Home Gardens into Climate Resilience Strategies: Insights from Tribal Communities in Keonjhar, Odisha

Authors

  • Shusrisangeeta Das

    KIIT School of Rural Management, KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 751024, India
  • Damodar Jena

    KIIT School of Rural Management, KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 751024, India
  • Priyanka Mishra

    KIIT School of Architecture & Planning, KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 751024, India
  • Chhayakant Mishra

    KIIT School of Rural Management, KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 751024, India
  • Padmalochan Rout

    KIIT School of Rural Management, KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 751024, India
  • Ganesha Honnesara Subraya

    KIIT School of Rural Management, KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 751024, India
  • Sukanta Chandra Swain

    KIIT School of Economics and Commerce, KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 751024, India
  • Ambrish Singh

    Department of Applied Sciences and Humanities, Rajkiya Engineering College, Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh 276201, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/jees.v7i7.9923
Received: 8 May 2025; Revised: 30 May 2025; Accepted: 6 June 2025; Published Online: 23 June 2025

Abstract

Home gardens serve as a crucial adaptation strategy for tribal communities in Keonjhar district, Odisha, enhancing food security, income generation, and climate resilience. This study examines the role of home gardens in sustaining tribal livelihoods while addressing challenges such as climate variability, soil degradation, and market constraints. Adopting a mixed-methods approach, it integrates the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF) and socio-ecological resilience theory. Data from 120 tribal households across four villages in Banspal block were collected through structured interviews and focus group discussions.  A key innovation lies in integrating indigenous knowledge systems with the Problem Facing Index (PFI) methodology to generate quantified, community-driven insights on climate adaptation barriers. Findings reveal that home gardens contribute around ₹10,000 per season to household income, reducing market dependency by over 70% during crises such as the COVID-19 lockdown. Over 75% of households face high to medium challenges due to climate variability (PFI = 252), soil degradation (PFI = 251), and wildlife intrusions (PFI = 250). Other notable constraints include pests (75%) and poor market access (61.7%). Although 82.5% reported no issue with agricultural inputs, water scarcity remains a seasonal concern for 23%. Despite constraints, home gardens were found to enhance all five SLF capitals: natural, human, social, financial, and physical. The study recommends context-sensitive interventions, including seed distribution, organic inputs, weather-based advisories, and strengthened institutional support. It highlights the potential for scaling home garden models across other marginalized agroecological regions in India and Asia, aligning them with national rural development and climate adaptation programs.

Keywords:

Home Garden; Tribal Communities; Climate Resilience; Sustainable Livelihoods; Indigenous Agriculture

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How to Cite

Das, S., Jena, D., Mishra, P., Mishra, C., Rout, P., Ganesha Honnesara Subraya, Chandra Swain, S., & Singh, A. (2025). Home Gardens into Climate Resilience Strategies: Insights from Tribal Communities in Keonjhar, Odisha. Journal of Environmental & Earth Sciences, 7(7), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.30564/jees.v7i7.9923

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Vol. 7 , Iss. 7 (July 2025): In Progress

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Copyright © 2025 Shusrisangeeta Das, Damodar Jena, Priyanka Mishra, Chhayakant Mishra, Padmalochan Rout, Ganesha Honnesara Subraya, Sukanta Chandra Swain, Ambrish Singh

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This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.

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