The present paper attempts to explore and analyze the purpose of women collecting Non-Timber Forest Products based on the socioeconomic status of the women and their households. The study finds that 59.14% of women respondents were engaged in collecting NTFPs. The study employed Binary Logistic Regression for data analysis. The logistic regression analysis shows that the respondent’s main occupation, total household income excluding income from NTFPS, respondent’s age, respondent’s educational level, household size and distance to market significantly influences the dependence of women in NTFPs to earn cash income. The study found the distance to the market an important deciding factor for women to earn cash income from NTFPs. Women staying nearer to the market were more likely to earn cash income from NTFPs than those who live far from the market. Therefore the study suggests the need for government and non-government institutions (NGOs) intervention to initiate training and capacity building for the tribal women at the village level to bring more women to the market.

Highlights

• 59.14 % of the women depend on NTFPs, out of which 61.35 % utilize NTFPs for subsistence needs only and 38.65% of the women utilize NTFPs for subsistence needs and for earning cash income.
• Distance to market is negatively associated with women’s engagement in collecting NTFPs to earn cash income.