Can India’s Forest Rights Act deliver? Odisha state is trying to find out

Pramila Pradhan, 51, embraced thengapalli, a form of forest stewardship, because of her mother-in-law, who took her along on forest patrols. Thenga means stick, and palli means turn or rotation. For decades, stick-wielding women have taken turns every day to patrol and safeguard the woodlands in Kodalpalli village in India’s Odisha state.