Sustainable Livelihoods and Lifestyles in Uttarakhand,

India
Ajay Mahajan
Mountains worldwide are marked by diversity, remoteness and fragility. In these
times of ecological crisis, its likely that the greatest mountain range of them all, the
Himalayas and its habitants have something to share with us about sustainability.
Agriculture and animal husbandry or pastoralism have long been and still are the
mainstay livelihoods and occupations of the human communities in the Himalayan
state of Uttarkhand. Closely and symbiotically interlinked, both of them are deeply
dependent on the neighbouring forests and ecosystem for sustenance and viability.
Agriculture in 8! of hill Uttarakhand is rainfed. It is distinguished by its organic
cultivation methods and marked by e"ceptionally rich biodiversity. #he farmers of
$ahikalan, a village I%ve been closely associated with grow up to &' different crops in
a year.
#he following e"ample illustrates the diversity, associated knowledge and
sustainability of traditional farming systems in this area.
Baranaja is a mi"ed farming, companion planting system, a veritable
1
community(society of crops that are planted together on the same terraced fields in the
kharif/chau masa or monsoon season.
)mongst the grains *cereals(millets+ there will be mandua *finger millet+, ramdana
*amaranthus+, kuttu/ogal *buckwheat+, jwar *sorghum+ and makki *corn+
,ulses and beans like ra-ma, lobia, bhatt, gehat, naurangi, urad and mung
.ilseeds like til, bhang-eer, sann, bhang
/egetables like ogal, chollai, kheera, lobia
0pices like -akhiya and til *sesame+.
1ibre plants like sann and bhang
/ines of pulses leap onto sturdier crops like corn and millets and climb far, in
e"change they share the e"tra nitrogen that they fi" in the soil 2 works well for both.
)s plants grow and flourish at different levels( storeys much like a natural forest, they
utili3e multiple levels of space. #his system implies more overall productivity,
meeting of diverse food and nutritional security of humans and cattle, minimi3ing
risks due to climate and pests and sustained soil fertility.
Important and hard tasks like weeding, hoeing and harvesting are still undertaken
together by working on each others fields in turn, as is the sowing of paddy. /illage
typically go together to gra3e cattle or fetch fodder and fuelwood. 4hat is missing is
the earlier music, song and dance though they still talk and -oke a lot.
Agroforestry: In between rainfed agri5terraces are numerous trees of astounding
diversity and so too all over the agricultural 3one. #heir numbers run into *even tens
2
of+ thousands of trees for a single village. 4ild bushes, grasses and herbs too abound
here. In the monsoon its easy to mistake the agricultural 3one for a forest.
#his ama3ing traditional agro5forestry system importantly provides diverse fodders,
foods, fuelwood, fibre, firelight, medicine, timber etc. 6esides minimi3ing erosion on
steep slopes they create wonderful nutrient cycles and micro5climate for crops and
enhance livelihood security and accessibility.
)griculture here is completely powered by cattle #he most critical component of
organic manures is cowdung. )nd all tilling of the land is done by bullocks. )long
with this symbiotic link with agriculture, cow and buffalo milk and milk products are
critical to food and nutritional security and livelihood risk reduction. Its likely a
climatically and ecologically surer livelihood option than rainfed agriculture.
,erhaps the single most important feature that determines water availability, above
mainstay livelihoods and other needs including determining where habitations are
located is forests.
1orests here provide critical livelihood needs like fodder for cattle, resultant cowdung
for manures, leaf mulches for crops, 7uality fuel woods, wild foods, medicines for
humans and cattle, wood for housing, furniture and implements and importantly a
congenial micro5climate for several special hill crops. #hey are the critical factor in
sustained water availability8 through springs, streams, rivers, pools and ponds etc.
#he well being and 7uality of life in these mountains is directly linked to the health
3
and diversity of the neighbouring forests, especially those above villages. 9ittle
wonder they have a special place in :arhwali folk music and culture.
1or centuries do3ens of wild food plants comprising flowers(buds, fruits(berries,
leaves, wild tubers etc. comprised a very crucial part of the food and particularly
nutritional security of local communities.
!hreats and "hallenges to Sustainability
6ut these mountains are no 0hangri5la, despite such inherent strengths there have
been and are several challenges.
#he earliest modern challenge was attempts to take over control of forests by the
6ritish followed by the Indian state. .ften leading to alienation, forest felling,
attempted commerciali3ation, and local resistance movements and initiatives.
)pplication of the dominant industrial development paradigm to these Himalayan
regions through government policies especially in sectors of energy, mining,
agriculture, road building etc. are a big challenge. )s they see even these, the worlds
greatest mountains and its civili3ation defining rivers as merely natural resources to
be e"ploited. #he effects on communities, livelihoods and environment, local and all
the way downstream is neglected, underplayed and ignored. Can this ever be
sustainable for the Himalayas or these mighty rivers and all the life that is linked to
them.
)t the same time local livelihoods, lifestyles, folk knowledge *significantly of
4
agriculture and forests+ and cultures were singularly neglected, ignored and regarded
as backward, leading to economic, social and cultural devaluation. 4ith the above
thrust this lead to shrinking economically viable livelihood options and changing and
growing *especially economic+ aspirations. )dd to this woeful neglect of health and
7uality education needs of villages and small towns and cultural influences of
television, films and big cities. #he result has been widespread migration from the
hills.
)t the local level, rain fed farming communities across Uttarakhand are today
struggling with the vagaries and unpredictability of changing swinging climate8to
which they have made virtually no contribution.
.ver the last two decades forest fires have become the most widespread local threat to
forests 2 with their increased fre7uency, wider range and severity. Climate change
induced fre7uenter long dry spells or severe heat spells along with alienation of
communities due to government forest policies are primary causes. ;esult is
enormous eminently avoidable harm to forests and communities, releasing massive
pollutants and stored carbon, even as carbon sinks are destroyed, adding significantly
to global warming and climate change.
)nd yet, organic biodiverse agriculture, natural forests and dependence on them have
changed far less in the hills of Uttarakhand especially :arhwal, compared to other
western Himalayan states. !he sustainability of these primary livelihoods,
lifestyles and their core characteristics have enabled the sustainability, integrity
and perhaps survival of these mountain ecosystems over centuries
5
0ignificantly, the last four decades have seen several remarkable efforts by local
communities to protect forests, mountains, water sources, agriculture and linked
livelihoods 2 often fighting apathetic :overnments, money and muscle power, timber
mafia and politicians, the arrogance of modern science and economics.
6
<Caption = for #he agri fields agroforesty foto...<
6iodiverse .rganic farming with )groforestry on rainfed agri5terraces in
the Indian Uttarakhand Himalayas ma"imises possibility of meeting diverse needs of
humans and cattle in times of changing climate even as it conserves soil, its moisture
and fertility...
<Caption for photo > <
) family threshing )maranthus seeds from the -ust harvested organic
biodiverse crop varieties, in $ahikalan village, Uttarakhand, India.
7