Hello,
Every one of us has likely encountered lac in some form or the other. The substance is used in the manufacture of a vast range of products, from cosmetics and jewellery to insulation coating for electrical equipment. It is even used to add polish to products such as fruits and candies.
But few of us, perhaps, have thought about where lac comes from. Lac is, in fact, a substance secreted by the Kerria lacca insect, which affixes itself to the branches of host trees like ber and kusum. And, as Nolina Minj found, reporting from Jharkhand, to many in rural India, lac cultivation offers a pathway to a livelihood that is more secure than that of agriculture, and other work.
"Today our country is the leading producer of quality lac in the world, and over 55% of this production is carried out by small scale Adivasi farmers in Jharkhand," Minj said. "We thus have a sort of monopoly over this natural polymer that's high in demand worldwide."
But as experts and cultivators explained, lac production has seen a turbulent history, with output dipping for various reasons at different times, from unscientific cultivation to climate change. Securing the produce against these factors, they noted, would be key to providing cultivators with stable livelihoods.
"People say there aren't many livelihood options in rural Jharkhand besides agriculture and extractive mining," Minj said. "But then there's lac cultivation – an ecologically sustainable livelihood option if done right, which also holds much economic promise."

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Ajay Krishnan
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This yield from Jharkhand’s trees might hold the key to rural livelihoods

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