The conservation efforts to save the endangered Western Hoolock Gibbon in India's Meghalaya state have received a significant boost after local coffee and chocolate producers have come forward to extend their support to two tribal communities involved in this cause.
At the World Coffee Conference and Expo scheduled to be held on Tuesday in Karnataka state's Bengaluru city, several coffee producers are set to sign up to the conservation project led by Nagakarthik, the man behind the Sauramandala Foundation.
The founder of Smoky Falls Tribe Coffee, Dasumarlin Majaw - who will get together with the community devoted to conserving the endangered ape in Meghalaya - told the Indian news agency that her factory is going to set aside 500kg of coffee and 1,000 pieces of chocolate to be specially packaged, and adorned with images of gibbons, to raise awareness about these endangered apes.
"About 50 percent of the profit will be handed over to the conservation initiative," Majaw said.
Over the past four years, the people of Hima Malai-Sohmat have been working to conserve the habitat of the gibbons.
These moves include banning the hunting and killing of the gibbon in the community forests across five villages, reining in deforestation and looking for alternative livelihoods through eco-tourism and other things.