Blue ridges of eastern Bhutan

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Herders in the Mist: Pastoralists of Eastern Bhutan

Daniel Miller | Bhutan

In the remote, northeastern region of Bhutan a tribe of Tibetan Buddhist yak-herding people, known in the Bhutanese language as "brokpa," or "people of the high pastures" who live in the two small settlements of Merak and Sakten, earn their livelihoods by raising yaks, sheep and cattle.  Moving up to alpine meadows in the summer and down to lower elevation grazing lands in the forests in the winter, they have travelled with their herds like this for centuries.

I worked in Bhutan from 1985 to 1992, where I lived among the yak herders of Merak-Sakten.  The yak makes life possible for the herders of Merak-Sakten, like it does for many pastoralists in the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau.  Without the yak it is doubtful if man could survive in these mountains.   Pastoral development programs in Bhutan, as elsewhere, have realized that the herders themselves need to be active participants in the planning of and implementation of livestock development and natural resource management projects. Modernization throughout the Himalayan region has brought improved access and services to previously remote nomadic areas.  However, these changes have also brought challenges to pastoral communities who desire to maintain certain aspects of their cultural heritage.  How Himalayan communities, such as the brokpa of Merak-Sakten adapt to these transformations has important social, cultural and economic implications that need to be better understood.

wildyakman@gmail.com

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