Letters from Waghoba – November 2025
A concise monthly updates of progress at Waghoba Habitat Foundation
Written by; Sanjiv Valsan and Tarun Gupta
Your support is helping us execute the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and Biodiversity Resource Centre in Mumbai’s Aarey Forest, which is the nerve centre of all our work here, in the world’s last surviving natural forest inside a megacity.
Plantation
Planting native wild food and medicinal plants of Aarey Forest like wild tubers, and livelihood fruiting tree plantations, agroforestry with the local Adivasi community; hiring local youths to care for planted saplings.
Workshops
Nature-based education and indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge workshops
Forest products
R&D for developing natural forest products and researching wild foods. The first batch of mahua tree oil products we have developed here were sold in Japan, and encouraged by this success, now we plan to introduce them in India. We are also conducting a scientific study on some of the native wild tubers, such as diascorea alata, and conducting trial plantations in varied soil types.
Hyperlocal farm produce Aarey’s tribal farmers to Mumbai’s urban communities
Supplying ecologically grown hyperlocal farm produce and forest products from Aarey’s tribal farmers to Mumbai’s urban communities and cafes, which spreads public consciousness about indigenous superfoods and Aarey’s tribal farmers, while generating income locally.
and maintained them well.
well established and maintained at Navapada village.
tree has started fruiting at Unit 25 Aarey
wellness products
by creating awareness about these ingredients among Mumbai Restaurants
Looking forward to a long and impactful relationship, resulting in forest conservation and tribal livelihood for the generations to come.
TEAM WaGHOBA Habitat Foundation
