Bonphool – The long incubation of an idea

 [Today Bonphool is very popular honey brand at the national level. It was created six years back. I never spoke openly claiming on its success. The entire journey of success has been long and result of contribution from many individuals. I will be sharing the entire journey in series.]

(This Picture was taken on my office desk)                                

I grew up in a rural environment where financial struggles were part of everyday life. Watching my parents and the people around me work hard just to sustain their livelihoods, shaped my perspective early on and instilled in me a strong desire to work on improving the lives of the most vulnerable.

My keen interest in wildlife led me to pursue a degree in forestry, followed by a Master’s from the College of Forestry in Kodagu, Karnataka—a region known for its coffee plantations with abundant forest full of elephant all around it. Coffee plantation with natural tree covers attracts all the wildlife. Regular movement of elephant cause lot of damage to coffee plantation.

Over the years, several measures have been attempted to mitigate this conflict—from elephant-proof trenches and electric fencing to the use of bee-box barriers. Yet, elephants, being highly intelligent, have gradually adapted to many of these interventions.

During my time there, there was discussion on an idea: what if coffee grown in elephant-affected plantations could be branded and marketed with a conservation narrative? A product that tells a story—appealing to global consumers to support elephant conservation while compensating farmers for their losses. However, the idea remained confined to discussions.

From then on, the concept continued to incubate in my mind. Wherever I went, whichever forest landscape I visited, I kept returning to the same thought: can conservation be made economically meaningful for people living in human–wildlife conflict zones? I began to think of branding and value addition for products originating from such landscapes.

During my training IFS training period at Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, I continued to explore similar ideas—envisioning wildlife-linked branding (such as tiger landscapes) as a means to generate livelihood opportunities and offset human–wildlife conflict. While these ideas were appreciated in discussions, they did not translate into action.

A similar response followed during a one-week training module at the Indian Institute of Forest Management. The concept was acknowledged as innovative, yet seen as impractical for field-level execution.

My first attempt to translate this vision into practice came in Amkhoi village in Birbhum district, where I worked towards promoting ecotourism through the development of a fossil park. The initiative gained local popularity and began creating livelihood opportunities for tribal communities. However, due to my transfer, several planned interventions could not be fully realized.

It was only after taking charge in South 24 Parganas district that I found an opportunity to work directly in a wildlife landscape and begin implementing an idea that was incubating in my mind for nearly 18 years—integrating conservation with livelihood support by creating value around human–wildlife coexistence.