Sun-drying is a simple, seasonal practice that helps families make the most of their harvests. The Bhils, traditionally a forest-dependent community with limited agricultural output, have long relied on uncultivated plants and wild varieties as a crucial part of their diet. During the monsoon and winter, when greens and vegetables are plentiful, families pick surplus leafy greens like cheel ki bhaji, bathua, or channa before they mature, and shell beans such as valor. They spread these out in the chowk to dry under the sun.
For the Bhil community, careful use of every available resource is essential. Whatever little is cultivated is used in the most efficient way possible—many fruits are consumed at multiple stages, from the bud (mor) to the ripe fruit, and sometimes even the seed is used. This approach ensures that nothing goes to waste and that families can stretch their food supply across seasons.
This method is more than a tradition—it is a key survival tool. By sun-drying, families preserve important nutrients and store food for the hot summer and lean winter months when fresh produce is scarce. When needed, they rehydrate these dried greens and vegetables for daals and sabzis. Families also sun-dry staples like maize, using it later as kernels, rava (broken grains), or atta (flour). Even pumpkins and wild monsoon fruits like kachhri are dried and set aside, ensuring food variety and security well beyond the growing season. As each new monsoon and winter arrives, families repeat this cycle with new wild greens and seasonal crops.
Sun-drying also helps save seeds for the future. Families leave some vegetables, like brinjal, to ripen fully before drying and collecting their seeds for the next planting. After eating pumpkins, cucumbers, and melons, they wash and dry the seeds for future crops. In this way, sun-drying not only fills the pantry but also helps keep the farm and the forest-based food system resilient and self-sustaining year after year.
This method is more than a tradition—it is a key survival tool. By sun-drying, families preserve important nutrients and store food for the hot summer and lean winter months when fresh produce is scarce. When needed, they rehydrate these dried greens and vegetables for daals and sabzis. Families also sun-dry staples like maize, using it later as kernels, rava (broken grains), or atta (flour). Even pumpkins and wild monsoon fruits like kachhri are dried and set aside, ensuring food variety and security well beyond the growing season. As each new monsoon and winter arrives, families repeat this cycle with new wild greens and seasonal crops.
Sun-drying also helps save seeds for the future. Families leave some vegetables, like brinjal, to ripen fully before drying and collecting their seeds for the next planting. After eating pumpkins, cucumbers, and melons, they wash and dry the seeds for future crops. In this way, sun-drying not only fills the pantry but also helps keep the farm self-sustaining year after year.
This documentation is part of our ongoing work to create a community-based seed bank that preserves local crop varieties and landraces from the region. To see more of the documentation work on YouTube and Flickr