The Foraging Chef of the Forest

Harshita Kakwani is rediscovering the forest as she learns from tribal communities

- Anil Mulchandani

When Harshita Kakwani decided to move from Indore city to the remote forests of Madhya Pradesh, she did not anticipate how she would fall for the love of foraging. Her journey into foraging and engaging with tribal communities had a personal motivation—to raise her infant son close to nature. She wanted to have minimal dependence on western medicines, and the local tribal women shared invaluable natural remedies and health practices with her.

"I validated their wisdom through research, which only deepened my respect for their knowledge," Kakwani reveals. "Living close to the forest opened up a world of discovery of new ingredients, traditional knowledge, and a deeper understanding of seasonal abundance," says the management professional, who along with her family, shifted to the buffer zone of Pench National Park in 2015.