Frankincense trees were a source of income for the forest dwellers

Frankincense trees were a source of income for the forest dwellers The frankincense trees which were very common in Uttara Kannada district a few years ago are now on the verge of extinction. Elders in the area say that the trees were seen in the forest of Joida, Yellapur, Sirsi and Haliyal taluk in the district and they were used in the manufacture of Ayurvedic medicines.

Frankincense trees were a source of income for the forest dwellers who used to collect their aromatic resin. But most of them were destroyed when five dams built across the Kali river submerged about 1,600 hectares of forest in Uttara Kannada.

Hambir Derekar of Daria, who worked as a supervisor in a manganese mining company in Diggi in Joida taluk from 1970 to 1990, said every family living in the deep forests and the villages there would collect one-two kilos of frankincense resins every year. About seven to eight frankincense trees could be found a decade ago in Deria forest. But now, only two frankincense trees are left. So the villages collect the resins carefully, making sure the trees Manassas are not damaged in the process, he said.