Indigenous food systems in transition: flourishing amidst changing forest-farm-food nexus among the Solegas of South India

Food systems of indigenous people across the world have developed within the confluence of forests, biodiversity, and seasonal crops. However, due to multiple socio-economic, cultural, ecological and political changes, this relationship has evolved over time. This has not only impacted traditional food systems; we hypothesize that it has also shifted communities’ social connectedness, stability and sense of purpose, thus profoundly impacting their sense of health and well-being or ‘flourishing’. Taking the case of the Solega tribe in South Indian forests as an example, this paper attempts to assess the status of the community’s flourishing in the context of the multitude of socio-ecological challenges they face. Household socio-economic survey and dietary recall were used to gather information on parameters that influence flourishing. The study reveals an interesting pattern of Solega’s sense of flourishing based on forest types and ecology, availability of diverse foods from the forest and crop choices. While traditional diets were determined by food produce collected from the forest and grown on their farms, dietary patterns today are determined by state sponsored food distribution programs and markets; and influenced by exposure to mainstream society. Data also show that flourishing scores are higher in forest types where traditional food continues to be grown or collected from forests as compared to those that have greater exposure to external exchanges. Apart from this, the data also indicate that the financial burden of having to purchase food, and the associated anxiety negatively influence perceptions of flourishing. While measures of flourishing can be complex, the study uses a parsimonious set of indicators to generate insights into the factors underlying Solega perceptions of flourishing, and their implications for food and nutrition policies and programs. We recommend that careful attention should be paid to the multiple roles that forests, and traditional farming practices play in shaping the perception of flourishing of indigenous communities, and more active support be integrated into food and nutrition policy and programs to ensure the sustainability of traditional food systems, including sources of food and dietary practices.