Understanding Non-Timber Forest Products through epistemological pluralism: A multi-sited ethnography of decline in lac production

Addressing environmental crisis requires a methodology that recognizes multiple ways through which stakeholders engage with such environmental crises. In this paper I use the framework of epistemological pluralism to examine the non-timber forest production system for “lac,” a type of resin produced by insects of the species Kerria lacca. The work I present here is part of an action research project in a forest-dependent indigenous village in Chhattisgarh, India that aims to enhance the livelihood opportunities around lac rearing. I conducted multi-sited ethnography using the framework of epistemological pluralism to understand a crisis in lac production. I ask- “Why is productivity of lac declining?” from the epistemic vantage points of stakeholders situated at the level of: (i) village community, (ii) non- government organization, and (iii) national-level science institution. I conclude by highlighting that pluralist approach to problem diagnosis resulted in a nuanced understanding of the issue at the intersection of human-nonhumn, further encouraging collaborative intervention.