sadaiyan (members of this society), on the 74th Republic Day. They are also involved in raising international awareness about snake-human conflicts.
Sustainability of the community?
While society is an innovative initiative, Sinu, & Mahadevan (2013) reported their overall poor living condition. There were 66% illiteracy, negative attitude towards education, particularly towards girl children's education, poor housing conditions, majority having job insecurity or low income and most of them were below the poverty line, without even a community certificate.
References
Whitaker, R., & Whitaker, S. (2012). Venom, antivenom production and the medically important snakes of India. Current Science, 635-643.
Konar, A. K., & Modak, B. K. (2010). Socializing snake society: an Indian instance. Social Change, 40(2), 157-174.
Jesudasan, J. E., & Abhilash, K. P. P. (2019). Venomous snakebites: Management and anti-snake venom. Current Medical Issues, 17(3), 66-68.
Sinu, E., & Mahadevan, U. (2013). Living conditions of Irula tribes in Gingee taluk, Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu. Research Journal of Social Science and Management, 3(2), 141-149.
Whitaker, R., & Andrews, H. V. (1995). The Irula Co-operative Venom Centre, India. Oryx, 29(2), 129-135.
Dharamarajan, S. (2007). Irula Tribe, Ecology and Business Innovation-A Case Study.
Whitaker, R., & Andrews, H. V. (1995). The Irula Co-operative Venom Centre, India. Oryx, 29(2), 129-135.
Whitaker, R., & Whitaker, S. (2012). Venom, antivenom production and the medically important snakes of India. Current Science, 635-643.
Konar, A. K., & Modak, B. K. (2010). Socializing snake society: an Indian instance. Social Change, 40(2), 157-174. https://doi.org/10.1177/004908571004000204
Why Tamil Nadu needs to protect Irula co-op. (2022, March 14). Times of India. Retrieved October 26, 2023, from https://www.newindianexpress.com/opinions/editorials/2022/mar/14/why-tamil-nadu-needs-toprotect-irula-co-op-2429846.html.
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