Grazing spaces in village commons restored through community collectives.
More South Asia Featured Videos and Photo Stories
The swimming Kharai camels enrich the coastal ecosystem in the Kutch but state policies’ dismissal of traditional knowledge of the pastoralist communities endangers the lives of these camels and their herders in and around the Marine National Park and Sanctuary in Jamnagar, Gujarat.
Video initiative by PARI (People’s Archive of Rural India).
The Raika people in India have been herding camels in Rajasthan for centuries, but their traditional way of life is now under threat. A German NGO, League for Pastoralist Peoples (LPP), is trying to create a perspective for the camel herders through the sale of camel milk and other products, in order to help the Raika sustain their livelihood. Credit: Cornelia Borrmann, Deutsche Welle
Tsering herds 350 goats and sheep in transhumance in the Himalayas, often alone. This time, she narrates her journey and philosophy to her brother, the filmmaker, Stanzin Dorjai in collaboration with Christiana Mordelet. Trailer for a fascinating full-length film of over one hour.
Raika pastoralists in Rajasthan, India, herd their camels on natural vegetation and practise dairying in an animal-friendly and ecologically sound way.
Shiv Kumar, forest guard in the Lahaul Forest Division in Himachal Pradesh, India, works with camera traps to help conserve wildlife, especially the snow leopard. He makes posters to raise awareness of schoolchildren and interacts with Gaddi shepherds who lose animals to the leopard. (The state offers compensation for livestock lost to wildlife.) Producer: Srishti Films & Kalpavriksh for Vikalp Sangam; sponsor: Heinrich Boll Foundation.
The Pulikulam cattle breed name derives from Pulikulam village located in Sivagangai district, of Tamil Nadu, India. It is an indigenous breed of India. It is popularly used in jallikattu and in Rekhla race, a traditional cultural festival of Tamil people. The Pulikulam cattle breed manure capabilities play a significant role in the rural livelihood of the communities rearing them for drought and organic agricultural production. Pulikulam cattle breeds are maintained by the traditional cowherds – mainly the Konar and Thevar communities of Madurai, Sivagangai and Theni districts of Tamilnadu, India. Majority of the Pulikulum cattle genetic resources are currently maintained by farmers and pastoralists as an integral component of the agricultural production system. This film documents factual information provided by the pastoral communities in the field of how the environment and biodiversity cycle affected because of denial of grazing into forest lands.
Bargur cattle is a breed of cattle native to the Bargur forest hills in Anthiyur Taluk of Erode District in Western Tamil Nadu in India. Accustomed to forest hills of the rugged and inhospitable forests of the Western Ghats, they are best known for their endurance, speed and trotting ability. The 3 Tamil speaking communities namely Hindhu Malayallee, Hindhu Sozhagar, Hindhu Orali and some Kannada speaking Gowdas maintain these cattlle in the Bargur region.The Pastorolists communities maintaining these cattle face many challenges in terms of grazing and finding it difficult to run their family for their livelihood. This film documents the hardships, present situation and representations based on the factual information provided by the pastoral communities in the field of Bargur hills.
Photo Stories
Credit: Michael Benanav & Monika Agarwal, Traditional Cultures Project