Garhwal, in the Uttarakhand Himalayas is the land of 52
forts. The word “Garh” means fort.

We are a little initiative from the Garh known as Chaundkot.

There was a time when there was no step field cut into the
mountain which was not sown. Today, not even 10% of the fields are cultivated.

Many factors have contributed to this effect. Let’s take a look at some of them…

The fields cut into the mountain do not allow for certain farming equipment like tractors, so the fields are ploughed using oxen and sowed manually. The manure, made out of cow dung and goat shit is carried on heads and shoulders to the fields to be scattered by hand. The remaining agricultural activaties like weeding (multiple times for some crops), defending from vermin, harvesting, post harvesting and storage processes are also all very labour intensive tasks.

Majority of the youth migrates to the cities for job opportunities seeking better income than what agriculture seems to offer. The people left behind are too few and usually either too young or too old to farm.

Wild boars wreak havoc in unguarded fields. All the labour goes down the drain. For the farmers it is realistically only possible to guard the fields absolutely adjacent to their homes, bythemselves.

Gradual climate change and the construction of roads and dams throughout the mountains have disrupted the water cycle, and hence agriculture, and more...

None of these problems is impossible to solve.

But none is being systematically targeted.

A long term goal of ours is to create an atmosphere where we
locals have a choice to live and earn off the land. While ethically using the
resources nature has given to us and share some with the world.

Baby steps...