The women of Dengajharia non-descript village in Orissahave broken through ages of gender and caste oppression to pioneer a revolutionary forest protection movement in their village.

When the men called it quitsit was the women from this village in Nayagarh district who took up cudgels. The once densely forested areas of Nayagarh have now been denuded by rapid population explosion and the setting up of heavy industries. "It got so bad we had to go at least 12 kms into the forest to arrange a suitable log for our yoke' recalls village elder Natabar Pradhan of Dengajhari. Necessity forced villagers to think about regeneration of the adjacent Pathar Gada forest.

Three villages