A tribe in southeastern India uses dry sal leaves while cooking to reduce the amount of smoke let off into the atmosphere.

Tribes in Sukruli place the leaves on top of their fires, reducing the amount of smoke given off by the blaze.

The tribes collect the sal leaves in the months of spring and use them all year round to try and avoid the use of wood in their fires.

This footage was filmed on March 7.

Thousands Tribal women deepens on dry sal leaves for cooking which produces less smoke in Southern East India.

Unprecedented approach to protection and cleanliness of environment and Forests v by tribalwomen.More than 2000 women from 6 to 8 tribal villages under SUKRULI BLOCK of Mayurbhanj district using sal leaves for their daily cooking purposes in a vision of keeping clean and protecting jungle trees from unwanted fire. They are also preserving trees for growth of jungle selflessly.

In summer dry leaves comes under fire and destroyed the jungle. But this is the reality of Budamara, Jamuti,Adipur, Kalonda villages under Sukruli block, villagers dwelling at the footsteps of Similipal forest of Mayurbhanj District Odisha, that they have to depend on the collected dry sal leaves of the trees scattered on the ground for their daily cooking purposes and using those leaves for boiling paddy.

This only season in SPRING when the dead sal leaves especially from sal trees(as the burning of sal leaves produce less smoke and can be preserved for long time) fall on the ground which these villagers collect from the jungle and make a huge stock inside their huts to use them for their cooking purposes for the whole year. They donot use woods.

It is really astonishing that how their positive attitude can they maintain this for the whole year since a collection of dry leaves is only possible for 2 to 3 months in this spring season. Cutting of woods from the jungle are banned and so they following the rule too. It is also very risk to store such dry leaves inside the house which can invite a house burnt with life risk of the family members staying there. Government should know those women who put their lives in risk but they save environment and keep jungle away from unwanted fire from dry leaves.