Millet cafe opens in Bhanjanagar

Berhampur: Banayana-a millet café has been set up at Bhanjanagar in Ganjam district under the Odisha forestry sector development project (OFSDP) Phase-11, by the Ghumusar North division.The café, operated by the members of the two Vana Sarankhana Samiti (VSS) of Kotibiradi and Kulad, was inaugurated by the MLA (Bhanjanagar) Pradyumna Kumar Nayak on Wednesday evening.The café will serve delicious breakfast items prepared with nutritious millets along with evening snacks. “It will also showcase and sell various value-added non-timber forest products (NTFP), prepared by different VSSs in the Ghumsur North forest division with the support of OFSDP-II,” said Himasu Sekhar Mohanty, divisional forest officer (DFO) Ghumusar North. The products would include pickles, bari, pampad and some other NTFP products, he said.“This initiative has been undertaken with the objective of promoting sustainable alternative livelihood opportunities for forest fringe communities and to reduce their dependency and human pressure on forests,” he added.Active participation of women VSS members in the initiative was also fostering women’s empowerment and strengthening community-based forest conservation efforts, he added.