Chatra Sal Forest Sal Seed Oil Resin NTFP

Chatra district is densely forested with sal (Shorea robusta) trees, and the sal seed is a significant NTFP collected by tribal women from forest floors after the June fruiting season for extraction of sal seed oil (shorea fat) used in soap-making, chocolate as a cocoa butter substitute, and vanaspati ghee production. Resin (sal dammar) tapped from sal tree trunks by cutting bark channels is a separate NTFP collected and sold to paint and varnish manufacturers; the Forest Department manages resin tapping through licensed tappers who pay royalties and follow sustainable yield protocols. Chatra's tribal communities under Community Forest Rights certificates have formal entitlements to NTFP collection that provide significant supplementary income alongside subsistence farming.