Shops and premises

Forest department honey countersSajnekhali, Canning and Kolkata

Wild Sundarbans honey collected under licence and sold under the West Bengal Forest Development Corporation's Bonphool label, alongside beeswax.

Buying here is the reliable way to get honey that actually came out of the forest under permit; roadside jars on the approach roads frequently do not.

Joynagar moa shopsJoynagar–Majilpur, South 24 Parganas

Kanakchur puffed rice bound with nolen gur, made only from about December to February.

The sweet has a registered geographical indication and a shelf life measured in days. Anything sold as Joynagar moa outside the winter is not the seasonal article.

Rangabelia cooperative handicraftsRangabelia, Gosaba

Kantha stitch, tailoring and household craft produced through the village women's cooperatives.

Gosaba and Pakhiralay marketGosaba, South 24 Parganas

Dried fish, crab, honey, gur in season, and the boat and net supplies the islands actually run on.

The last place to buy anything before the forest; there are no shops beyond the buffer.

Canning fish and crab marketCanning, South 24 Parganas

Mud crab, prawn and estuarine fish going up to Kolkata, at first light.

Boat yards at Canning and NamkhanaCanning and Namkhana

Wooden bhutbhuti hulls and their pump engines, built and repaired to order.